I do not own the Persona series or Akame ga Kill. Everything belongs to their respected owners.

"Velvet~ Oh, velvet~ The future is unclear~. Velvet~ Oh, velvet~ Yet death always lurks near~."

Minato sang to himself softly and slowly as he sat along a tree line near a dirt road under falling drop of snow. His blue hair was covered as if dandruff had piled on within days and he had not watched his hygiene in the slightest. Despite being in his regular uniform, he was not affected by the cold. He had spent far too long in such an environment to be affected by such temperatures.

His back rested against the trunk of a brown tree covered with snow and ice. Despite the cold, he felt familiar warmth even though the element was a completely opposite temperature. Reaching his arm over to his backside, he grabbed his book and opened it up to reveal nothing but blank pages. A tarot card popped out of the white paper however and dance right in front of his eyes. The object danced in front of his eyes despite his gaze.

It was portrayed as an ominous got head surrounded by red and a pentagram over two figures in black with horns staring each other down. The card was XV, the Devil. Connected to such a negative entity, this card represented the urge to do selfish, impulsive, violent things, and being a slave to ones' own impulse and feelings. Occasionally, it was also portrayed as a symbol of temptation.

But that's not what he felt at all. Minato felt his face morph into wonder as this was him reading his own fortune of what will happen in the future. Granted the cards did not always literally mean what they meant right away. Sometimes it could be days, months, even years later. No one knew when such a thing would happen.

Back to wondering, there was actually another meaning to the Devil in a positive aspect. Even though the name was represented as a demonic being, it also showed itself as either a healthy bond or commitment. This was the aspect that caught Minato's attention.

Sending the card back down into the book, the boy closed it before opening the pages again to see what would come out next. The image that was presented to him was a woman standing proudly in place as a crown sat upon their head. Surrounding them were vines that grew vast and wide. "Celebrate life's grandeur… its brilliance… its magnificence… the Empress." He muttered to himself as he saw the III card.

Before he could indulge himself on the card any further, he saw a carriage slowly move on its four wheels thanks to an ox puling it. The driver of the carriage was dressed as a guard while several other people looked exactly alike behind the giant wheeled box. They all moved at a comfortable yet fast pace.

Taking a deep breath in and out, Minato looked back to the path the carriage had passed to look at the poor village it had gone though. A nation is said to be made up of its people, and the state of that area was in complete pain. Near however was the Capital, a place which was nothing more than a nest of vipers. In truth he wanted to raise his hand against the Empire, but there were a couple of reason to why he did not.

Looking ahead of the path, he noticed three people standing in the way of the carriage. Judging by the way the three were dressed, they looked like they belonged to the Empire. The one on the right carried himself in a professional manner with a large mustache under his nose. The person in the middle was the shortest, but had the smile of a devilish imp while also looking he part with a tail. The final to the left wore his Empire's uniform unbuttoned and carried a giant double-bladed battle axe and looked to be the largest due to muscle size.

Standing up slowly, Minato slid the book under the strap on his backside under his uniform. As his hand slid away however, a card slipped out of the cover and stay connected to his palm. Looking at the image, he saw a figure in armor on a chariot, being pulled by two differently colored horses. He was told to protect, and he shall fulfill that request to the extent of his abilities.

"Athena." He stated as he shattered the card in his bare hands. White robes of a toga slowly enshrouded him with a sense of holy grace lingering. A grand helmet of gold with red plumes inside a crest holder sat on his head and over his eyes. Despite his vision being blocked, he could see clear as day through the shiny light barrier. Light golden chainmail created a holy cloak that shrouded his shoulders and up to his elbows, but still would be unable to interfere with combat. In his hand was a giant spear that matched the color of his helmet, but looked as sturdy as the hardest of metals. But what stood out completely was the giant shield floating in front of his body which floated and was connected by a giant thick ring surrounding him.

The gold cloak clinked as he slowly rolled his shoulders back. The grand weapon was in his hand as he waited for the two opposing parties to make a move. The carriage was forced to stop in the middle of the path thanks to the three that represented the Empire. The door to the wheeled box opened and a young woman with long blonde hair stepped out to face those that obstructed the path. The female wore a winter coat and a large hat with a symbol made up of eight red diamond shapes arranged in a circle.

It seemed like she had slight experience in combat as well as leadership as most of the men in uniform that stood next to the carriage didn't move an inch until the woman told them to. Numbers, however, meant very little depending on who the opponent was. The three Empire officers continued to stand in their spots unfazed at the small group that was pointing their weapons at them.

With a quick battle cry, the woman and the soldiers all charged at the same time towards the three obstructers. But the big Empire member merely tightened the grip of his weapon with anticipation. A grin grew on the man's face as he did nothing to change his stance before readying to swing the axe.

Before the attack could be fully performed or before the small group could make contact, a giant pale blue spear embedded itself into the ground between the two opposing parties. The impact of the weapon was so powerful however that it forced the small group led by the woman to be thrown back while the three Empire officers had to at least shift their stances lower to not lose balance while covering their eyes.

Minato suddenly shot through the small gap between the tree line and the path extremely quickly as soon as he threw his weapon. Wrapping his hand around the spear, he twisted his body and would have hit the three men if they didn't leap back to avoid the slash. The poled blade rested coolly in his palm as he displayed such emotion. Only his breath could be heard within the two parties' ears.

No one knew what to say. No one knew how to feel. No one knew how to react to such a majestic sight. Not to mention that this person suddenly came out of nowhere and interfered. "You, explain yourself! Reveal your identity!" The woman shouted, pointing her weapon at his back as he wasn't facing her at all and continued to do so.

"…Spear, daughter of the former Prime Minister, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. I do apologize as we could have met under better circumstance. But I was told to remain hidden until protection was necessary." Minato apologized while turning around to gracefully and formally bow.

Hearing footsteps approach, he spun around to see the man with the giant axe try to chop him right in half. The blow would have been successful if he didn't use his spear to block the attack. "May I know you name, sir?"

"The name's Daidara!" The man grinned; apparently pleased that someone is standing up to him. He tried to apply more pressure into his weight of attack. But the result made him happier as it hardly affected the figure before him. "You're good, I'll give you that! But remember that I'm not alone!"

Minato didn't even bother to respond as he pushed Daidara off and grabbed the man's face with his spare hand. While doing that, he stepped forward and slammed the shield into the smaller man's face who tried to attempt a sneak attack. Bending his knees, Minato then shot forward and rammed right through towards the mustached-male. Landing each blow successfully, he leapt back to stand in front of Spear and her fallen group once more.

But then the helmeted head seemed to lean forward as if in an attempt to look at something. Through Minato's eyes, he could see one symbol that looked familiar on the collar of each Empire officer. A soft sound of music then entered his ears to break him out of scanning the opponents' outfits. The smaller male seemed to be playing a recorder of some kind that made that tune. A creepy smile put itself up on display on the male's mouth as his companions rushed forward to strike.

This left Minato slightly confused due to wondering if the music that was being played was supposed to do anything. Swinging his spear, the weapon was batted out of the way by the great axe. Releasing his grip and watching the weapon turn around; Minato grabbed the pole once more and used the stick part of the spear to whack the ear of the axe wielder. Making an arc with his arm, the pole went up into the air and around to strike the second male along his own ear. As a final bit of the combo, Minato threw his weapon and it struck the man playing the recorder right in his leg.

Walking slowly up to the man with the mustache, Minato used his shield to bash the male to the location of the smallest member while a giant fist punched the axe wielder to the same location. He stepped forward slowly towards them. The trip was a lot longer than it should have been. This was because of Minato being deep in thought about those symbols on their collars.

Standing in front of the three of them, he grabbed his spear and yanked it out of the small male's leg. Flicking it to the side quickly to clean it of blood, he pointed the tip at them. "Who is it that you serve under?" He asked with a tone that demanded the truth.

The mustached male glared defiantly towards the helmeted person. "And why should we answer your question?" The man asked, his body tensing to make a move if the grand figure let their guard down even just by the slightest. But the spear did not waver from his gaze. It hovered mercilessly in front of his face, ready to kill without a second thought. "Very well, very well, not that it is going to do you any good. It is the great General of the Capital, the strongest in the Empire, General Esdeath!"

If that was supposed to scare Minato, his features were hidden and were unrevealed under his helmet. "Is that so?" He asked. Perhaps this was the moment the Devil indicated. It was good that he read the cards before this event occurred. He then lifted his weapon, but still kept it pointed at them. "Leave."

It sounded more like a command rather than a request. But the authority that came from the tone caused the three of them to walk away. The smallest had to be carried away by the larger man however. But the three of them still were out of sight after a long time.

Turning around, Minato saw that a spear and a variety of weapons were still trained on him. It looked like they still didn't trust him after all of that in the end. Not that it mattered. "Answer me! Who are you?!" Spear repeated herself. She tried to stand strong, but shook slightly after the display of power of taking down three Empire officers with what seemed to be not much effort.

"I am simply one who made a contract with another that is concerned about you and your father." Minato answered calmly while holding his hand up to assure them that he was not the enemy. He didn't like it when weapons were pointed at him.

At this point, Spear looked like she realized that she was not going to get the answers she was looking for. Well, at least it was confirmed that she wasn't going to die today. Sighing with relief, she quickly stepped towards the carriage. "Father, are you alright?" The blonde asked with concern.

"Yes, I am quite fine." An old voice answered while stepping out to see who had come to their aid. The image of an old man entered Minato's view and easily recognized him as the former Prime Minister.

"Greetings, sir." Minato bowed formally once more. "I have come to aid in your protection until you have reached your destination." He then stood up once more to see the surprised look on the man's face due to such a blunt way of getting to the point.

"Ah… I see." The former Prime Minister said slowly. "Thank you for your aid. If I may ask, who sent you?" He then waited for a long time. A long period of silence fell between all of them. Minato remained unmoving. It was at this point that all of them realized that he wouldn't tell them. Sighing, the old man shook his head. "I see you are one to get straight to the point in a vague way. Very well, let us be on our way."

Minato answered with a silent nod while watching the former Prime Minister and his daughter climb back into the carriage. The guards however kept a wary eye on him. But that did not stop the fortune-teller from leading the carriage to their destination in the Capital. Little did the carriage riders and guards know of what would happen to them in the first place once they would arrive.

The Prime Minister was doing his best to get rid of the competition after all.

PXA

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Minato greeted his guest in an honorable way. Walking down the blue carpet was a woman of young age, perhaps even just out of teenage years. She was tall, beautiful, and slender. Her long light blue hair matched her eyes color as she was in militaristic apparel with long sleeves, a blue scarf on her neck, and high-heeled boots.

"This place may see between dream and reality, mind and matter." He continued, slightly taken aback at the appearance of the woman who had entered his establishment. It was who those three officers had told him about General Esdeath. "Now, I believe there is no need to introduce yourself." If he remembered correctly, she was supposed to be in the North settling a rebellion. Maybe she had dominated a lot faster than many anticipated. Not much of a surprise on his part.

The woman right in front of him smiled. "You're right, there is no need to." She took a seat in front of him and he did the same. Esdeath watched as Minato began to shuffle the cards by hand. Her eyes gleamed with interest as his fingers danced to the silent song with much practice. "The question I have is will you walk with me around the Capital?"

The male stopped shuffling his cards and looked directly into the woman's eyes. One thing was clear as soon as he looked into her eyes. She was not going to take no as an answer. Maybe he shouldn't have taken up this contract business with his fortune telling. At least Aria incorporated some card reading into her request rather than getting straight to the point instead of waiting for a reading.

He sighed, but nodded his head. The General seemed to be pleased with such an answer. Standing up from her chair, she turned around and walked towards the door she had just entered from. Looking back to see the male, a small smirk grew on her face when she didn't see him still sitting. He had exited the room without a sound.

PXA

The blue-haired duo walked down the main streets of the Capital. Minato did his best to act relaxed and completely nonchalant, but his will was slowly diminishing down as he received many glances from the people he passed. He couldn't' blame them. It was rare that the General Esdeath herself would be accompanied by someone out of the Empire's uniform. The situation did not help as many constantly bowed to her in respect as she greeted them.

The two of them soon arrived to a small shop that where a short merchant that looked like the owner of a building they were in front of was bowing with a nervous expression on his face. Esdeath however kept a friendly smile on as she tried to calm the man down. "You can relax; I'm just making a few courtesy calls. From now on, I'm in charge of policing the Capital." She let the owner know.

"Y-yes! That is most heartening, General Esdeath!" The owner exclaimed. Minato continued to watch from behind as the merchant reached into his sleeves and pulled out several coins and looked up to the woman with a hopeful expression. "Thi…this is just a…"

Minato shook his head. That was a bad move. One, he was bribing a high ranked member of the military. Second, he was bribing the strongest woman in the Empire. Three, Esdeath never needed money as Minato knew that she made more than enough thanks to the generous rewards.

Not to his surprise, Esdeath took the money… and shoved it into the owner's eyes. "I don't need bribes." She stated, still with a smile on her face with a friendly tone no less. "Next time you try that, I'll make it hurt." Her two finger were on a single coin each. One piece of metal for one eye each.

"I believe that hurts enough as it is." Minato voiced out, getting a glance from the General. Meanwhile, the owner was screaming in pain.

Shrugging her shoulders, Esdeath stopped her small violent act and sat down on a bench in front of the store they were visiting. That smile of hers never lifted off her face. Minato took an invisible and unvoiced invitation as he took a seat next to the woman and under an umbrella. "Shall I try some of your confections? This shop's famous, isn't it? He'll have every flavor you have inside a single bowl if possible. " She gestured to the male next to her to let the owner knew who she was talking about.

"Y-yes!" The owner exclaimed and rushed into his shop. "Right away!"

Minato soon closed his eyes in a tired manner and began to play the waiting game. He felt something that had been tailing for ever since the two of them started their little trip together around the Capital. The presence of an assassin lingered near. He loosened his muscles as he felt the hidden person approach closer and closer.

Suddenly, they stopped in place. What could have come over them? Hesitation? Fear? Patience of an opportunity to strike? Maybe a stakeout to observe? Whatever it was, it was most likely the first two along his mental list. "Your awaited orders, miss." A voice came from his right side.

Looking over with open eyes, he saw Esdeath take a small cone while a moderately sized bowl with a mountain of ice cream with a spoon was seen in his eyes. Taking her portion in one hand, the General took the other serving and handed it to the blue-haired male. While all of this happened, he could feel something radiate off of Esdeath even stronger than before.

It was evil. It was full of murderous intent.

So this is what made the assassin hesitate. He could not blame them. Soon enough, the presence began to flee away from the two of them. "Hm?" Esdeath hummed with interest as she looked up to the roofs. "That presence disappeared…" She then sighed in disappointment. "So they didn't take the bait… pity. I wanted to try some new torture techniques."

"You never cease to amaze me on how many techniques come into your thoughts." Minato commented as he was already digging into his frozen treat. Scooping a bit of his ice cream into his spoon, he pointed the portion towards the General without even looking. Feeling a gentle tug, he brought the now empty spoon back in front of him and continued to eat.

"This is… delicious." Esdeath said slowly, clearly impressed at the flavor.

"So what is the occasion?" Minato asked, already a quarter of the way done with his dessert. "This isn't just about your victory in the North, is it? There's something more to this visit." He continued, not bothering to look away from the ice cream once more.

"I have been assigned to take care of some assassins known as Night Raid. But as each of those assassins have been known to wield Teigu, I requested a group of Teigu users to aid me in erasing them." Esdeath started before looking over towards Minato. "I want you to join me."

Ah, so that was the issue. Minato was hardly surprised with the reveal as soon as she explained her situation. Sighing, he looked directly at her for the first time after beginning to eat his ice cream. "No." He bluntly put his answer.

"But stepping into my group has many benefits." Esdeath began, looking over towards the male herself. "One of the benefits is that you do not have to live by yourself anymore. You may be under my supervision at all times. We can be close. You do not have to live among the weak society that inhabits the Capital. There are many things that you will gain from by taking up my offer."

"Counter points." Minato replied back, taking the time to shove some more ice cream into his mouth before answering. "First, I do not mind living by myself. If you are worried about the amount of money I have, I have enough to live a content life thanks to payments and donations from you. Second, I thank you for worrying about me but I am a grown man. Third, I do not mind living down around with the people. It's a very nice experience." He listed his reasoning. But it came extremely slow as each sentence had to come after a mouthful of the frozen treat.

"The weak perish while the strong survive." Esdeath stated harshly, trying to do her best to convince Minato to join her. "If you continue to live among the weak, you yourself shall grow up to become such. You don't want that to happen to you, do you?" She questioned, taking a lick of her own frozen treat.

"Memento Mori." Minato replied, earning a disapproving look from the General. He ignored it as he began to continue talking as the woman hadn't spoken yet right after his answer. "Remember that-"

"-You are mortal. Remember you will die. No matter what choices you may make, only death awaits in the end." Esdeath cut him off, as if she knew the lines. "We may not know how we die, but Death constantly watches over us, waiting for any opportune moment to seize us away." This time, the woman sighed. "I hate it whenever you use that against me."

"You hate the truth then." Minato stated, already finished his treat. He placed the bowl next to him. "However, I suppose I could give it some thought if you truly do want me to join." He simply stared at her blandly.

A small smile grew on her face in response to his offer. "It would be most certainly kind of you to." She answered. "sadly, I believe it is time for us to part now." Standing up, she adjusted the cap on her head before facing the male. The man stared back at her before bowing formally in respect, which she deserved as a General of the Empire's army. She then began to walk away, but not before exchanging parting words with Minato.

"See you soon, Brother."

"Until we meet again, Sister."

For the guest asking why Minato couldn't just take down Honest and Esdeath… this is pretty much the reason. As soon thought about doing a Persona/Akame ga Kill crossover, the image of Minato's blue hair with Esdeath's blue hair came into mind. Soon enough, 'bam', they are siblings.

Please review so I know what you guys think.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

No flames please.