Prologue

Moping. That was a quickly becoming Jaune Arc's hobby after failing the entrance test for the third time. Lucky for him, he had a nice secluded spot on a hill overlooking his hometown. It always cheered him up somewhat. Vale was beautiful this time of the year, what with an upcoming summer festival and people excited for whats to come.

He was enjoying the cool breeze when heard a young voice call from behind.

"You know, you've been coming here a lot with that dumb mopey expression."

Jaune turned around to see a girl around his age looking at him with a scowl. She was sporting short black hair, glasses, a white dress shirt with a black blazer and black dress pants.

"Umm what?" He said dumbly.

"You look so dumb just sitting under that tree looking like the world has ended. It's really annoying." He looked away and sighed. He must really look pathetic. Before he could respond, the girl in black took a seat by him.

"So shoot. Why do you look so pathetic?" The mystery girl said in a commanding tone. The way the question was asked was so blunt and brusque that the young man's mood shifted from mopey to slightly nervous. He would normally tell any other person to shove off and mind their own business. Leave him to his misery but the feeling from glasses girl was that if he didn't answer properly he would get an ear full. Something he didn't want at the moment.

"I failed to get into Signal a third time." He said. The glasses girl frowned at his statement.

"So? What's so bad about that?" She asked.

"Other then failing for the third time which is humiliating in itself." He said with wide eyes. "I live with a family of well renown hunters. If I don't become a hunter… I don't know its like I failed them somehow."

"Is that really so bad though? To Not being a Hunter. I mean would your parents really be ashamed that their son wasn't a Hunter." She probed. Jaune's eyes narrowed at the question. Truth betold his parents wouldn't be. In fact, his parents had told him time and again that it was okay for him not to be Hunter like they and his sisters were. That in fact, they'd preferred he choose another path. One where his life wouldn't be in danger. One where they won't have to worry about burying another one of their flesh and blood.

"I suppose not." He said. "But, I can't see being anything other then a Huntsmen. And well… I want to help people like my family does. Protect them you know.

The Glasses girl smiled at that. Jaune had a feeling that she rarely smiled. It made her look stunning.

"You really are pathetic you know that?"

"Hey!"

"But it's a cute kind of pathetic." She said. Jaune blushed slightly at being called cute and simply nodded. "Chin up though. I'm sure you'll make it eventually with all the hard work you've been putting in. After all, the more you put in, the more you get out."

That statement sounded incredibly cliche was Jaune's first thought. He would have said it out loud but thought better with it.

Glasses girl suddenly looked at him suspiciously causing Jaune to shift back slightly.

"What?"

"You were thinking something bad about me weren't you."

Crap

"StupidJerkfaceIhateyounow" She muttered darkly.

For a moment, Jaune was at a loss for what to say. Glasses girl seemed to go into random mood shift at the flip of a coin. Right now, he felt that anything he said would land him in hot water.

It was no surprise that was incredibly grateful when his phone received a text. He opened it quickly.

Called away to a mission. Dinner is in the fridge. Be back Tomorrow.- Mom and Dad.

Jaune frowned. On one hand he was thankful that he didn't have to break the news to them as soon as he got home. On the other hand, Emergency dispatches usually entailed a high amount of danger. Being a Hunter's child, he'd should normally be used to it but there was always that seed of fear for his family that lied buried within his heart.

"Trouble back at home." Glasses girl asked. Jaune nodded.

"Something like that." he responded. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Parents are away on a mission. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Feeling better now?" She asked.

Jaune gazed out into the sunset thoughtfully for a moment.

"I think so." He said with his best smile. "The more I put in right."

"That's right!" The girl said brightly. "I'm sure you'll fulfill your wish if you just keeping working at it. And don't be ashamed if you fail again. Just keep trying."

"What's your name?" Jaune asked suddenly. He'd normally be to scared out of his mind to even talk to a pretty girl but with glasses girl it was different. There was something about the girl in front of him that felt familiar yet warm. She had this certain presence that made it easy for him to talk to her.

"I'm Mariko." She responded. She stood up and held out her hand. "You?"

"My name is Jaune." He responded taking it and pulling her up.

"Nice to meet you Jaune." She said. "Since your parents aren't home, I'm guessing your free the rest of the night. Which means; You'd love to take me out through town and buy me some Steak."

The blond haired kid frowned at this statement. It was a twisted bit of logic. However, he owed her for pulling him out of his state of self-loathing. Besides, It certainly beats returning to an empty house.

So, he simply nodded and he found himself dragged around town. What started as a miserable afternoon soon came to be one of the most memorable nights he had in his life

II.

The night he spent with Mariko was one he'll never forget. The glasses girl was so full of life and energy. Everything she looked at seemed new or wondrous to her. From the Circus act of knife throwers to her first bite of a steak skewer, to her laughter at a lame pun Jaune made, the blond haired boy could not remember when was the last time he had this much fun.

Most of his time was spent studying for the entrance exams or in the gym training in hopes that he could just strong enough to be to able to enter Signal. The only down side was the fact that he had pretty much used up his allowance for the week. Something his parents wouldn't be happy about. Still, as the clock struck midnight and he escorted the young Miss Mariko to the hills overlooking town; As the clouds parted and the shattered moon shone and illuminated the area they were standing in; as he gazed up at the moon then at the girl in glasses he was certain that this day wasn't entirely a waste. That this memory, despite all the bad things associated with it was worth it.

"Thank you Jaune, for showing me around." Mariko said with a smile

"It was nothing." Jaune said. "You helped me out the most and-"

Abruptly, Mariko kissed him in the cheek causing the young man's face to become as red as a tomato.

"Wha- was- that for!?"

"Your reward…" Mariko said. Her expression then became somber. She then muttered more to herself then to him "Or maybe it's a burden."

Something strange happened in that moment, a mysterious fog began to envelop the area they were in.

"What? But it didn't rain at all today…" Jaune said looking around confused. "Hey Mariko what's going… Wait Mariko?" The girl before him had vanished. The Fog grew thicker. The kid could barely make out the details of forest now.

"Do you really want to be a hero…" A voice called from a far.

"Who said that?" Jaune said. What on Remnant was going on?

"What goods being a hero when the people you want to protect are worthless." Another voice called out.

"Who's out there! I'm warning you." Jaune yelled. Fear crept into his mind now. Every instinct in his body was yelling for him to run away. In fact, the farther he walked through fog, the quicker his steps became. Soon, it became a full on sprint and run through forest. He didn't know how long he was running and the only time he actually stopped was when found himself tripping over a rock.

"People don't want to be protected they want to die."

"They want to feel connections without pain."

"They're greedy and will do anything to satiate their hungers." Another voice whispers echoed throughout the forest. They were loud without actually being loud. The budding hunters head began to hurt the more these whispers persisted. Sweat rolled through over his head and began to breath heavily.

"Who… are you… What do you want with me?" He yelled back. "Mariko! Are you there? Where did you go?"

With every bit effort, he forced himself to stay calm. Actually, it was a miracle that he even retained his composure.

"Mariko? Is that you?" He said rushing forward. He was soon found himself chasing the figure, ignoring the whispers within the fog. "Hey cut it out! This isn't funny."

His hands landed on what he thought to be Mariko's shoulder. It wasn't. In fact, when he turned the person around he was greeted by the strangest of sights.

It was like looking into a mirror. The person he grabbed looked exactly like Jaune. Right down to the sword sheathed on his belt and the armor he was wearing. The only difference is the doubles eyes. They were the color yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked.

"You found me?" He said. "I've waited for so long."

"What do you mean?"

The double simply smiled. The Fog began to recede and blue light enveloped the area.

"I am Yo-"

III.

"So you finally found someone. One who has the potential."

"It took long time but yes. He will be the First Persona user in eons.

"Are you certain about the boy though?"

"I'm really not. Then again, one can never be to certain when it comes to those granted with Persona."

"Is he our best chance though? We could always wait for another."

"We can't afford to wait. After millennia of being unguarded the Great Seal is beginning to weaken. Your counterpart is about ready to manifest in this world once again. Stronger Shadows and Demons are beginning to materialize in a world that's already being overrun with those monsters. Greater Horrors that I had to personally deal with are also now in the process of being recreated from the human heart and with what happened during The Calamity, I'm no longer strong enough to vanquish them. Blondie right now is our best shot at saving this world."

"I suppose your right. Very well then. Once Jaune fully awakens I'll revive Igor and have him create The Velvet Room. The boy will need a means to train his heart after all."

"Good. Then I'll see if I can locate Chronos' current incarnation. We'll need his power if we want to know what went on during the Calamity. Hopefully even reverse it."

"Lets begin then. Good luck and Godspeed Izanami."

"It Mariko now!"

Authors Note

Welcome everybody to my next piece for this site. It's been a while since I've posted anything and I really wanted to get back into writing again. This idea mainly came about because I ended beating Persona 4 Golden for the umpteenth time. There was also the fact that I've been doing a fair amount of catching on Rwby. I really hope you enjoy it and as always read and review.