Set three years after the events of Persona 3 and The Answer, INHERITANCE continues the stories of the former S.E.E.S. members. Some of them go to college. Others discover the onerous burden of full-time jobs. But no matter what their situation is, they all share the underlying difficulty of settling down into their normal lives. When they meet again in a reunion engineered by Mitsuru, they hear rumors of Matsue, a heavily populated city without a single trace of Shadows...

As you guys can probably tell, I really love Persona 3. After finishing The Answer about a week ago, I felt that many questions and some of the character development remained unresolved. The sequel may have only been Aigis' answer to Minato's death, at the price of leaving out the ways in which the other characters found closure. This fan fiction is my attempt to answer some of the questions I asked after The Answer, though I'm afraid just like Atlus' product, my story will favor the character development of a few (i.e. Yukari, Junpei, and Akihiko) at the cost of the rest (I don't have any plans at all for Ken or Koromaru yet). Well, as long as you guys are aware of that, then by all means read what I've got so far and let me know if it works.

-OrpheusT

PERSONA 3: INHERITANCE

CHAPTER ONE

"Hey, it's Yukari. I go to Watanabe University now. Two hours by bullet train from Iwatodai and about five hours from my mom's place in Kyoto. It's not quite the first-rate university I aimed for back in high school, but it's not too shabby either. At least no one here is like Stupei. He's really one of a kind, isn't he? But he would probably take that as a compliment.

Anyways, college is a lot easier to manage than high school. No cram school, no morning assemblies, no mandatory club activities. It's kind of disappointing to feel so free. Sometimes I feel nervous and ask myself if this is really what I should be doing. You know, I promised I would change the world. I want to keep on running towards that goal, but it's hard to feel like I'm going anywhere in college. Mitsuru-senpai told me I was being too impatient. She said that the world isn't a place one person could change so easily. Maybe that's why I still call her Senpai. She's just a bit more of an adult than I am.

Oh, but you probably want to know what everyone's been doing, huh? Well, Senpai is studying business management in France. She'll take full control over the Kirijo Group next year. Akihiko-san joined the police force with Kurosawa's backing. Apparently Kurosawa has him cleaning up Shadows.

Junpei's, well you know how he is, he's totally clueless right now. You know how these days most companies have two tracks, right? You can choose whether you get promoted based on seniority or talent. Well, Stupei got really excited hearing a speech by this one recruiter and started telling me how young people these days have got a lot more potential and how it'll be a piece of cake to rise to the top. I mean, what was he thinking? Now all he complains about is how he still hasn't gotten promoted after three years of slave labor.

Aigis… oh, right! She's studying advanced robotics at Iwatodai University. Sorry… it's still hard for me to talk to you about her. Maybe it's because I see so much of myself in Aigis, it's kind of scary. But we really do have a good relationship. You don't have to worry about us, okay? Well, that's all for today. I'll be heading to class now. By the way, Senpai's coming back to Japan this week. We'll get everyone together for a reunion and after that I'll tell you all about it."

Yukari opened her eyes with a sigh. The morning's light crawled under her flamboyant pink window shades and illuminated clusters of dust particles in the air. An alarm clock on her desk told Yukari that she still had some time to kill. She brushed aside her shades with one hand, opened her window and leaned outside, bathing her head in the cold morning air. She could see her dorm mates in the courtyard and hear bits of their conversation. They were gossiping about some new exchange student.

"Hey Takeba, we're gonna grab some breakfast. Wanna come?" One of the girls in the courtyard noticed her.

"Give me a sec! I'll be right down there," Yukari answered.

She closed her window shut and plopped down on her bed. Then she let go of an odd little trinket she had been clutching all this time. It hung around her neck much like a medal, that flat circular ornament tarnished a dull gold. Both faces of the trinket were engraved with the likeness of a penetrating eye. If one studied it closely, he might discern that no matter which direction he twisted it, the eyes on both faces would confront him.

"I'm really too old to be talking to myself," Yukari said quietly sitting on her bed. She remembered the toy figurine that had hung from her cell phone strap. When she was all alone, she had confided her greatest secrets to that dear toy. But now she had real friends she could trust her life with. Just as she had given her strap away, she braced her hand to discard the gold trinket. But five minutes later Yukari found herself heading downstairs, her lucky charm still hung around the neck. Before she stepped out into the courtyard, she promised herself, "Just one more day."


Yukari came back to her dorm with a headache. She had been out with the girls all night. They had gone to a karaoke bar and ordered some drinks, then a couple guys had hit on them and everyone had gone wild. The flashing strobe lights, voices raw from all the singing, the pulsing dance floor, she thought she had surrendered herself to the ecstasy of the party, but through it all she couldn't help feeling disgusted. Yukari sank into the chair by her desk with a sigh and played back the messages on her answering machine.

"This is Mitsuru. I'll be back at the Yakushima vacation home this Friday, so I invited everyone to stop by of course. I'll understand if you can't make it. We're really busy people, aren't we? What I wanted to say is that I'd really like for you to come, Yukari. We don't get many chances to talk. That's all."

Yukari stared dully at her calendar. When had Senpai started calling her by her first name? The way she couldn't remember such details bothered her.

"Hi Yukari-san, you're coming to the reunion, right?" It was Fuuka's voice. "It's been so long since I've been to the beach. I thought we should plan a barbeque outdoors so I prepared a list of ingredients. Let's go shopping after we meet up, okay? I'm still not very good at cooking so I'll need your help!"

"How's it going, Yukari? Akihiko here. Could you tell Mitsuru that I'll be running a bit late? A recent case has been bugging me, so I'm gonna check it out before I head over. Sorry to bother you like this, but I can't make international calls from the police station."

The familiar voices comforted Yukari. There were things of joy and pain that would never change in her life. She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and tumbled into bed. As she sank into the world of dreams, Yukari clung onto the gold trinket around her neck. She passed through a turbulent storm of distorted black and white images, memories of Minato when he was alive, his cold hand sinking in the white linen of a hospital bed, the grimace of his face turned to a Shadow, and finally she burst through the murky waters and glimpsed the slump of his back. He turned towards her with a grave face and seemed to say, "Don't be shy."

She stepped forward and saw beyond his figure the anxious face of her mom. The two of them studied each other for the eternity of a heartbeat. Mom broke the silence first. "Yukari," she hesitated. "Can you forgive me?"

Yukari could feel the strong brace of Minato's arm against her shoulders. He was telling her to be brave and true to her feelings. She sprinted forward, dashing her slim body against her mother's bulk. She wanted to tell Mom that she better understood now the fathomless suffering born of loss, but the only thing she could do was sob pitiably, all voice and words caught in her throat, trapped by the weight of a shared agony.

"Who's this young man?" Mom asked, looking at Minato. She gently caressed Yukari's hair as if the two of them had never been parted. "Would you introduce him to me?"

Minato stepped forward and bowed. His mouth shaped silent words of introduction. But Mom seemed to understand. "I'm glad someone has been taking good care of you, Yukari."

"Dad left behind something for me to clean up, and we took care of it together," said Yukari.

"I'd like to hear that story someday," Mom said.

"You wouldn't believe half of it," Yukari giggled. "But what happened was…"

Halfway through the story Yukari looked back. She couldn't find Minato anywhere. She started to ask Mom where he went, but as she turned around she found herself facing the black visage of a Shadow. She panicked, running away with a shriek. The world suddenly turned upside down and she blacked out. But something wasn't right. She could feel a throbbing pain in her side. Yukari opened her eyes. The morning of a new day welcomed her. She groaned halfheartedly – what a miserable start, to have fallen out of bed. The room was a mess, too. She must have been really out of it last night.


"I'm telling you, there's no need to worry," said Junpei. "Not one bit."

Junpei was sitting with the girls in the second-floor lounge of the Kirijo villa. The view from nearby windows overlooked the entire span of the Yakushima beach. They could see umbrellas spread along the sand and couples idling beneath them. On the far end of the beach an amateur game of American football kicked up a dust storm.

"Akihiko-san's just scared of losing a bet," repeated Junpei. "That's why he's late."

"What kind of a bet?" asked Fuuka. "It's nothing dangerous, is it?"

"Nah. Sorry, but I can't tell even you, Fuuka. This kind of stuff is best kept to the guys. Yuka-tan would just get on my case anyways. Let's just say that if he came on time Akihiko would be treating us all to dinner tonight."

"No matter how I look at it, I can't see Akihiko-san losing to Stupei in anything," said Yukari.

"That's pretty harsh, Yukari." Mitsuru smiled. "I can't say I disagree though."

"Hey, hey, Senpai, why are you taking Yuka-tan's side?"

"Come to think of it, Akihiko did say he was going to be late," said Yukari. "Working on a new case or something."

"Gah! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Now who's gonna treat us all to dinner?"

"You could treat us, couldn't you, Junpei?" Aigis inquired.

Junpei eyeballed the girls and took out his wallet. He leafed through a couple one-thousand yen bills and his face paled. "I think I'm gonna have to pass this time."

"Don't worry," Mitsuru said. "I've already got it covered."

"What kind of a guy are you? Making the girls pay for everything, geez."

"You're the worst."

"Now, now, girls. I can explain everything," Junpei said tactfully, plotting his avenue of retreat. He wiped his sweating face on the sleeve of his shirt. The doorbell rang once, twice. "I'll get the door! Be right back."

"Perfect timing, Akihiko. You da man!"


Mitsuru had stayed in Europe for a couple months, so thinking that she'd prefer a change of taste, everyone ended up deciding to go to a sushi bar. Junpei sat next to Akihiko while the girls chatted amongst themselves. "How come the girls didn't nag you, Akihiko? They were all complaining how I wouldn't treat them to dinner."

"It's probably because I'm the type that's harder to get. Girls dig that type."

"No way, Senpai! You should have seen how they were all over me. Hey, we gonna see who can pick up more chicks tomorrow, right? Come on, you can't back down now. A promise between men can't be broken."

"Who said anything about backing down?"

"Then it's on!"

"Whatever."

The two of them busied themselves eating for a while.

"How's work?" asked Akihiko after his fifth sushi dish.

"Don't even get me started. I know more about video games than anyone else in the office. You know, I ought to be number one. Don't know what the boss is thinking."

"You're working for a video game company? Unbelievable."

"Hey, shut up. It's a very respectable company."

"Well, if you ever want to do some police work, you know who to ask. We could use someone with the potential."

"I know. I've been thinking about it. I felt like a hero when we were kicking Shadow butt three years ago. But ever since we lost him… I wanted to find out if I could make my way in the world without my Persona."

"I guess I can understand how you feel."

"So what's this latest case you're working on? Yuka-tan said something about it earlier."

"I'm not really sure it's a problem. The situation is hard to describe."

"Um… it's not like we're eavesdropping, but I'd like to know too," said Yukari.

"It's our responsibility to keep track of what the Shadows are plotting," Mitsuru added.

"Let's talk about it somewhere private then," Akihiko decided and everyone agreed.

Later that night, on the second-floor lounge of the Kirijo villa, Yukari served some tea while the others sat down. Akihiko looked agitated, as if trying to find the right starting point of his story. "If you remember what we were talking about earlier," he began. Everyone nodded quietly.

"Would you believe me if I told you I've come across a place without Shadows? Not just any place, but a heavily populated city without a single trace of Shadows?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Fuuka.

"We're one step closer to changing the world's yearning for Nyx," said Aigis.

"Wait, if Shadows are the embodiments of our fears and anxieties…" Mitsuru started.

"Exactly," said Akihiko. "The absence of Shadows might itself cause a change in the people. I went to visit the city of Matsue myself. Subway and bus schedules were delayed for hours, mismatching traffic signals caused a few accidents. Department stores were giving away most of their merchandise for free. You'd expect a consumer stampede over something like that, right? But almost no one was out shopping."

"Really?" Yukari's eyes lit up. "Guys, we should stop by Matsue and take a look, don't you think?"

"Could it be the Apathy Syndrome?" asked Junpei. "Those people sound a lot like the Lost."

"That's a possibility. I interviewed a couple people and they share a few symptoms with the Lost. A couple differences too, like coherence of speech and high ambulatory ability. But my gut's telling me something's different this time around. It's as if the people of Matsue have lost their darker side, all the ambition and greed, the lust and jealousy that drives human beings. When I look at them I can't tell if they screwed up or if this is the way we were meant to live, without our Shadows."

"This sounds like quite a case," Mitsuru said. "Though perhaps the missing Shadows are not the cause, but merely a symptom…"

"Would you like to see Matsue for yourselves? We had to seal off the city to preserve what remained of the local economy but I can make an exception for you guys."

"Wait, I object, Senpai. We are not gonna spend our vacation investigating some freak accident. We're gonna go to the beach and pick up girls all day. Or did you forget our bet already?"

"What?" Fuuka gasped.

"So that's what the bet was about. How disappointing," Aigis said.

"Aigis, it's best if you don't expect too much from Stupei."

"We're all adults here," Mitsuru smiled. "Iori can do whatever pleases him, no matter how low he falls. But I for one would very much like to stop by Matsue."

"That's the plan, everyone?" asked Akihiko. "Then we had best get some sleep. Tomorrow could be a rough day for us all. Not including Junpei, of course."

"Senpai, you dirty little…" Junpei beat his head against the wall. "Breaking a promise like that and you call yourself a man?"


"Oh boy!" Junpei reached skyward and stretched his body after stepping down from the bullet train. "You didn't tell me it took 6 hours to get here, Akihiko-san. I should have brought my PSP. I almost died in there listening to the girls talk."

Junpei mimicked Fuuka's high pitch voice. "Oh my, what're you going to do once we get there, Yukari-san?"

"Ready for this, Senpai? Here's my Yuka-tan," Junpei said, taking a deep breath.

"Why, shopping of course!" Junpei cackled evilly a couple times for dramatic effect. "Who can resist all the free clothes, free brand purses and bags, free perfume? Not Yuka-tan! Hey, stop it – that hurts, dude."

Yukari had grabbed Junpei by the ear. "Huh. Doesn't sound like me one bit, Stupei."

"All right, I give up! Just quit twisting my ear like that. It's no joke mutilating this sexy face."

"Wow, Junpei." Yukari said after a closer look at his features. "Tell me honestly, is that makeup on your face? It looks like you smeared a bit of foundation on your nose here and some facial cream there. Funny, I didn't know you were that type of guy."

Fuuka studied Junpei's face with an undisguised interest. "You're right, Yukari-san. It's just as you say."

"Hey, this is some kind of misunderstanding. You girls are totally getting the wrong idea!" Junpei panicked and ran off to the nearest washroom.

"Iori borrowed my makeup set two days ago," Mitsuru said. "Well, he did ask for my opinion on how to become more attractive. I admit, Iori was a bit skeptical of my solution at first, but after I lectured him on the therapeutic properties of certain chemical bases in my makeup, his face turned white and he became much more receptive to the idea."

"Somehow I sympathize with Junpei-kun now," said Fuuka.

"So Junpei was planning to use makeup to turn things his way at the beach," Akihiko mused. "Maybe I should think of doing that too."

"I just realized we're the only sane ones left out of S.E.E.S.," Yukari said to Fuuka.

"All right, everyone gather up," Mitsuru announced. Junpei ran from the washroom, his face still drenched. "Hey, you missed a spot here," Fuuka said, pointing. Junpei pulled his hat down and scowled.

"We'll be staying at the Izumo Inn tonight. Here are maps of the nearby area, with our current location and the inn highlighted in red. You're free to go your own way now, as long as you stay in groups of two or more."

"Mitsuru-senpai sounds like the Student Council President again," said Yukari. "It's a bit nostalgic, isn't it? Reminds me of our school trip to Kyoto."

"Tch, the girls are all going together," Junpei said. "Guess it's just you and me, Akihiko."

"Don't have a problem with that," said Akihiko.

"Hey Senpai, wanna play a game? Spice things up a notch while the girls are gone. Loser treats the winner to lunch."

"I'm down. Let's do this."


Yukari plodded heavily through the doorsteps of Izumo Inn. The heat was blistering outside and she felt like she was on the verge of fainting. She sighed in relief as the air-conditioned front hit her, blowing away the black spots that had dotted her vision.

"Leave the bags to me, young lady," someone said. Yukari looked up, startled.

"Oh, it's only the bellboy," she said. "You surprised me. I didn't know the traditional inns hired you guys these days." Yukari dropped her four shopping bags on the floor.

"Were you expecting someone else, miss? You sound a bit disappointed."

Yukari tried smiling. "You must think I'm a strange one, huh? I'm sorry."

"Not at all, miss. Now which room should I take these bags to?"

"2-G, please." The bellboy lazily picked up the bags and headed for the staff elevator.

"Hey, if it isn't Yuka-tan!" Junpei sat with Akihiko in the lobby's lounge. "I wasn't expecting you girls back so early. And only four shopping bags, I'm really disappointed in you. Thought you'd come back with eight or ten at the least. Was all of it free?"

"If you must know, Senpai insisted on paying for everything," Yukari sighed. "We still got bargain prices though."

"Where's the others?" asked Akihiko.

"Oh, they're taking care of something outside. I couldn't stand the heat." Yukari took a seat. "So how was your day, gentlemen?"

"Girls are too easy in this city. All too innocent and unsuspecting. There's no sport in that, right Akihiko-san?"

"Don't get me involved."

"You know," Junpei said to Akihiko. "I just got an idea. Maybe it's because I've been around girls like Yuka-tan for too long. Can't go back to the real decent girls anymore. What's that called in books again?"

"The point of no return," Akihiko answered.

"Yeah, that! You know, this 'point of no return' sounds pretty ominous to me. Maybe I'm doomed to the girls with problems now."

"Well, sorry for having problems," Yukari glared at Junpei. "Enjoy your afternoon, Akihiko-san."

She stormed blindly up the stairs. That Stupei, who does he think he is?


"Well, do you sense anything, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru was sitting in bed by Fuuka's side. The others were spread along the length of the room. Yukari stood behind them at the far end of the room, consciously avoiding the boys. Aigis sat down by the TV set and flipped through the pamphlet of late-night movie programs.

"Akihiko-san said he couldn't find any Shadows here, right?" asked Junpei.

"We should verify what little we do know first," said Mitsuru.

Fuuka opened her eyes. "I sense two Shadows."

"What?" Akihiko stood up. "That can't be… I guess you really are the best at support, Fuuka."

"I'm calling them Shadows for lack of a better word," Fuuka clarified. "But they feel different from the creatures we fought three years ago. Two Shadows… a really big one that's far away and a tiny one that's here in this room..."

"What does this mean?" Mitsuru pondered.

"A Shadow here, huh? That gives me the creeps," said Junpei. "I thought I was done with my Shadow butt kicking days."

"Yukari-san, could you come here please?" asked Fuuka.

"Sure," Yukari said. She took a couple steps and faced Fuuka curiously. "What do you need?"

Fuuka closed her eyes and reached forward with one hand. Her fingers gently brushed against Yukari's face and fell slowly down the slope of her neck. Yukari blushed. "Hey, Fuuka…. Um, what do you think you're doing? Is this really all right?"

Yukari turned her head around, staring down Junpei and Akihiko. "Don't look!"

Junpei gulped and looked away. "Hey," he whispered confidentially to Akihiko. "Does this mean Yuka-tan's a Shadow? I should apologize for what I said this afternoon. You don't think she would hold that against me, do you? I don't think I could fight off Yuka-tan if she's really pissed off. She wouldn't suck out my brains, right? We've been through so much together."

"I found it!" Fuuka cried.

"Do we have permission to look now?" Junpei asked nervously.

"By all means," said Mitsuru.

They gathered around Fuuka and for a long time no one spoke a single word. Then Fuuka broke the silence. "Is this what I think it is?"

Everyone started talking at once. Yukari threw herself on Fuuka's bed, burying her face in the pillows. "Hold on a sec," Junpei panted. "Guys, I'm totally lost here. What's going on? How's this necklace supposed to be a Shadow?"

"Look here, Junpei-kun," said Fuuka. She raised the flat gold ornament and the engraved eye blinked at Junpei once, twice. "Don't you recognize it? We saw something like it three years ago in the Abyss of Time. This must be a piece of the Great Seal itself."


All credits for the characters and events of Persona 3 and The Answer go to Atlus, blah blah blah.