Persona 4: One More!

Life was dull.

After all my battles, all the striving to reach the truth and all that, that's what I found out. Life without fighting gods, shadows, and the odd Teddie hug was just... dull. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Sure, i'm back in the city and there are certainly worse places to be, but it's not quite the same. Least I got to keep my Kage-Daichi, which is stuffed deep, DEEP into my closet. After all, I can't have my parents thinking i'm some sort of sword nut. Then again, I can only imagine the looks on their faces if they caught me going through random sword forms in the middle of my bedroom. Heh, probably wouldn't be worth the jail time though.

"Seta-kun, are you listening? Please answer the question." I blinked heavily, rising to my feet with an exaggerated sigh. I cleared my throat before answering as all eyes in the room turned to me.

Never one to waste an opportunity to show off like a jackass, I flashed my most charming grin. "Takanichi-kun, you can't be serious. We went over this last year, and that was in the "bumpkin town" you keep mentioning when you think i'm not listening. The answer is the Patagonian ice field, not Columbian as you seem to think it was."

About three minutes later, after Takanichi realized that I not only called him -kun, but disgraced his teaching and dragged out his dirty laundry in front of the entire class, I found myself landed right in the office again. Another sigh escaped my lips as I stared lazily at the ceiling fan. Quite a nice fan it was, what with it being all... spinny. And rotational. I found myself thinking back to Inaba once more, all the good times I had...

If only I could go back.

"Hmhmhmhm... Very well then, Child of Man." I felt a strange presence in my mind, one I hadn't felt since-

Aw, shit. The air seemed to... seam, right in front of me as a peculiarly clad silverette stepped out of the now opened portal. Her smile was not quite devilish, but certainly not welcoming as she took a seat beside me. She laid her hands on her lap as she turned her head slightly to look at me. "So then, you wish to return to Inaba? Back to where it all began, and where it ended?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I couldn't believe it. She was literally waiting just so that she could pop in at the perfect time to disrupt my thinking. "Don't you goddesses have, you know, more important things to do than bother moody high schoolers?" I raised an eyebrow, a grin plastered on my face. "Or maybe you're looking for tips on how to fight?" Her previously serene appearance faded, and her eyes turned to steel.

"I see, Child of Man. So, you wish even now to toy with me? Very well then, we shall play a game. And what a glorious game it shall be... Just remember this, if you hadn't been so insolent..." She trailed off, another tear appearing behind her as she stepped into it.

"I may have just made an oopsie." I muttered to myself as the door opened. I turned to look at the door, but... I couldn't move. I tried turning my neck, moving my arms, but nothing worked. A figure knelt down in front of me, shaking it's head.

"Ah, foolish, foolish child." He said, chuckling slightly. "Provoking her like that is truly a foolish thing to do. Then again, you have always been a Fool, have you not?" He rose, and a light began forming around me. "Remember, young one, that you are not without allies in this game. Perhaps I will even assist you once more." Darkness began to envelop the sides of my vision. "I will see you then, Souji."

It was around that point that I blacked out. After a few moments, vision began to flood in once more, and I was on a train. I looked around, making sure this wasn't some symbolic or metaphysical type of thing, and saw only the normal commuters that you would find on a train. I continued to look, searching for anyone suspcious, but nobody popped out at me. I sighed, resolving to remain prepared as I looked out the window. After all, Izanami could be pulling all kinds of shit and I wouldn't have a clue. Bit annoying, that. I pulled out my phone, ready for a cryptic message of some sort, but saw only a newly sent message. I decided to take a peek at it, and had to read it through a few times before I really understood what it said.

Will be there in three hours, Dojima-san. Will you be picking me up at the station? -Seta

I took a deep breath, trying my best not to curse the ever living piss out of Izanami. I mean, is this even fair? Really? How many things could this affect? I mean, this is on a completely unprecedente-

And then I passed out again, as that seems to be the way of things. When I awoke, I found myself in quite the familiar environment; the Velvet Room. Igor sat there, clasped hands under his massive nose, and Margaret was flipping through the pages of her book. I blinked a few times, eyebrow raised. They didn't seem to notice me, so I had to clear my throat. Margaret blinked, looking up from her Compendium and meeting my eyes. Her eyebrow raised, her mouth slightly open in a wordless, but completely understandable gesture. "What in the hell?" Igor, for his part, managed to stay quite cool with it, nothing but a knowing grin plastered on his face.

"So then, it appears you have set on yet another journey, Seta-san. May I inquire as to how this... peculiarity happened?" Igor asked in his wheezing voice, a dry chuckle emitting from his lips. I rubbed my temple, wondering precisely how I could put it. After all of a couple of seconds of deliberation, I decided on the most reasonable course of action.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK YOU IZANAMIIIIIIIIII!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, head pointed towards the ceiling. The limousine was filled with only silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat and collected my thoughts. "Well then, it appears that I have nettled a vengeful goddess, and she has gotten quite furious with me. She appears to have set me in a time loop of some sort, at least according to my cursory view of events. However, the evidence isn't quite irrefutable yet, as all I have is an easily manipulable cell phone message, and an expected visit to this very Velvet Room. Now, if I may ask a few questions myself?" I explained, allowing my cooler mind to take over. Venting anger, after all, allows one to reduce stress and think more clearly. It was also pretty damn fun.

"But of course, Seta-san. What do you need from us?" Igor allowed, as his eyes twinkled. He seemed to have gotten quite the kick from seeing such an unexpected side of me. Igor's a bit of a bastard. I grabbed a drink from the cooler next to me, cracking it open irritably. I took a sip without looking at it, and winced. Fruit juice. Really. Some kind of manifestation of my psyche this is, can't even serve decent drinks.

I turned to Margaret, trying to at least enjoy the juice. "Margaret, what is the state of my Personae Compendium?" I asked, sipping at the can. Fruit punch, at least, not too horrible. She opened up the book to the Persona registry, and my eyes lit up in delight. I licked my lips, poring over the massive amounts of Personae at my disposal. My mind began to marvel at the possibilities, what I could actually do with such power so early on. I shook my head, reminding myself that this could easily be part of Izanami's "game", as she so kindly put it. "Thank you, Margaret. Quite surprising that she wasn't able to manipulate it, yes?" I asked, my eyes narrowing slightly.

"The Velvet Room is beyond the influence of gods, other than Master's..." She stopped herself and glanced towards Igor, looking worried. Sounded like something I wasn't supposed to hear, so obviously I was intrigued. I leaned closer to Igor, my eyes and grin both equally wide. Igor, for once, looked almost uncomfortable as he leaned back in his seat.

"My apologies, but I am not at liberty to speak of such things. In any case, it appears that the gods have taken an interest in your fate, and even now a battle rages over your... involvement, in these matters. Izanami is, after all, not the only god that has taken notice of you as of late." His eyes regained their twinkle as his grin widened. "Regardless, we will have to speak of this some other time, it appears that you have arrived at your destination. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish from here on... Farewell, Seta-san."

My eyes opened, and I was back on the train. "Yaso-inaba," the driver drawled, "Yaso-inaba. Please disembark from the train." I blinked, wiping my face and reaching up for where I assumed my pack to be. My assumation was correct, and I hastily got out of the train, squinting as my eyes met the full force of the sunlight. I yawned once more, blocking the sun from my eyes with one hand while scanning the landing for the Dojima Duo. Man, I am so sticking with that nickname, best one I've ever come up with on the spot. After a few brief moments, I began to stride over to them. I braced myself for the awkward introductions, when I saw the strangest thing.

Nanako was... smiling? Standing beside Dojima, instead of behind him? This wasn't right, Nanako was incredibly timid the first time we met. As I began to doubt whether or not I was right about the whole time travel thing, I started wondering. There was something about those Social Links or something, right? Through the greatest distances, the bond will remain strong and all that? ...I suppose time is a distance of sorts, but it's quite the stretch... I put it out of mind; if I was right, then it'll be a happier household, if i'm wrong, then I haven't gone back in time at all and can deal with things with all of my friends. Pfft, Yosuke would probably be thrilled to have another crack at the vengeful goddess.

"Hello there, Souji-kun." Dojima said, sticking a hand out with a smile on his face. I took it, eyebrow raised. I decided to test the waters, see what's going on.

"It's been a while, Dojima-san." I replied, a grin on my face as well. Fairly good, could be applicable in both the past and "present", unless the "present" is only theoretical, in which case- Right, perhaps we'll do the philosophy later. Good lord, I can be really bad at that, with the ranting anywa- Aw, hell.

"Heh, indeed it has. Last time I saw you, I had to change your diaper!" He laughed at his joke, nodding towards Nanako. "This is Nanako, your cousin." He nodded towards her, and Nanako broke out into a wide smile.

"H-hi, Souji-san!" She chirped, her eyes bright. Yes, this is -definitely- off, in more ways than one. Not quite bad, perse, but very off. ...Ah hell, let's roll with it.

"Hello, Nanako-kun. Very nice to meet you." I sat on my haunches, sticking out a hand towards her. She giggled, taking it and shaking it as vigorously as a first grader could. I chuckled, trying my best to resist the urge to muss up her hair. She's being -way- too adorable right now. After a few minutes, Dojima managed to shepherd us into his car, and away we went. I was thinking mostly happy thoughts, until he announced that he was going to go get some gas. My only external reaction was blinking, but on the inside I was going haywire. Wonderful, so all I have to worry about is personally meeting the crazy bitch of a goddess, who will be in a strong position to wipe out the Dojimas if I make one false move. Well, uh, shit. Couldn't really do anything about it, since I spent the whole time monolouging in my head and we're already pulling into the freaking gas station. Good one, Souji.

I got out of the car, Nanako following close behind. The all too familiar gas station attendant walked out, told Nanako where the bathroom was, and told Dojima he'd fill the car. After the Dojimas had gone off to their respective activities, the gas station attendant turned to look at me. "So, you're from the city hu-" He began, grinning slightly and sticking his hand out towards me.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, Izanami being treated with only a stone glare. "Don't play games with me, Izanami. I am not in the mood." Her face was in mid smile as her eyes widened. Heh, looked almost as if I just slapped her in the face. ...Wait a minute, why is she still surprised? Okay, and now her bewildered look is being replaced by unbridled hostility, and she's retracted her hand like a snake just bit at it. ...Right, what the hell?

"...Who... are you?" She muttered, getting into what I recognized as her "ready" pose. She was honestly ready to start a small scale war right here in the goddamned Shopping District. "State your name and master, Child of Man." I really wanted to tell her that I was from the future with a grave warning, but- Wait, no, that could actually work to my advantage if she seriously doesn't know what's going on. Hell yeah, let's make this happen.

"I come from the future, Izanami, with a warning. This game you are playing, this attempted judgement of Man's desires; you will not come out unharmed from it. For when you attempt to excercise your strength, you will find resistance. -I- am that resistance. Cross me, and I will bring you down, show you pain you think unimaginable. Enrage me, and I will wash your very existence from this earth. And if you are thinking right now that I am relying on some sort of "master" to guide me, you are sorely mistaken. I am Seta Souji, and I have had more than enough of your shit. IS. THIS. UNDERSTOOD?" I roared, thinking myself quite impressive. Izanami, however, had merely a bemused grin on her face. She chuckled for a few moments, before she began outright guffawing. She braced herself with one arm against the Dojima's car, clutching at her side with the other.

"You... you entertain me, Child of Man. You have seen the truth even before the mystery has begun... I look forward to your exploits. I will be watching you... Seta Souji." She gave up one last snort before she simply disappeared into fog, the Dojima's car suddenly filled up just as was promised. I heard an odd cracking sound, one that I hadn't heard in quite the long while.

I ART THOU, AND THOU ART I

THOU HAST AWOKEN THE POWER TO DISPEL LIES

THE WORLD ARCANA

Wait... WHAT?