Disclaimer: I own nothing of Persona. All rights belong to Atlus and its affiliates.

Summary: Ren gets jumped by a shadow monster returning home. However, when another creature saves him, Ren finds himself forming a bond he'd never thought possible.

Warning(s): Violence and Mild Language

Persona, I Choose You!

Persona 5

Arsene

Ren really should not have stayed so long at the diner. However, when Ryuji had arrived and had asked for some homework help, he couldn't bring himself to say no. Ryuji's his best friend. The first person to show him real kindness since arriving in Tokyo.

However, as Ren stared up into the face of a dark mask with devilish eyes and a wicked smile made of hell-fire, he was starting to wish he was more of a hardass.

Humming noise sounded out of the creature and it titled its top hat in contemplation, studying him. Ren stared back from where he had landed ass first on the pavement, heart pounding in his chest and breath burning his throat. It leaned closer and Ren gripped the handle of his bag tight, ready to swing if it attempted to impale him with one of its long horns.

There was the sound of scraping, and he was reminded of the other thing that had popped up that night.

The blob scraped itself up from the ground, the holes of its blue mask glancing at Arsene, before focusing on Ren. The boy flinched, remembering all too well how the thing had tried to jump him from the alleyway as he made his way home. Honestly, it was a blur for him. One moment he had a shadow monster going for his throat, the next it was being thrown back by a wall of angry shadow.

The monster produced a hiss, then lunged. It didn't even get within a foot of Ren before the blade of the other monster's heel kicked it and sent it crashing back into the garbage.

"Hmph. A vile creature like you must be desperate if you dare ignore an opponent such as I." Its deep voice rang in the night, then returned his, it certainly sounded male, attention to Ren,"It is best you take cover, human. I tend to be wild when I fight."

Then, gazing back at his opponent he spread his wings, creating a gale. Ren scrambled to stand against the winds and take cover around a corner. Once safe, he peeked back around, curiosity getting the better of him, wanting to know what the tall creature would do.

The shadow hissed again, and it's blobby texture rippled. The black goop slid away like sludge water and a figure began to emerge. It's body dark, four arms ending in wicked claws and a white mask, showing a psuedo face of disapproval, glared at the creature dressed in red. It stamped its feet, the chains on its wrists dangling, before picking up a large trashcan and hurling it. Strong wings bash the object aside, as easy as flicking a wrist, then the tall figure is dashing at his opponent. The monster roars, pounding fists into the ground, then rushing to meet him. The red one slips under a clumsy fist, then slamming his sharp heel into the monster's chin.

It's head snaps up from the force and then another kick sends it sprawling into a wall. The monster groans, before struggling to stand back up. It grabs a lamppost in a clawed fist. The force of it bends the metal and then it's ripping the light fixture out of the concrete. It roared a battle cry and charged into the fray again. The other chuckled.

"My, my, and here I was hoping for a clean fight." The lamppost was brought down like a club and Ren nearly shouted a warning.

He didn't need to bother.

A hand casually grabbed the lamp, stopping the attack in its tracks. The monster seemed confused, as no matter how much force it used its impromptu weapon would not budge. The fiery grin seemed to flicker.

"Is your stature just for show? Deplorable. Pixies have given me a better workout." This time a fist hit the beast in it's masked face and, losing its grip on the weapon, was thrown down into the concrete. Ren winced at the small fissure made from the impact.

"I grow bored of this. You do not have that which I desire." The other raised the lamp like a spear in his hand, his eyes and grin flaring,"Good-bye."

Ren covered his eyes just as the lamppost pierced the skin of the monster through the back of the neck. Thankfully he didn't hear any screams and only opened his eyes to look after a few seconds of stillness. He looked just in time to see the monster disintegrate, the lamp lodged firmly where it took its last stand. Ren gulped.

The sound must have drawn the figure's attention because he looked at him right after. Ren tensed.

They stared at each other, grey eyes bearing the glare of a burning grin. His heels clicked as he turned fully and began to walk closer. Ren felt a chill run down his spine. He should run. Scream. Anything but stand there, especially after watching this guy decimate his opponent so easily. All he'd have to do is grab Ren by the neck and snap it like a twig. Ren didn't do anything rational, though. Just stood there, eerily calm as this being made his way towards him.

Something moved out of the corner of Ren's eye. He looked up just in time to see another monster, identical to the first one, leap from the rooftops towards the tall figure. Ren yelled.

"Look out!"

The gaze of fire widened and turned just in time to avoid the monster crushing his back. He wasn't fast enough to avoid the arms that flailed back, knocking him in the stomach and into the ground.

The monster turned its stony expression towards Ren. It only advanced two steps when the figure on the ground huffed and launched himself at the other. Clawed hands dug into the porcelain mask and the monster bellowed in agony, thrashing to throw it's opponent off.

"Run, boy! Don't stand there! Run!" The monster soon grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him like a paper wieght into the wall.

All was still then. Ren watched as the monster began to advance on its prone opponent.

No. It pulled the lamppost from the ground, taking the place of its fallen brethren.

Get up. Ren felt his chest tighten.

Get up. C'mon get up. The monster stopped and gazed at the defeated.

Get up, get up, get up! Why was his chest hurting? Why was he panicking? Why didn't he run?

The tall figure gave a pathetic wheeze. The monster bellowed its victory, raising the pole above its head.

Get up, damn you!

Ren wasn't sure what happened. One moment was spent watching then the next he was sprinting. His bag forgotten, his legs pounding the pavement, eyes fixated on the point between the attacker and his savior.

The monster jabbed its weapon down. Ren dove headfirst in between the two.

"I won't let you die!"

There was a flash, and suddenly Ren found himself engulfed in blue flames.

The monster drove its weapon forward. The blue flames, instead of giving, acted like a barrier. The monster grunted, surprised, then tried to force it through. The resistance multiplied, and it soon found itself being pushed back and then thrown onto its back.

Ren opened his eyes and found his vision blocked by nothing but blue. The flames didn't burn. The heat was there, but it felt comforting. It was so warm, Ren thought he could sleep just like this. Then the flames parted.

The figure that had once been on the ground was now standing, the flames driven apart by his large wings. In his arms was Ren, held carefully by the waist and close to his chest in a protective embrace. Flames and chains danced around them, almost in a gleeful and sadistic dance. The figure looked down at him.

"You did not run." A statement, no questions. Ren shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"I didn't want you to die." There was no hesitation in his answer. For the first time in a long time, Ren didn't need to think before speaking. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, what he wanted to do.

The figure gave a deep chuckle, pleased.

The moment was interrupted when the monster gave a groan and sat up. The arm around his waist tightened and he heard a small growl in the other's chest.

"Let me help." His attention was brought back to Ren by the request, no, the demand, even as the monster picked its weapon of choice back up.

"What?"

"I want to help. Let me."

"You think you can help?"

"I know I can help." Ren wasn't sure how, but he knew he could. Something about this felt right. He wasn't useless here. He wanted to help. He could help. He would help.

"Let me fight with you." The monster began to advance and, unknown to all, something began to glow deep in the confines of Ren's bag.

"You wish to forge a Link with me?" A Link? Yes. The words felt right. It all felt right. Ren nodded.

"Yes." The glow became brighter.

"Your name boy."

"Ren Amamiya." He could feel the smirk forming on his lips.

"I am Arsene and I accept." A burst of blue light and the flames burned brighter. There was a prickling in Ren's chest and suddenly there was a familiar card between them. The dark void on its face filled with an image, but Ren never took his eyes away from Arsene and Arsene could see the determination in the human's eyes.

The card landed in Ren's hand.

Gently Arsene put Ren's feet on the ground and unwound his arm from the human's waist. Then, both teen and his companion faced their opponent. The chains danced faster, the fires roared hotter, brighter, louder, and Arsene flared his wings. Ren held the card in front of his chest, his smirk turning wicked as he felt Arsene's power pulse within. The card was wrapped in flame before it burst, now replaced with a gleaming, silver gun.

The monster charged forward and Ren took aim. Light gathered at the tip and Ren could feel the heat of the gun's power pulsing through his hand and up the barrel.

Ren pulled the trigger and a shot rang out. The monster stumbled back, mask now cracked with from the shot and body dazed.

"Arsene," he called, voice echoing and mixing with the cackling fire,"Ravage him!"

He pointed his other hand and the chains shot forward. The monster stood no chance as they ensnared their target and Arsene charged.

His claws glowed with dark energy, powered by the strong defiance and determination of the human behind him. His hand shot forward, enveloped in darkness and rammed straight through the mask.

For a moment, a fleeting moment, both stood still. Then the monster's skin cracked and it disintegrated into dust.

The chains slowly vanished and the flames died down to embers before being blown away by the wind. In the silence of the street it was very easy to make out Ren's heavy breathing. His chest felt heavy, congested. He felt like he'd just run from Shibuya to Yongen with Ryuji.

Arsene turned to see the human's knees buckle and he fell towards the ground. Arsene caught him with careful arm.

Arsene lowered him to sit on the street, waiting patiently. Once Ren caught his breath, or as well as he could, he finally looked at the card in his hand. It had the picture of a man walking with a lantern and a dog by his side.

"The Fool Arcana," Arsene said,"My Arcana."

"Arcana?" Ren asked, breathless. Arsene chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, steadying him.

"Yes, but the explanations can wait. For now, you must rest, my little master." Rest? Rest sounded good. Ren could barely nod an affirmative before his eyes drifted shut.

Hello, dears! I'm back! Don't get used to updates like this, because while I do have ideas for several oneshots jotted down not all of them are currently written. But I really did want to get this one out and hear your thoughts lovelies.

Honestly, I like how this one turned out but I'm curious about how well I did the fight scenes. Too much detail? Just enough? Was it hard to follow? What about the small breaks of action in between? Anything that could be taken out or that could be shortened or even clarified? Seriously, let me know your thoughts, because while I think I did well I also believe there's always room for improvement.

In other news I should probably mention that these oneshots are not in any particular order. I'll write them as they come to me and what I feel like fleshing out. Also, most of these are gonna be P4 and P5 centered as I'm not yet very familiar with the rest of the games. However, these oneshots won't be following the plots of the games word for word either, so I've got some leeway in how to play with them. ;) And yes, I do have a oneshot or two noted down for some of the other games, but they're not as numerous. Nor have they been written. . . Oops. :P

Any questions don't be afraid to ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability! :D

Sincerely,
Fallen L. Angel