Note: The characters of Little Busters may act a little differently from the way they act on the anime and/or the game itself in this story. Anyway, one thing I'm going to say is that the characters reflect the characters of Persona 3 in this story, but not completely. And there are events that are also based from the events of Persona 3 itself. The setting is similar to Tatsumi Port Island but the Port Island in this story is not entirely the same in Persona 3. That is all for now. I will relay the arcanas of some characters in the next chapter. Try to enjoy, thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own any.

Little Busters: Persona

Chapter 1: The Coming of The Fall

Time never waits… It delivers all equally to the same end… You, who wish to safeguard the future, will be given a year to endure… Proceed without falter, with your heart as your guide…

…Port Island Station…

…The station is filled with bustling activities on this afternoon. Most of the people here are high schoolers who are spending their time at the arcade, buying for accessories at the accessory shop and then there's those who are hanging out in groups.

tap, tap,tap, tap, tap, tap…

"…" Riki Naoe, a transfer student, passed by the crowded place. 'This was the place… where I lost my parents…'

…Ten years ago, Riki and his parents were on a family outing… Then, a big explosion occurred and Riki's parents were caught in that incident, costing them their lives. Riki fell into great depression and despair while he was present at the site of the incident. There were also two figures that cannot be seen clearly during that time… They were fighting on the bridge that connects Port Island to the mainland. One figure was the figure of a young woman, and the other one was a monstrous figure…

…That was all what Riki could remember of that horrendous past.

"I'm back here once again." Riki said climbing up the stairway that leads to the train platform. "I didn't think I would return here… Why did I returned here…?"

…Meanwhile, at a certain room…

"…" Rin Natsume is sitting on the side of her bed… with a gun on her right hand. "…Ah…huff… O-Okay, I-I just… put it to my head… th-then pull the trigger." She nodded hard on that. "It's that easy… So… I don't have to be afraid… H-Here goes…"

*Meow* *Meow*

*Meow* *Meow* *Meow*

There are a lot of cats in this room. As Rin pointed the gun to her forehead, they all gathered about as they fear of what Rin is doing.

"It's okay. Hm," She nodded lightly, "It's okay, you guys. I'll just… pull the trigger…" Her hands are shaking and her eyes are closed as she prepared to pull the trigger.

..

"Gah!" The sound of the gun being tossed echoed in her room. "No…! I can't… I can't do it…"

…Later, before midnight, inside a train…

"Attention passengers. We clearly apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay. The next stop is…"

Flash-!

Riki saw a blue butterfly in his mind flying…

"Huh?" As he is looking out at the scenery outside through the glass on the door, he felt dizzy as he saw that image of the butterfly in his mind. The doors opened as the intercom announced the name of the station the train is on.

"This is now the final train bound for Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure." That was the last of the announcement.

Riki stepped out of the train along with some other passengers. "Hm, the dorm should be…" He's holding a map on his hand…

…It's almost midnight…

tick… tock… tick… tock… tick-Sharp-!

SHAAAAAAADDDDEEEEE…!

…Suddenly, without warning, the surrounding became greenish in color and all electronic equipment and devices about have ceased functioning.

"Huh?" Riki noticed this change of atmosphere and he noticed that there seems to be no one in the vicinity… Riki blinked, "Did something happened?" he looked around as he asked that. …The water on the side of the street has become reddish in color, seemingly look like blood as one look at it… "… Sigh, I guess I should hurry to the dormitory." Riki said with a sigh. He headed out of the station…

…Later, at a nearby district…

tap, tap, tap, tap…

"…" Riki can't help but notice and stare at the interesting stuff about… There are coffins everywhere on the street… Riki thought that they're just for decorations but something feels eerie. "Am I… on the right place…?" He asked as he continued pacing. He stepped on the blood colored water as he crossed the intersection…

…Later, in front of the students' dormitory…

Riki stood in front of the dormitory. The lights are still on at the first floor which is something that Riki is relieved at. "Sigh, I didn't think I would be this late. I guess I better I apologize to whoever it is that is supposed to meet me here." He approached the door-

-Shaarp-!

"Huh?" Before Riki could even reach the doorknob, he felt a sharp sensation all of the sudden-"What the-"

"Naoe Riki, you should gain power. For in this world that is filled with deceit and cruelty, you can only crush those who intend to wrong you and make use of power to destroy that which you wish to destroy." A hollowed sounding of Riki's voice is heard.

"Huh?" Riki felt frozen upon hearing that voice. And he could another presence behind him-and he could tell that this presence's back is facing his. Their backs are facing each other with the two of them facing opposite directions. "Who… are you?" Riki asked without turning to the other presence behind him.

"I am… …your shadow. There is not a thing that I do not know about you. Soon, the end will come. You should know this… and those who follow under your darkness shall bear witness to the ascend of your own monarchy over these poor, wretched souls. Now go forth, know that I am always watching you. Hahahaha…" Riki could feel the presence behind him to be disappearing… like someone disappearing into thin air…

"Huh?" As he turned around, there is no one behind him. And the surrounding is still greenish in color. "…What was that? Was I just… hearing things? … … …" Turning to face the door once more, "I guess… I'm just tired… or… … … …" Riki's hand is shaking as he reached out for the doorknob. …Slowly opening the door…

…Dormitory, lounge…

Riki went inside as he opened the door and found no one to be here on the first floor.

"…Hm, are they… asleep?" He asked, looking around. The lights are still on and he proceeded forward to check around. "Hello? Is someone here?" He called out.

"Welcome." A voice from his left said.

"Huh?" Turning to his left… He saw a hooded person. A long nosed old man who is shrouded in a gray cloak. "You are…"

"I have been waiting for you. Please… sign here." He brought out a document file from inside his cloak. "It is a contract. One that you will find to be most convenient In your daily life…" The old man's face is clearly shown as he raised his head… He has a very striking expression about him…

"…Ah." Riki felt a shiver down his spine as he stared at the old man wielding the document file.

"There is no need to worry. Whichever path you choose, I shall respect your decision. But only you will bear the responsibilities for your actions. …No matter what end they may bring about. Please, remember that." The old man opened the document file… He has a feather pen on his right hand... For Riki to use as one might assume.

"…Ah." Riki could feel a sense of dread… "Hm," Regardless, he approached the old man and took the feather pen on his hand. Then he took the document file and signed his name on it... On the contract, it says "I chooseth this fate of my own free will" and there's a key attached at the bottom right corner. "…I'm done signing." He returned the file to the old man.

"Very well." He accepted it. He removed the key from the document file… "Hold on to this…" ...and gave it to Riki. "'Till we meet again…"

shaaaadddeee…

Darkness filled the room and the old man disappeared into the dark… as if merging with the darkness itself…

"…Ah." Riki is left alone in this room that is now devoid of light. The lights have turned off as the old man vanished from sight… "…" Riki looked around, the color of the surrounding is reflecting the color of the surrounding outside.

"Who's there!?" A voice up ahead called out.

"Huh?" Riki saw someone else… a female student who may be a resident of this dorm as well. "You're…"

"Huh? How can you be…? But it's…! Don't tell me… You're… Hm, I thought Kanata was just kidding about Shadows being unable to enter indoors but…" …She has a gun… and she's about to draw it…

"Wait, you idiot!"

Pock!

"Ow!" The girl got hit on the head by a clenched hand from another female student. "Wha… K-Kanata…?"

"What do you think you're doing!? Can't you tell that he's human!?" This other female student is rather strikingly beautiful. Long pink hair… brownish eyes… And from what one can tell, she's very beautiful.

"Huh?" That's the only response that Riki could give at seeing this.

-Then all of the sudden, the lights turned on.

"Oh, the lights…" The first female student said being the first to react.

The other female student, Kanata Futaki, turned to Riki.

"Eh..." Riki can feel an aura of authority about her so he feels like he couldn't say anything.

"You are Naoe Riki, correct? We've been expecting you."

"Oh, uh… Y-Yes. Um, I'm sorry I arrive this late and-"

"There is no need to apologize."

"Eh?"

"We caught word of the delay in the monorail, you arrived late due to that, yes?"

"Y-Yes." He nodded.

"Hm," Kanata nodded.

"Eh? So… He' the new resident?" The first girl asked.

"A-chan, don't be rude to our new guest. He just arrived here and you gave him an improper reception upon his arrival. So I would like you to let me handle this." Kanata said to this girl, A-chan, as she refers to her, with her aura of authority seems to be rubbing off on the said person.

"Oh, okay. Well," Turning to Riki, "Sorry about that. You never know when something like this might come in handy." She said tapping the gun on her side…

Riki sweat dropped. "Uh… yeah." He cannot help but wonder if self-defense means you have to carry something that might harm other people as well.

"That's enough, A-chan, leave this to me."

"Alright~" A-chan left for upstairs.

"…" Riki turned to Kanata. "Um, it's… not really her fault. Maybe I shouldn't have come in without calling out first…" He tried to be apologetic.

"…" Kanata turned to him, and like A-chan, he felt a bit overwhelmed by Kanata's aura of authority.

"Eh…"

"Hm," But what he received was… "Have no worries. I am the Head of the Student Council. A-chan has constantly made a fuss about trivial matters, but she does tend to ack irrationally. So there is no need for you to be sympathetic towards her."

"Oh, uh… O-Okay." He nodded.

"Hm, now then, please follow me. I will take you to your room. Your things should already be there, so you can simply rest for the rest of the night."

"Oh, thank you very much."

"Hm, you are modest. Good, boys like you should be an example to the others. Unlike… Hm, Natsume Kyosuke is out again…"

"Hm?"

"Oh, no, it is nothing of importance. There is a certain troublemaker in this dorm, you see. His name is Natsume Kyosuke, and he's frequently pulling out a stunt or two that is attracting the eyes of others. Sigh, recently, he staged up a contest, as he thinks of it, and one of the desks was ruined."

"Oh… That's… unfortunate."

"Hmhm," Kanata nodded. "But you do not need to hear more about that troublemaker. Come, I will take you to your room."

"Hm," Riki followed Kanata to the second floor.

…Second floor, hallway…

Kanata led Riki to the end of the hall where his room is located. They stopped in front of the room's door. "This is it. You shouldn't have any trouble remembering where it is since it's remarkably at the end of this hall."

"Hm, I will have no trouble on that. Thank you."

"Hm," She nodded. "Now then, I'm sure you still have questions, but we shall save them for later. You are tired, I'm sure."

"Ah… Ah." Riki stepped in front of the door and used his key, "I will be resting then."

"Hm, well then, farewell." Kanata waved goodbye as she left.

"Hm," Riki opened the door and went inside.

…Riki's room…

Yup, all of things are already here. The bed has been prepared, too. "Hm, I guess I better take a shower before sleeping."

…Riki took a shower as he said, then he went to bed right afterwards…

…He'll be staying in this dorm for a year… School will be starting tomorrow… He hoped that everything would be okay…

…?...

…Riki is kneeling on the ground… This place is covered with thick fog. "…Ah… Ah." Raising his head and focusing on his surrounding, "Ah… Ah." He took acknowledgement of his surrounding, it's visibility is very low and he can't even tell where he is as he looked about. "…! Th-This is… The place is covered with thick fog… … …I have no choice but to move forward…"

tap, tap, tap, tap…

…He started moving forward, since there is only one way, he decided to keep following it to the end… The ground he's stepping on consists of red tiles and from what he can tell, it's not metal, that's for sure… despite it being like one as one can have that first impression about it.

tap, tap, tap, tap…

tap, tap, tap, tap…

riiing, riiing…!

Suddenly, as he kept moving forward, a sound that is like a bell echoing sounded and he stopped upon hearing it.

"Huh?"

"Do you seek the truth?" A voice asked.

"Huh…?" Riki was caught off-guard at that voice. "Who… Who's there?"

"…If it's truth you seek, then come and find me…" The voice dared of him…

"…" Riki felt a sense of dread running through him. "…" But he decided to keep moving forward, regardless.

tap, tap, tap, tap…

tap,tap, tap, tap…

"…Hm," As he kept moving forward, he came across an area that is covered with the most thickest fog… He can't even see the ground there… He stopped when he arrived right before that area. "…I can feel a malevolent presence ahead… … …I… …I can… step in… and…" Perhaps mustering the courage that he needs to proceed, he muttered that and he slowly proceeded forward with the sense of dread not leaving his heart for even one moment… …Then as he entered the shrouded area, he could only see… …nothing. It's very foggy…

…Then all of the sudden…

"So, you are the one who is seeking me." The voice earlier sounded again.

shaaaaddddeeee…

The fog dispersed… and in its place, everything became dark… Riki is the only one who can be seen here… And ahead of him is a dark silhouette standing amidst the darkness… One cannot even tell if this silhouette is male or female…

"Huh? You are…" Riki is eyeing this silhouette, he can feel malevolent aura about it…

"Hm, hmhm. Try all you like." He said, daring Riki to step forward…

"Hnr," Suddenly, Riki seems to be holding a rapier on his right hand. How it came to be is unknown but it seems Riki is focused on attacking this silhoutte- "Gr," He readied himself- "Gr…!"

-tap, tap, tap-!

"Grrgh!"

-Slash!

Riki slashed the silhouette-

"Ah," But to his surprise, it didn't even left a mark or scratch, and the silhouette is standing still.

"Hm, it seems you can see little despite the darkness about… Can you see the reflection of the mirroring eyes of others…?"

"Gr," Riki held his rapier tightly, "Graagh!"

Slash-!

He slashed the silhouette again, but like before, it didn't left a mark.

"Interesting. How can see you through the accursed darkness…? But…"

"Hiyaa!"

Slash-! *Miss*!

Riki tried to attack him again-

-This time, however, the silhouette moved backward to avoid the attack.

"But you cannot dispel me so easily… If it's truth you seek, then you must carry more strength than that. For the world itself will be your own obstacle. Can you handle that responsibility…?" The silhouette asked in a daring tone… "It is only when you carry your own will and manifest it is when your own desire is realized… can you do that…?"

SHAAAAAADDDDDEEEE…!

Darkness is pouring out of the silhouette and it's enforcing the darkness about… …The darkness is becoming… …rough, thick… and oppressive.

"Ah…" Riki could feel its oppressive touch… He began to feel weak as if the darkness itself is draining out his strength… he's becoming dizzy… "I…" His vision became blurry, he cannot feel the weight of his body anymore… "i…" Then… His eyes are becoming heavy that he can't keep them open… "I… am…"

"Will we meet again…? In a place other than this…? Hm, hm… …I look forward to it."

"Agh…" Riki was brought down to his knees, and he can't keep his vision clear… "I… am…"

-Sharp!

"I am thou…"

"Huh…?" Riki heard a voice… The same voice he heard before entering the dorm…

"Thou art I. The time has come! Open thy eyes, and call forth what is within!" That voice was so demanding and commanding that Riki couldn't resist the urge… the urge… to… …to TRIUMPH!

"Uaah…!" Riki opened his eyes widely, it seems the heaviness of his eyes has lifted. "I… Huh?" On Riki's right palm, there is a card. "This is…" He flipped it to see the other side-it's blank, as in it's just plain black but-

-Flaash-!

It glowed.

"I…" Riki was greatly surprised with widened eyes at this development. He stood up with the card still glowing. "… … …" Riki could feel the presence of someone behind him…

"Now, muster your will… gather all of your inner strength… take responsibility… AND TRIUMPH!" This presence is the same presence that Riki felt before… The presence turned around to see Riki-

"Huh?" Riki turned around as well- and the one he saw was… …himself. There's another Riki behind him. And this time, they're both staring at each other with their backs still facing each other. "You are..." This other Riki has golden, yellowish, demonic eyes which may be perhaps the only distinctive difference that he has from Riki to avoid confusion.

"You know, right? Everyone can win… as long as they can accept themselves… and do their own way. Now, show me your power… Other me, THE REAL ME-MY GOOD OTHER-!"

FLASH-!

The other Riki disappeared in a flash of light, and blue mists are pouring out from where he was. Right above is-

"Huh?" Riki saw a black dragon soaring above him. "You are… …"

Flash-!

Flaash-!

"Hm," Riki stared at this dragon. "…I see. You are… me. I am you…"

"Grr," The dragon nodded-

FLAASH-!

In a flash of light, it turned into a card and it descended towards Riki's opened left palm.

"I see… Well then…" Turning around to face the silhouette ahead… "I am not afraid… because.. because…" Closing his eyes, Riki could feel the same presence behind him just like before-that other Riki gently touched Riki from behind… then gently pushed him… A gentle push… Everyone could use something like this. "Thank you… Me." Even though Riki is not looking at his other self, he could feel a warm feeling coming from that other self of his. Shadow Riki seems to be smiling… "Now...!" Opening his eyes… "Per… ..so… …NA…!" Those words came out of Riki's mouth and-

-Flaaaashh-!

The card that he's been holding on his right palm glowed brightly. The image of Seth-the black dragon earlier and Riki's persona-appeared on the blank side.

FLAAAAASSSHHH-!

Riki crushed the card on his palm.

"Come forth-SEEETTHH!" Riki exclaimed.

"Groooaaarr… GROOOOOAAARR!"

*BLAAAAAASSSSTTT!*

Blue mists burst out from Riki-and a dragon is coming out of him.

"GROOOOOAAAAAAARRR-!" Seth, a deity from Egyptian Mythology, is summoned. "GROOOOOOAAAAAAARRR-!" It gave out a loud roar amidst the darkness about.

"…So, you have the potential to master your own reflection…" The silhouette said observing Riki.

Riki extended his arm forcefully forward-"I will… …I will… I will make one last impression out of you." He said with his eyes forming a piercing glare towards the silhouette. "Now, take this…!"

"GROOOOOOAAAARRR-!" Seth ascended upward, "Grr," then it turned its gaze on the silhouette below. "GROOOAAAR!"

*Megidolaon*

Three massive lights gathered above, then they slowly descended towards the silhouette while condensing altogether-

*BOOOOOOMMMM-!*

"Auuuugghh-!" The silhouette seemed to have been severely hurt by the very strong explosion that was caused by that attack. "Urrrggghhh-!"

"huff, huff, ah." Riki put down his arm as he is catching his breath.

"Uagh… Agh," Turning his gaze towards Riki, the silhouette seemed to feel like he underestimated the boy. "You… Haha, very well. We shall meet again. Very soon, very soon, Naoe Riki-! Uaaarrrggghhh-!"

DAAAAAAAARRRRRRKKKKNEEEESSS-!

The silhouette is engulfed by the darkness that have gathered about him.

FLAAAAAASSSSSHH-!

The surrounding is engulfed by blinding light…

End of Chapter 1