Alrighty, I decided to give this writing thing a shot because this idea has been bugging me for awhile. Basically kind of a Ranma 1/2 thing going on with the boys of Persona. I have a deep love of Japanese lore and i hope that eventually it will show in my writing. This fic is heavily AU though will follow the essential plot devices of the show. Anyway, aside from that I have nothing much to say except, enjoy my first Mendol fic? =)

Warning~ the first part of this chapter contains violence involving guns, blood and fairly vivid descriptions of those topics. ¨

A Man's World

Chp. 1

The schoolgirl hung her head slightly, readjusting her satchel over her shoulder as she walked through the automatic glass doors into TV Tohto's parking garage.

"… How many is that now?" The girl sighed tiredly, opening her day planner and checking off yet another failed audition. "Forty nine applications, forty nine failures… The next will be the…" She scrunched her eyebrows together and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "Fiftieth."

"Seriously?"

She felt a hand on shoulder and turned around to see a familiar, grinning face.

Kawachi Nami.

She recognized the short young woman from the audition, they had sat next to each other. "You weren't 'that' bad during the audition." Nami proclaimed, patting Asahi on the back.

She frowned, slightly put off by how happy the woman seemed to be in the face of failure. Her failure.

"But this is great! Finally, someone even worse than I am!" She bit her lower lip and pumped her fists in the air slightly, as if thanking god for the reassurance. "And this is only my thirty-eighth time!"

"That's nothing to boast about…" Asahi grumbled, a bit annoyed at the fact that the girl seemed so relieved by her misfortune that she looked like she might cry tears of joy.

"Hinata has over a hundred times!" Came a high-spirited voice from behind them.

"SERIOUSLY?"

They both whirled around in concert, their mouths slack, but then immediately pointed at the Lolita in the blindingly pink dress; both screamed in surprise. "AHH! Denpa?"

The girl cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Nami shook her head and looked at the girl in slight exhasperation. "You release electro-magnetic waves don't you?"

Asahi caught Nami's eye and as if prompted began doing the 'Tenshi Dance' that Hinata had performed during the perfectly bombed audition. "Ten-ten-tenshi, tenshi-YO~!"

'Electric waves…?' Hinata smiled and tilted her head the opposite direction, slightly confused, but noting inwardly that the girls had did the dance perfectly.

"The two of you are in grade twelve right?" Nami asked pointedly, trying to steer the conversation back on topic. That is, about the auditions. "That's a bit late to want to be an Idol isn't it?"

Asahi gritted her teeth slightly, the words had felt like a stab to the heart. Though she was sure Kawachi-san hadn't meant to make her feel bad.

"I've heard that recently elementary school kids, no, even kindergarteners are starting to audition to become idols!" Nami put a thoughtful finger to her lip, not noticing Asahi behind her, making faces like someone was stabbing her in the back.

"Then the three of us are comrades!" Hinata proclaimed excitedly, hooking both her arms around Asahi and Nami's shoulders. "We'll audition together until we're all discovered!"

Asahi hated to admit it, but the girl's enthusiasm was infectious. "Come on, do it with me! Ten-ten-tenshi, tenshi-yo!"

Nami looked at Asahi and shrugged her shoulders, giving her a lop-sided grin. They had both been feeling down and out because of the failed audition, but were now both slightly embarrassed at how discouraged they already were in the face of Hinata's strong front in the face of infinitely more failures. A hundred to be exact.

"Ten-ten-tenshi, tenshi~yo!" The trio chanted together as they made their way out of the underground parking garage, only to be interrupted by a beep from Hinata's cell phone.

"Moshi-mosh! This is Hinata… Really? Okay!" The girl hung up on the caller and gave an apologetic look to her companions. "It seems I'm not a comrade anymore…"

Asahi and Nami both tilted their heads in confusion. "Huh?"

"The producer just called and asked me to meet him tonight!" She said, grinning ear to ear and barely able to contain her excitement. See ya!"

In a whirl of pink frills and lace, the little denpa had disappeared almost as abruptly as she came.

"That little traitor!" Nami grunted, scuffing at the ground with the toe of her shoe. Though being perfectly honest with herself, she was happy for the girl. After a hundred auditions it would be a bit callous of her not to be.

"Oh!"

Asahi's squeal of delight caught Nami's attention and she turned around to see the girl crouched on the ground with something in her hands.

"It's a purupuru!" She exclaimed excitedly, rubbing it on her cheek and smiling widely. "It's so soft!"

'… What a weirdo…' Nami thought to herself, putting a palm to her forehead. That thing was dirty, why rub it on your face of all places?

Asahi's delight however, was cut short as a car pulled up and squealed to a halt in front of them, the headlights momentarily blinding the two girls. The light dimmed as the car doors opened and three imposing men in suits got out and strode over to them. The biggest of them, a tall, broad-shouldered man in sunglasses and slicked back hair held out his hand.

"Give that to me." His deep, baritone voice held no room for compromise.

"No way!" Asahi exclaimed, clutching the toy to her chest possessively. "Finders keepers!"

Without warning the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun and pointed it directly at Asahi's head.

"Please." He rumbled out coldly.

They both stood there, stock frozen. This couldn't be real could it? Asahi's instincts were screaming for her to run, but she was interrupted by Nami's voice. "Ah I know, we're on candid camera aren't we?" She said, hitting her fist in her palm as if she had figured out the answer to a math problem.

"Oh my god, you're right!" Asahi said, relaxing a bit as the fear drained from her body. Really, wasn't Japan a mostly pacifistic nation? Who owns guns except the Yakuza? And although the guy was definately dressed to kill, literally, he seemed a bit too in character. It had to be a prank!

Nami's eyes flashed with excitement. "Where do you guys keep the camera?" If they were indeed on a reality show, it was a good chance to get discovered! Asahi's thoughts seemed to mirror her own as the other girl's eyes were also casting around for a camera.

A thought suddenly entered Nami's head and she grinned, leaning forward and poking a finger into the muzzle of the gun. "It has to be in here right?" There was always that idiot that was slow on the up-tick, but never Kawachi Nami. Showing the audience how clever she was would~

The sound of gunfire tore Nami out of her thoughts and she screamed as she saw Asahi fall to the ground next to her. The girl's body was limp, and blood spatter coated her school uniform a macabre crimson. Nami gaped helplessly and whirled onto the snake-like murderer, her teeth set in a snarl as cold fear seeped into her stomach.

"You mother~!" Her sentence ended in a scream as another shot rang into the air and she felt the searing pain of hot lead tear into her chest, breaking through bone and sinew and puncturing a lung as she fell to the ground. The pain was so excruciating, she could barely breathe, and when she did, air sucked into the wound in her chest, causing blood to run down her side and bubble around the hole.

As the world began to fade to black, she could only think of one thing to say. "Wh-Why…?" She didn't know if it was directed to her and Asahi's murderer or simply to whatever power had allowed this fate to befall them. There was still so much to live for… So much left to give… And what of her family, her dreams, it all seemed so unfair. She never imagined that this would be the way she would end up making headlines...

Just as she was about to slip into unconsciousness she saw a sudden flash of black appear before her eyes accompanied by the sounds of tearing skin and the men's screams. But it all seemed so far away now… Rescue seemed to have come much, much too late.

'I'm sorry Asahi…' She thought dimly, using what was left of her strength to reach out and weakly grasp the girl's hand. 'This is my fault…'

The pain was gone, and she was floating, drifting while shadows of thoughts seemed to flicker in the dim twilight of her mind. 'Am I dead…?' She wondered to herself. 'Is this what it's like…?' But before the girl could continue her line of thought, an apparition appeared next to her. She blinked in surprise.

"Asahi?" She murmured, reaching out a hand to touch her, but coming into contact with nothing.

"Nami…" Asahi said sadly, her eyes downcast. "I should've never picked up that damn thing…"

Nami's shook her head and was about to reply when suddenly a third apparition joined them. They both gawked slightly at the sight of it; a gargantuan black dog that seemed to be approximately the size of a compact car. Its blood crimson eyes flashed in the darkness of their surroundings. Fear gripped their hearts in a vice as the beast slowly floated towards them, its black lips set in a soul chilling smirk. But fear quickly morphed into surprise as the dog demon opened its mouth, and spoke.

"Now what are you two lost little lambs doing all the way out here?" It drawled, running a thick purple tongue over its fangs. "You seem to be in quite a pickle…"

"W-who are you…?" Asahi stuttered out, trying to control her fear.

"… Your savior." The monster said simply. "You may call me Inuyama, should our paths ever cross again… Just know that it is I, through the…" He grinned almost maliciously, causing Nami to shudder. "Goodness of my heart, who have saved you from a fate most unbecoming of two such beautiful young ladies…"

"T-thank you…" They both said in concert, still a bit unsure if being saved by such a beast was a better fate than the sweet release of death.

"But enough chit-chat…" The beast brought a paw to bear in front of his face and examined his great claws. "It's time for you to-"

"Wake up… N-Nami… Wake up…"

Nami groaned and rolled over, coughing slightly as she brought herself up to all fours. She cracked open her eyes, the world slowly starting to coalesce into a clear image. Breathing slowly, she brought her vision to focus on the person in front of her. The face seemed familiar… But the voice was deep and foreign to her.

"Who… Who are…" She groaned, clutching her head as sudden visions of what befell her and Asahi came crashing down like the waves of the ocean on her mind. She reflexively clutched at her chest, looking for a wound but finding nothing. 'Nothing… But why am I so damn uncomfortable…?' Her clothes suddenly felt very restricting, like they were so tight that they might tear off of her.

"It's me, Asahi." The person in front of her sighed, seeming relieved that Nami was okay.

"We're alive…" Nami breathed, her discomfort forgotten as she threw her arms around Asahi's broad shoulders. 'Wait… Did Asahi have broad shoulders before…?' Nami suddenly pulled away, still holding onto the girl as she took in her appearance. "Oh my god…"

Asahi's long raven hair framed a young, handsome face with low set brows, a roman nose and a strong, refined jaw line. Her eyes were wide with an odd mix of fear, confusion and relief. "Nami…. You… you're…"

"I…" Realization slowly dawned on Nami as she patted down her chest. Two very feminine appendages were missing, and it was at that point that she realized that her voice had fallen an octave or two lower. "It can't be…"

With that she shot to her feet and ran to a nearby car, looking at her refection in the dark tinted windows. What she saw chilled her to the bone and she swallowed, feeling the deeply disconcerting movement of her clearly visible adam's apple moving up and down. It was a boy that stared back at her, a wiry boy with girlishly long hair and a handsome yet sharp and angular face that still held a hint of boyish softness. She turned to look at the now much taller Asahi, who had gotten to her feet to stare at the other girl, shock apparent in her eyes. How was this possible…?

"We're…" Asahi and Nami breathed in concert.

"GUYS!" They both screamed in conjunction and ran towards each other, hugging each other as tears fell like rivers from both their eyes.

"How did this h-happen?" Asahi squeaked, her baritone voice catching in her throat as Nami buried her face in the other girl's now flat chest. "I don't know…!" But then a thought occurred to both of them and they looked at each other, realization in their eyes.

"Inuyama!" They shouted.

The demon must have saved them… But they should have known it would be too good to be true. He had saved them at the cost of their womanhood. What a cruel sense of humor…

"Ew… Drag queens…" Came a slightly disturbed voice from behind them.

They turned to look at a man clutching his girlfriend protectively against him as he looked at the two hugging men in disgust. The two quickly made their way past them without another word.

Nami gulped and jumped away from Asahi, scratching the back of her, now his, head. Asahi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose while his eyes scanned the parking garage. There was still a bit of blood spatter on the ground and on their clothes as evidence of what happened… But what of the men that had shot them? He dimly remembered them getting attacked but there were no bodies. They had escaped death by Asahi and Nami's rescuer. But that meant…

"Nami we have to get out of here." Asahi said firmly, grabbing the girl-turned-boy's hand and leading him back into TV Tohto.

"What show are they from…? A drag queen horror film…?"

"Are t-they even men?"

"They must be gay… Look at how they're holding hands!"

"Eww!"

Nami's left eye twitched and he let go of Asahi's hand, a bit more mindful of their outward appearances as TV Tohto staff whispered amongst themselves as the boys passed. They looked like literal drag queens, especially Asahi in his school girl uniform. Not that Nami was any better off, especially with her now excruciatingly tight clothes tugging and chafing at a certain new appendage that he had grown. He was tempted to readjust, but was disgusted at the thought of touching 'it'. Nami shuddered inwardly.

Asahi seemed just as bothered because he quickened his steps and stopped at a door to their right. "I think this is a dressing room… We should change…" It was true. The two looked very very conspicuous and the sooner they got out of their blood drenched, bullet riddled clothes the better. Who knows if snake-man might come back and tie them to the two girls he shot? They were, after all, wearing their clothes. He might shoot them again just for being cross-dressing weirdos.

Opening the door, they both slipped inside only to be greeted with darkness, desks and upended chairs instead of a dressing room. It seemed to be a place to store extra office furniture. Asahi sighed and turned, about open the door but froze when he heard female voices at the far end of the room.

Nami lifted an eyebrow and blinked, grabbing Asahi's hand and ducking behind a grouping of desks and chairs. The last thing they needed was to be kicked out of the studio because they were someplace they weren't supposed to be. Asahi was about to protest but Nami put a finger to the boy's lips to silence him as he peeked over the desk. Asahi sighed slightly and shook his head but soon followed suit, curiosity getting the better of him.

The sight that greeted the two was of two women arguing with each other. One had jet black hair styled into an angular bob cut; the look on her face held no apology as she smirked down at the smaller woman. The other woman had long, wavy red-brown hair and was so furious that she was practically seething. Before they could even wonder what the woman was mad at her hand shot out and smacked the other woman smartly across the cheek.

"Tell me, which woman were you with yesterday?" Hurt and anger seeped into the smaller woman's voice as her eyes fell accusingly on the apparently guilty party. Instead of answering, the other woman grabbed the back of her head and brought her into a punishing, yet passionate kiss. Nami and Asahi's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Their tongues were visible as they moaned and ground against one other, the black haired woman hiking up her partner's skirt slightly. When they finally parted, mouths bruised from the punishing make-out session, the angry woman seemed like a tamed kitten.

"Are you jealous?" The black haired woman purred.

"… I-I…" The anger and vitriol seemed to have vanished from the smaller woman like so much vapor in the morning sun.

"Okay then… How about we continue on to part two…" The woman's voice was low and sultry and even Asahi blushed at the sound of it.

This time, the taller woman pushed her partner back onto a desk as she claimed the other's lips in another bruising kiss. The brown-haired woman was pushed onto it, her blazer falling over her shoulders as her partner grabbed her thigh, massaging it as she began to hike up her partner's skirt once more…

"Marilyn… You're too cute…" The black haired woman moaned as she kissed the woman's neck.

Asahi watched with dark fascination, unable to tear his eyes away. Nami meanwhile, was purely disgusted by the scene playing out before him.

"Uwaaahhhgh!" Nami shot up quickly, too quickly, losing his balance and hitting the small of his back against some chairs behind him, knocking them over noisily. The two women immediately caught sight of the two cross-dressers and blinked at them. They had thought they were alone.

"Um…" Asahi got up, suddenly too aware of his girly attire as the women looked at him strangely. He wasn't sure how to react in this situation so he did the only thing he could think of.

He bowed as low as he could. "Uh, sorry for disturbing you, please continue!"

Grabbing the still frozen Nami's hand, they both fled the confines of the storage room. But even as they were retreating, they could hear Marilyn's voice ask a very pointed question.

"… Are they… Drag queens?"

Nami's left eye twitched. Asahi turned his eyes upwards as if to ask 'Why me?' just before he opened another door labeled 'Changing Room 2' and ushered them both inside. They found themselves standing amongst a veritable department store full of racks upon racks of clothes, footwear and various other accessories.

"I can't believe we had to sit through that L-show! Ugghh!" Nami exclaimed, grabbing the sides of his head and shaking it as if trying to get the image of what they had seen to go away.

"What's an 'L'?" Asahi asked, confusion apparent in his voice.

"Don't you know?" Nami gawked at him like he had grown another head. He couldn't believe had to enlighten him about one of the most disgusting and apparent evils of the world. "In the world of L… Girls kissing and… M-making love…. Disgusting!" Nami shuddered and hugged himself as if trying to protect himself from the world of L.

"This isn't the time to worry about that…" Asahi grumbled, annoyed that Nami could be distracted so easily by something like girls kissing. There were other, more pressing matters at hand. Such as why they were suddenly men, or why the snake-man and his goons had shot them, or if they were still chasing them. The police were not an option, firstly he had no reception with his cell phone and secondly who would believe them if they said they were actually girls? A drag queen isn't exactly the most credible witness. What could he do? He sighed, leaning against a rack of costumes, once again rubbing the bridge of his nose. It was a nervous habit. But then suddenly, it dawned on him. Eureka!

He threw down his satchel and began to undress, kicking off his shoes and discarding his bloodied shirt and now useless bra. Pausing for a moment, he took in his bare torso and fought the urge not to whistle in appreciation. His body was long and lean, but filled out with refined muscle and sinew, his chest and shoulders were, in particular, very well muscled. He turned to look at Nami, who was wide eyed and blushing a very bright red. Asahi blinked and found himself blushing as well. This… Had to be the weirdest most awkward thing they had ever experienced, ever.

"Y-you have to take your clothes off too!" Asahi reached for Nami's shirt and the girl yanked herself away, horrified but also not quite able to tear his eyes away from Asahi's chiseled torso.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you're an-"

Asahi smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't even bother finishing that sentence." Seriously, the girl needed to get over the L thing. "We're going to change out of these clothes. That was the point of coming back here!"

"Huh?" Nami looked around stupidly and realization soon dawned on his boyish face. "Oh!" He smacked his forehead for being so slow.

Silently they both stripped out of their clothing, Nami not being able to bring himself to even look at his new body as they picked out their outfits. They decided to go as a matching pair. Hiding their hair under loose black beanies and putting on loose boot cut jeans, v-neck t-shirts, aviator sunglasses, boots, faux-leather jackets and silver accessories. Doing a once over for each other, they nodded as they headed out the door.

TBC Soon.