Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or any content from the Megami Tensei series as a whole. I do not claim to own anything. All contents' right belong to their respectful owners. Once again, I do not claim to own anything.
Here we are with the novelization of the first half of the Persona 2 duology, Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin. Now, I would like people to take note, those who have played the game before, I am going to be using the PSP Remake of Innocent Sin as the basis, mainly because it is the official version. However, I will not be utilizing the censorship found within the PSP version simply because I find it pointless and kind of counterintuitive because the character they blatantly try to censor is quite obvious the recognizable person. Another thing to note is it's probably a good idea to read the prequel to this sequel called Persona: Be Your True Mind, a novelization of Shin Megami Tensei Persona. Why? Well, those characters, and certain events I portrayed within that novelization will be apparent here as well have some bearing. Though to be fair, Innocent Sin is a sequel that almost requires you to have at least played the first two hours of the first game anyway to truly appreciate the game. The novelization is a thirty chapter project, recently completed at the time of this typing of author notes, the first couple of chapters real are nothing like the remainder of the fic. It was my first endeavor on the site and I do mean to go back to it at some point to ultimately fix those egregious chapters, but if you can make it through those initial, reasonably short chapters, the remainder of the fic overall I find to be better.
Now, this novelization is also being started with the novelization of Persona 3. So, these author notes might contain similarities at times. If you haven't read the end of Persona: Be Your True Mind, I will reiterate the uploading schedule for these two correlated projects. Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin will have two chapters uploaded. Persona 3: Burn Your Dread will have three chapters uploaded then. The first chapters of each story; however will be up at the same time, then the schedule fills in, rinse and repeat the process. If I am feeling it, I may break pattern, but I probably will not. Before I stop boring you and allow you to read this story. One thing I have to explain about my writing for you guys to enjoy the story. This is pretty common, but just clarifying. Italicized sentences are thoughts of the characters. It's my personal stylistic choice. Another personal stylistic choice is usually focusing on one character's specific thoughts per chapter. Occasionally I may switch to different characters in between what I refer to as "scenes" but the transition will be obvious.
With that aside, welcome to Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin Chapter One.
Chapter One: Morning Sun
The night is still, the streets are quiet,
In this house lived my Love;
Two unmanned swings aimlessly rocked back and forth dutifully. The playground's equipment was watched by a solemn dark haired woman, looking in dismay at the futile pendulums.
She left the town long before,
Yet her house is still standing in the same place.
A monarch butterfly, completely golden colored, rested nicely on a discarded soda can in the playground's trash pit. The delicate wings of the creature flapped. Undisturbed, the beautiful creature removed itself from its perch, leaving a fading trail of luminous dust.
There I also see a man standing and staring into the heavens,
A school, prominently edged on the horizon of its city, was clashing with the twilight of a setting sun. The iconic clock tower petrified in legacy. The halls were vacant only a blonde student of Caucasian decent occupying a desk. The girl gazed up from her Japanese kanji, putting aside her writing pen to view the outside world. She smiled blissfully at the swaying of the trees in the wind.
Wringing his hands in violent grief.
I shudder when I behold his face;
In the gathering dust laid a student beaten on a fence. A complacent student of the same school proudly looked down on his handiwork, the breeze whipping his elaborately styled hair do and side burns to and fro.
The moon reveals to me my own likeness.
A delicate tulip is clutched closely to a breast at the admiration of the phantom propelled swing seats.
You Doppelganger, you pale companion!
Why do you mimic my lovesickeness,
On the scene of the playground, a boy on a black Mitsubishi motorcycle slowly rolled on the playing sand. He too sought to glance at the entertaining showcase. His helmet, removed to reveal his fiery red locks, was wedged under his arm as he witnessed the strangely mesmerizing occurrence.
That tormented me at this place,
For so many nights in the past?
The delicate tulip was rocking on the wooden plank attached to well-greased chains. Slowly, surely it was carried in its progress. Alas, the flower fell in the wind's assistance. The pink petals shed swiftly in the descent, shattering free from their stem and stigma the moment they struck the dirt.
-Franz Schubert, Der Doppelganger
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
The shrine was an inferno. The flames arched and bent unnaturally. Like a leaping snake, the embers undulated, seeping through the oak beams. They were abolished, consumed, utterly disintegrating. As the place of worship was ignited, burning further in the night, the orange hue emitted from the blazing red was a spotlight in the darkness. A boy's eyes were overlaid by the intense hue, the expansive heat drenching his prepubescent brow in sweat. Useless was he as he stood in awe at the alit mass. From those demonic flames forming terrifying shapes boring inside the annals of a young boy's mind, a shrill, desperate voice of a young girl escaped free from the cindering lumber.
"Tatsuya," she cried, the boy gasping in response.
"WHY?" she screamed in agony, the flames overtaking her within the confines of the smoldering wreckage.
The boy was crying as the shack collapsed inward, definitively ending the grieving shouts of a trapped girl. Yet in the dark, in the glaze of the sun's emulation, that boy heard the haunting mantra, echoing in his soul.
"TATSUYA, WHY?"
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
Tatsuya Suou shot up from his bed covers in a panicked escape. Terror-stricken perspiration dotted his brow, soaked his fiery red hair. He harshly clutched his chest as he forcefully gulped in the air of his room. He was hyperventilating, shaking at the contents of his recurring nightmare.
"Goddamn it…goddamn it…ten years…ten years and that damn thing won't leave me be."
Tatsuya eased his lungs back into their usual routine. As he took his light breaths, he aimed his brown eyes to his side table. There rested his alarm clock, motorcycle keys, and his most prized possession: a sterling silver Zippo.
He picked up the lighter gently, reading the inscription aloud. "The most important things cannot be seen with the eyes."
Tatsuya held the steel in his hand closely. He subtly flicked open the lid of the lighter with his thump, then immediately shut it, producing a neat metallic click. Now, Tatsuya was not a smoker. He never once sparked the lighter. In the many years he carried it with him the fuel remained full, the mechanism functional, and the face polished. The Zippo was his keepsake, and holding it reminded him of better times.
The day was dawning on Sumaru City and Tatsuya decided to take advantage of his early rise, albeit to save himself from his lucid torment.
The red haired boy flicked open and closed the light again as he sat by the window of his room. The early-risen city was abuzz in electric flux. Cars congested on the road. Salary men were marching reluctantly on the sidewalks with time chaffing their wrists in their restrictive straps. Students dressed in their pressed uniforms were scattering to respective work districts. Sumaru City was host to six wards: Rengedai, Hirasaka, Yumezaki, Aoba, Konan, and Narumi. Each district was a buzzing hub of activity in capitalistic enterprise and occasionally education prowess. Of course, the city wasn't without its rural settings. The skirts of the city were host to many mountains in a sea of trees and foliage. One mount in particular was a famous location granting historically notoriety to the circular city. Their neighbors Mikage-cho had their archaeological ruins and the Agastya Tree to draw in the tourists, but Sumaru City's star attraction was on the peak of Mt. Katatsumuri. A well-preserved, but predominantly sealed Caracol, a Mayan based temple in seemingly perfect condition.
"This place…never excites me. It so dreary, nothing but an embodiment of misery," Tatsuya quickly regretted watching his living neighborhood as he sat himself in his personal loveseat.
He took up his father's passed down Gibson, plugging the electric guitar hurriedly into the amplifier. His blistered fingers fished his pick from between the couch cushions. Lightly he dragged it across the strings. The noise was pounding, sharply spreading from the speaker.
"Shame no one will appreciate this." Tatsuya adjusted his hands to their exact positions, and then proceeded to replicate the delicious opening riff of Hendrix's Voodoo Child.
The music was flawlessly executed, each beat beating precisely in time, assured in the score. The whole Suou home was privy to the renowned assortment, but the house was empty. Tatsuya's older brother, Katsuya, was a police Sergeant for the Konan Police Department. His shift started at the crack of dawn, an hour before Tatsuya was to awake to prepare for school. Mister Suou was a former police officer; unfortunately imprisoned two months shy of ten and half years ago. Missus Suou left her sons to fend for each other, or openly eat each other as human beings in life, for the moment her husband was jailed she hit the bricks, absconding from responsibility and Sumaru City. Now, Tatsuya was survived by Katsuya. They were lodged by Katsuya. He was able to be educated by the efforts of Katsuya. Yet a feeling of generosity was not mutual. Tatsuya was never exactly cooperative with his older brother's strict wishes and Katsuya never exactly understood his younger brother's personality.
"Once I've left this place, I'm sure he'll be relieved. One less mouth to feed, one less family member to scold,"
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
Eikichi Mishina lathered the hair dye in through his bushy peak of hair with his pale skinned fingers. The mirror of the train station was showing him his righteous sideburns, already spiked and artificially colored navy blue. He massaged his hair to the appropriate, elaborate, glam rock design, especially pronouncing the tuft of shock white bundled beneath the peaked, modified pompadour.
"Today's the day the Great Michel rocks the jailhouse!" Eikichi was the lead vocalist, the artist known as Michel, for his garage band Gas Chamber.
The Great Michel decorated his fingers with a variety of tribal rings to match his rock star modeling. Silver loop necklaces were stacked on his neck and wrists like discombobulated springs. His Kasugayama High School uniform, completely aquamarine, was personalized with the hanging excess of his hidden tunic. The brown and orange fabric made the appearance of a covered apron fashioned with the designs of interlacing triangles resembling a clenched maw of a demonic beast. On his left humorous he wore a black arm band with a crude white "G" surrounded by a half circle. Eikichi always modeled the patented logo of his band: Gas Chamber.
"Man, if Dad caught me like this at home…he'd beat my ass with those eighteen martial arts he's got in his belt."
Eikichi kicked on his blue-soled, suede shoes, and stuffed his backpack with his daily dye and treatment products. All the while he was thinking of his father, Kankichi Mishina, the sushi chef/proprietor of the family business, Gatten Sushi in Rengedai. Rumor had it in Sumaru City, he was a badass with a black belt in a large variety of martial arts, including but not limited to Jujitsu, Capoeira, Taichi, Judo, Krav Maga, Muay Tai, and Sambo. Now, Eikichi knew first hand the rumor was true, despite the ridiculous assertion of it. His father had told him primarily he was a master in eighteen martial arts. In fact, Eikichi himself had tasted his father's fist more times than he had tasted his sushi fillet.
"Goddamn it, Eikichi! Why are dressed like that? Is that make-up? Clean up and get your ass behind the counter and help me cut the morning catch! This is gonna be your restaurant someday, kid! Now, listen to your father, and DO AS I SAY!"
Eikichi rubbed a spot under his ribs where his father delivered him his brutal reciprocation for wearing his rocker motif to the family business. From that day forth, Eikichi Mishina performed his ritual of transformation from boring sushi chef heir to the vocal kingpin Michel in the bathroom of the train station on his way to Kasugayama High.
"Normally I'd say, "Let the good times roll," but the dream...bothered me again last night. The Alaya Shrine…on fire…bad memories,"
Eikichi crunched his face and hummed a tune. "Let it be, the Great Michel has important matters to attend to, namely the election of Gas Chamber's Ultra Super Guitarist (A/N). He'll join us; I got my Stand on my side and an ace up my sleeve."
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
Lisa Silverman resentfully kneeled on the cushion at the low set coffee table. She strenuously picked up her chopsticks and fecklessly attempted to eat her breakfast rice.
The girl's blue eyes were glaring an intense scorn at the man sitting across from her as slipping grains of rice dotted her Seven Sisters High sailor suit of black fabric with white outlining stripes and streaks.
Steven Silverman, in his sturdy and strong physique, watched his blonde daughter ceremoniously. He was traditionally dressed as the lord of his acquired Japanese manor. His dark hair was done in a ponytail/topknot to replicate the genuine article of the feudal patriarch. Some of his associates back in the United States, before he applied for citizenship to Japan to bring his family to the culture and atmosphere he adored so much, he was considered to be a walking twin of a famous action movie star. (A/N)
"Oh, Lisa," Steven calmly said to his furious offspring. "Is it not the morning? I told you, in this house, when you awake and when you come home you must report to your father."
Lisa nearly spat her meager portion of accessed rice at him. It was bad enough an aborhable nightmare plagued her sleep last night, she did not need her usual cheery personality further distorted by her father's restrictive rules and customs in HER own house.
"Now, Lisa, a proper Japanese lady is modest, quiet, obeys filial piety, and respects the rules of the household."
"Kehhei (Damn it)!" She snapped in Cantonese.
"Shut up! Jousahn, good morning! There, happy now?" She exclaimed.
"What a tragedy." Steven moaned to himself. "You are still bent on using Cantonese rather than your beautiful native tongue. We used to spend so much time together. Why have you become so rebellious?"
Lisa swallowed the rest of her helping and then slammed her trained fists on the table. "It's 2007! Ever looked around at Japanese ladies these days? They go to clubs and party all night with guys! I'm doing exactly like you asked! And why are you always wearing a hakama?! It doesn't look good! It just looks like you're hot and uncomfortable!"
"Lisa…" Steven glowered at his hellion of a daughter, but he dared not coerce her physically. He was not of the volatile, abusive nature, added his youngest daughter Lisa was an avid fanatic in the field of martial artists. Her replications were perfect. Her body was honed and trained by her to perform the imitation feats entirely executively. No rumors were involved to inflated her stature like the infamous owner of Gatten Sushi Steven often conversed with when he had a hankering for the orthodox cuisine. She spent most of her days esteeming the classical works of Bruce Lee. (A/N)
Steven conceded at least she was taking in the Asian culture in a form of media.
"I'm going to school." Lisa scowled as she eagerly left the table.
"Remember you have a tea lesson after school!" Steven concernedly called.
Lisa strutted further to the shoe rack, recalling how much she hated not being able to wear her cleats on the floors of the manor. Sumaru City was not even an awful place to live. The sudden thrust of Western to Eastern culture was a non-issue. The problems Lisa encountered in her flipped upside down life was her father's dogged insistence of cultural reform. Her mother backed him on the persistence. They been annoying her for ten plus years they've lived in Sumaru City. They were as annoying as the student body at Seven Sisters High who operated under the widespread misconception she could speak English fluently. She couldn't speak English. She could speak Cantonese. She could speak Japanese, the language she was taught since she was a Caucasian child growing in a Japanese landscape. But she could not speak English.
"Well, schools not so bad, not when I can admire Tatsuya, my Chinyan. (A/N: Lover or darling)"
Lisa blushed a deep shade as she thought of the boy named Tatsuya Suou. His crimson top of head, his fierce brown eyes, his stern demeanor, his commanding figure, and his alluring walk. Sure, there were rumors that painted him as a bad boy, good with machines, beat dozens of people in middle school, even some claimed he was the arsonist who set the Alaya Shrine on fire, but Lisa knew they were not the truth. Her Chinyan was a kind soul even if he was a bit aloof.
"Hai! (A/N: Okay) Lisa yelped, clapping her fists together. "Off we go to Tatsuya-chan!"
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
The electronic jingle of a phone was heard in the abyss of a desolate apartment. The receiver was untouched, the cradle was occupied, and the phone continued its incessant singing. The woman who rented the room was allocated in a chair, absent-mindedly starring at the TV news report. She was lounging in her panties and an oversized t-shirt, running the clock out until she had to go to work.
The woman's dazed glances at the brimming television were about to be stipulated with a piping slug of java when the answering machine cracked to life with the message she did not care to hear.
"Yukino, this is Kei." A sophisticated voice said. "I'm certain you've surmise that given the fact you have not answered the phone or returned my previous calls. Either way, I am willing to be civilized about this…disagreement. I wish to apologies again. This time I can affirm my sorrows to you in person. I am currently on my way to Sumaru City. I have used my vacation days to allow the excursion. I pray you will meet with me. I know many of the others have taken professions in Sumaru as well. Perhaps, we can gather together, although it will not be all of us. Masao is currently abroad studying in the ways of the artisan, as you know. Kido is haggling knives, the location eludes my memory. I, of course, am running a subsidiary of the Nanjo Group. Todo is…wandering. No matter, I am rambling. Please contact me. If you do not care to see me, I will respect your wishes. Just recognize there is a pressing matter I'd like to discuss. It is a mere rumor, but it is pertaining to the promise we made as well as old business done. It involves us and I prefer if we do not dismiss the portents of a potentially foreboding incident. Goodbye, Yukino."
Yukino brushed her grown, shady blue locks. "What the hell is he talking about? Potentially foreboding incident, he's just conducting himself arrogantly again. And he wonders why I broke it off. I should tell him to save the gas, but he probably won't appreciate my input as is the Kei Nanjo specialty. My suggestions are useless, paltry. His are the universal application. How could I ever crush on him?"
As Yukino Mayazumi pulled her yellow trousers to her waistline, she recalled those endearing qualities frequently present in Kei Nanjo's character. As she threw on her shrunken turtleneck to above her belly button; however, she remembered the negatives she experience in the long term relationship with the heir to the Nanjo Group.
After the DEVA System incident in St. Hermelin, three years passed and the class of 2-E, the nine Persona Users who saved humanity from the schemes of Takahisa Kandori, graduated from the Mikage-cho high school, St. Hermelin. As indicated by Nanjo's pestering reminder, the majority of the gang, who promised their de-facto leader Naoya Todo they would help the world again in another time of crisis, moved to Sumaru City in search of a career. Yukino went to Sumaru, because they supposedly had the best photography school in the state, according to the rumors she had heard.
Yukino threw on her gray jacket, calculating the exact funds the world's finest photography school had wrenched from her purse. The custom attire was adorned with knight-like ornaments. The elbows were decorative couters sewn of similar fabric. The shoulders were attached with miniature spaulders to coincide with the medieval theme.
She tucked her mini-Canon in pants pocket, remembering her friend and homeroom teacher Miss Saeko Takami who had gifted to the camera to her in return for the resolution of the incident which afflicted Mikage. As she caressed the cold metal, she reminded herself, to counteract her tiredness nagging, why she was up at such an early hour.
"Kismet Publishing, the company which publishes the popular magazine Coolest, apprentice photographer Yukino Mayazumi on the scene, brought in by the freelance, reckless, and ruggedly dreamy Shunsuke Fujii!"
Shunsuke Fujii was Yukino's instructor at her collegiate school. She had quite the affection for him. He was a freelance photographer for Kismet Publishing. He had recommended her for a position at Kismet as well as endowing her with the status of his apprentice. They were not partners on specific stories to Yukino's chagrin. Shunsuke was overzealous in his passion, willing to go into the fray of danger to perform his duties as a photographer. Therefore, Mizuno, the editor-in-chief, assigned him exclusive hot-shot cases, while Yukino, the watered-down spirit apprentice bordering-on journeywoman, was paired with a chummy, bubbly investigative reporter contracted by Kismet for Coolest named Maya Amano. Whom reminded Yukino very much of her dear friend Maki Sonomura.
Yukino did not dislike Maya Amano. Maya was endearing, kind, and congenial. Her father apparently was in the same line of job as she was currently. Shunsuke worked with him, and it was on his secondary recommendation to create the team of the fruits of both his and former partner's labor. The photographer apprentice of Shunsuke Fujii and the reporter daughter of Masataka Amano formed together as the next generation duo to put Kismet Publishing in the black!
Yukino groaned momentarily at Shunsuke's nonchalant divination in her thoughts as she forced her curly hair inside the storage of her bandanna-like cap. The article was emblazoned with a bird icon and the word "ostrick."
"This thing is like what I use to wear in the ol' yanki days. Thankfully the delinquency and truancy of hanging with the Papillions is far in the past. Unfortunately the good things of the past are also buried with the wrongdoings."
The dejected woman cupped her car keys. She was nearly late to pick up Maya at her building.
"Of course, sometimes the good things of the past become wrongdoings in the present."
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
Maya Amano mutely tiptoed around the sprawled about clothes and empty energy drink cans in her boots. "I don't want to wake Ulala. She drank herself silly last night. I keep telling her be positive; you'll find the ideal man someday!"
Maya lightly picked up the strewn lingerie and dresses, depositing them in a hamper. Then, she trashed her roommate's, Ulala Serizawa, used boxing gauzes and recycled the Mad Bull and beer cans.
She adjusted her long brown and white combination dress, dusting the two heart symbols stitched on each breasts briskly. She bounced her neck-length black hair as she applied her faint colored lipstick in the table mirror.
"All set!" She cheered in completion, but instantly covered her mouth.
A tiny groan was heard behind a closed door.
"Sorry…" She whispered sincerely embarrassed.
"Oh wait." She said to herself in a hiss as she raised a lengthy strip of blue. "This is for you, Daddy. Like everyday."
Maya wrapped the faded tie across her shoulders, loosely knotted it correctly, and simply let the loop leisurely droop around her neck with the oversized existential portion dangling at her bosom. It was her father's tie, it made sense to be several sizes bigger than her.
"Now…all set!" She cheered again, in thought.
Maya concealed her steno pad and pen in her breast pocket as she proceeded to exit the shared apartment. On the way out the door, she planted a kiss on the forehead of the framed picture of her deceased father, Masataka Amano. The man had a stony complexion. His chin was an incredible sculpting. His eyes peered with such love bolstering their determination. A mauve scar, a faulty nick, ran down his brow to his temple passed his orange-lens sunglasses. His hair was short, shorter than his daughters, matching with hereditary color. He was smiling, his robust features astutely spread, with his toddler daughter clinging to his ankle.
"See you later, Daddy. I miss you. I promise I'll work my hardest."
She stood her father in his designated spot on the end table, and then she ran from her home. "Rumor hunting time, I hope Yukki is as excited as I am!"
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
Tatsuya fixed his cornflower blue tie, senior indicative at Seven Sisters High School, tightly. He secured his ebony, white streaked trousers with his lion emblem belt buckle. He pushed his buttoned cotton shirt below the choking circle of his belt. Lastly, he slipped his arms through his blazer, each sleeve an ivory slash contrasting the whole ebony garment. He flattened his labels, outlined in white, and checked the stitching of his Seven Sisters Emblem.
The schools name itself was implemented based on the Pleiades constellation. The emblem was an adequately presentation of the aligned stars by having the embossed title of the school situated with a white, black, and red barred background. The large proportion of black accordingly represented the night sky, timely displayed seven celebrated, gold stars of unique sizes, incremented to formulate a miniscule Pleiades.
Tatsuya fingered his lighter as he spun his keys on the opposite finger. As he walked to the garage, he saw the note Katsuya plastered to fridge. He decided to read after retrieving his Cyan Tea.
"What do you have to say oh controlling brother of mine?"
"READ THIS TATSUYA! I prepared bacon for my breakfast. I rendered you an amble number of strips. There are two eggs left if you intend to make an omelet. You better go the speed limit to and fro, little brother. If Matsuda pulls you over for a third occurrence I will have to suspend your license. Then, you'll be riding with me at daybreak. We won't need to break the laws of the road to drop you off at school when you'll arrive an hour early. Wear your helmet. Drive safely, Tatsuya. I will be home late. Captain Shimazu is requiring us to exhaust ourselves on this investigation. Don't worry, I assure you, we'll bring the perpetrator to justice. I'll see to it myself. I left money in the jar for lunch. Order out from wherever you like for dinner. Have a great day, Tatsuya. –Katsuya"
Tatsuya crumbled the note and disposed of it. He layered his wallet with the necessary bills for lunch from the stash in the cookie jar. Then, he finished his tea, chomped his bacon, and went straight to the garage.
The rickety door was electrically pulled, automatically sliding on the installed tracts. The light shone in a supreme swathe, Sumaru City with its cacophony of rumor-filled gossip and strange happenings invading Tatsuya was a minute threshold. Suddenly he was immersed in the prestige and he was slightly sickened.
"Another morning, another day, another mark on the calendar…soon Sumaru's gonna be in my rearview."
Tatsuya secured his helmet, slanting his visor to the fixed angle. He straddled his finely tuned Mitsubishi motorcycle. The rumbling of the engine reverberating in Tatsuya, the tremors were positively titillating. The lividness of the machinery, the sputtering pops, were shooting into Tatsuya via there connection. He was revving up, shifting the gear, prepared to face whatever challenges the day may hold.
"Give me an interesting day, one without the bullshit, whoever weaves the stars in the cosmos. I could use one for a change."
With that, Tatsuya Suou rocketed from his driveway, his degraded garage shutting in his wake. The lonesome rider merged into the convergence of traffic ready to fight the morning sun.
Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin
A/N: Ultra Super Guitarist is a reference to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable with the antagonist character Akira Otoishi who is a guitar player whose dream is to be an Ultra Super Guitarist! It is to coincide with the reference to Stands. The idea of Personas was clearly ripped directly from Stands from Jojo. SO I think I have the right to reference them as such. I shit you not, I am not making this up. Steven Silverman was based and modeled after the actor Steven Seagal. Just put the two pictures side to side. It is uncanny. It's also fucking hilarious because Steven Seagal is a lying Japanophile sack of shit. Yeah, suck it deep Chie Satonaka! LISA SILVERMAN is the original martial artist, Bruce Lee fangirl! And screw you Hashino for your blatant plagiarism of Satomi and Okada's creations. "Oh, I won't use those creations of the previous authors out of respect for them, but I'm going to basically copy and paste Lisa Silverman onto a gekki girl. Oh while I'm at it, I'm just gonna steal most of the Snow Queen Quest from Persona 1 and make it a constructive basis for the whole of Persona 3." Yeah, that's how you respect others works, by taking them for yourself, claiming them as your own, and then producing ignorance into the fanbase. All of Lisa's Cantonese phrases in game will hopefully be translated in author notes. There is a glossary of terms so it should work out.
Well, basically this is the mornings of the five party members involved in the game. See when you start Innocent Sin normally we are thrown right into the middle of the day with Tatsuya, Lisa, and Eikichi. A little ways down the line we get the appearance of Maya and Yukino. Since I went verbatim in Persona: Be Your True Mind and that first chapter turned out abrupt and terrible, I wanted to actually get a fair amount of exposition and process inserted into the presentation before I started. Technically there is a little more until we get to the actual start start of the game, but that's mostly just additional exposition to set up and familiarize you guys with things that occur and are relevant later on in the story. Technically this chapter functions the same way. Almost everything said in this chapter is hinting at something or is relevant to something in the story. So, if you haven't played the game before. You'll be in for surprises. If you have, well you already know all these hints and are probably commending me (I wish) for doing such things.
Tatsuya is going to be our primary character for the whole novelization. This is the only chapter that will switch between all five perspectives at once. It's kind of drags by doing such a thing, pretty grating to write and read as well which is the why we are not doing it again, except maybe for the epilogue. Long way away though. Now, Tatsuya Suou is the actual canon name for the main character of Persona 2: Innocent Sin, thus I declare him Tatsuya. His personality however is not defaulted. See, in Persona: Be Your True Mind I used Naoya's silent protagonist thing as a crutch for his character development. Tatsuya is going to have a different prerogative and a different conflict. To be clear, Tatsuya is NOT going to be this depressive-like cynical character. I know the way I wrote his thoughts could indict as such, but he is NOT. His contempt is for Sumaru. We will learn why as we go along, but Tatsuya is not a brooding hero. He'll also be quite vocal. See the most promising things about these novelizations is that I am required as the author to shape the main character with a personality apropos and develop him in accordance to any lore provided. I'm doing that. In P: BYTM, I was concerned about both presenting characters and story. The story was important and their where nine characters to handle. In P2: YIS, I already know I can write the story. The P2 duology has the best narratives out of the entire series, hands down. Most people agree with this. The package is already secure in that department, I just worry about writing the five characters correctly, because the characters are great and well-loved and I do not want to disrespect them, especially Maya.
Before I leave you, I also asked of those who have played Innocent Sin please not to post spoilers as to not give away the big reveals for people who have not played the game. Thank you, I appreciate it.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Persona 2: Your Innocent Sin and I'll see you next time for Chapter 2: Joker.