Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE or any of its characters.
Understanding One's Heart
Prologue: The First Debut 3
"On your left!"
"Got it! Ready Cain? FULL THROTTLE!"
Touma, along with his Mirage partner Cain, rammed themselves through a crowd of hostile Mirages before skidding to a halt. One by one, they disappeared into wisps of smoke.
"Yashiro!"
There was no need for Itsuki to make the command. Yashiro and Navarre quickly dispatched the group of enemies to the right with swift sword strikes. However, that did not stop them from their onslaught. The hostile mirages surrounded them from every corner of the arena, all with the resolve to take down our heroes. Itsuki did not falter in his resolve to fight either.
"Let's finish this Chrom!"
"Right!"
And in a quick flash of lightning, the remaining hostile Mirages were eliminated. Given the all clear, the three Mirage Masters regrouped to discuss their next move.
"Navarre…"
"No enemies detected. All is quiet."
"Well, that's a relief," Touma stretched out his arms as he gave his spear a few swings. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. I was only getting warmed up!"
Itsuki couldn't agree more. All this power, all this exhilaration; it was like he was being born again. Six years in waiting, and once more, Itsuki Aoi was a Mirage Master, defending Tokyo in his own right from Mirages who sought to steal this world's Perfoma. While this experience was far too welcoming, there was still some things that were left unanswered.
"But why now? Why at this time of all things considered?"
"Yeah, you've got a point there man," Touma nodded in agreement.
Even Yashiro seemed perplexed at this sudden turn of events. First of all, the appearance of Tiki in the real world threw everyone off guard. Then came the emergence of an Idolosphere right in the centre of the café, in which Tiki faded back into. Upon entering it, Itsuki and his friends found themselves once again with the ability to take on Carnage Forms, and reunited with their respective Mirage partners.
Coincidence, is it not?
"Anyways, right now's not the time to be thinking too hard over this. We still have to check up on how the girls are doing. Let's go."
And Itsuki took off. Touma and Yashiro looked at each other knowingly, before deciding to follow suit. Even if he didn't see it, Itsuki was going to have to figure it out some way or another.
….
At the top floor of the dungeon, the four female Mirage Masters were locked into combat, all while trying to protect Tiki, Maiko, and Barry from harm.
Ellie shot down a few charging at them from above. Mamori cleaned their surroundings by hurling her axe in circles around them. Tsubasa and Kiria cleared the way by launching a combined ice and wind spell at the crowd in front of them. All in all, things seemed to be going well.
"Well, that seemed to be the last of them." Maiko wondered out loud. "Are you sure this is the last area?"
"Yes, I'm positive," Tiki replied. "I don't seem to detect any other Mirage presence nearby."
"Well good, I wish to get back to dinner, I'm still starvin'!" Barry stretched out and let out a huge yawn. "Still, I wish I got my Mirage Master abilities back. I still wasn't able to do nuthin'!"
The female Mirage Masters regrouped with the others, and soon, Itsuki and the others had caught up with them all.
"Everyone, all you alright?"
"Here he comes, everyone's favourite hero…" Barry groaned as all female members of the cast approached Itsuki. "Clueless as ever I see, how sad for the famed hero of the show…"
But everyone ignored Barry's rambling. Each of the four heroines were eager to prove their worth to our hero, despite everything that happened.
"Itsuki-san, you should have been there to see me and Draug-san take down all those Mirages…"
"Ha! As if! Clearly Virion and I stole the show with our arrows…"
"Itsuki-kun! Don't listen to them! I was the one who took care of most of them… well… I mean… with Caeda of course…"
"Itsuki. I think it is obvious that Tharja and I had the least amount of trouble when we were dealing with our enemies..."
"Okay, okay, one at a time!" Itsuki faltered a little in his approach while everyone started to swarm him. "No need for everyone to get so excited…"
"My, my Itsuki-kun, ever popular as always, aren't you? Hee hee, you naughty young man…"
"Maiko-san, not helping…"
Everyone joined in the laughter at Itsuki's predicament. Even with the position as Fortuna's president, there were still things he couldn't comprehend or handle on his own. If there were only a solution for this situation…
"And this is why I have come back onii-chan."
"Oh, that's right, weren't we discussing how and why things are as they are now?" Touma struck a few Tokusatsu hero poses. "It's amazing, us being heroes and all, but what gives?"
"I for one, need to have answers, Itsuki Aoi." Yashiro added in his ever-so intriguing demeanour. "Touma Akagi speaks the truth, and I wish to understand why."
"That right Tiki, what has become of us? Why have the Mirages returned to Tokyo?"
Tiki bore an expression that seemed to be that of confusion and embarrassment. What could this possibly mean? She let out a hefty sigh before she decided to speak.
"Everyone, please, I need to speak with onii-chan. Alone, if you please."
Now this took everyone by surprise. Surely, such a dire situation called for everyone to get involved right? There was no way everyone else was going to be in the dark about this.
"What's this? Why alone?" Ellie snapped. "Tiki, you're not up to something, I hope?"
"Yeah! What is the meaning of this?" Tsubasa asked.
"I'm sorry everyone, but it only can be onii-chan who knows of this." Already extremely guilt-driven and self-conscious about it, Tiki could only stare at the floor, knowing what must be done. After all, she was sent down here for a purpose, and she herself must fulfill it.
"Tiki, please think this through…"
"Tiki-chan?"
"Kiria-onee-san, Mamori-chan, everyone, I'm sorry…"
And with a wave of her staff, there was a giant flash of light…. And everything was gone.
….
"Huh? What happened?"
Itsuki Aoi was lying with his face flat on the floor, reverted back into his civilian clothes. Picking himself off the floor, he first found himself in an empty white room; absolutely blank, with no sense of fulfilment nor completeness. What an odd place.
Having a look around, Itsuki came across what looked like a tarot card lying flat on the floor. Curious, he placed his hand over it, and almost instantaneously, the previously empty room began reshaping itself. The floor was replaced by a moss-covered stone walkway. Pillars erected from all around, supposedly made from the same material. Scenes of greenery began to cover the walls and pretty soon, Itsuki realized that he was in the Bloom Palace once again.
It didn't take too long for him to notice the small monument lying centre stage, with Tiki sitting on top of it, anxiously waiting for him to come over.
"Tiki?"
"Onii-chan, I hope you understand, as this recent turn of events can only be truly known by you."
"What do you mean by that?" As much as Itsuki was confused by Tiki's ambiguous and cryptic remarks, he very much understood the direness of the situation. Nevertheless, he let the young Mirage explain herself.
Sensing his acknowledgement, Tiki nodded, and with another wave of her staff, she conjured a crystal ball out of thin air.
Itsuki came in closer to get a better look. Sure enough, there was an image of what looked like a beautiful woman with wavy green hair. At first, Itsuki thought that this must've been Tiki, as their facial features looked remarkably similar. However, upon closer inspection, he could tell that there was something wrong. This person was…..
"Suffering." Tiki completed Itsuki's though for him. "The great goddess of the Idolospheres, Lady Naga."
"Naga?"
"The one who looks over the comings of goings of our dimension. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she had temporarily lost control, resulting in the crisis that occurred six years ago. Mirages started going astray, and began invading your world in search for Performa."
"The ability of one to determine one's potential." Itsuki replied. "So I'm going to assume that Naga had lost her confidence in her own potential that caused some Mirages to become hostile."
"Wow onii-chan, you're so smart!" Tiki exclaimed in admiration before realizing that she needed to reaffirm her purpose. Straitening herself out, she continued.
"Anyways, yes you are correct. Due to Gharnef and Medeus's influence, Lady Naga had lost her own will in fulfilling her purpose, thus rifts were created between our dimensions, and without the help of the Mirage Masters, we would've seen much worse than what we had encountered."
"Oh gosh, that would've been terrible…" Itsuki pondered over the thought. His memories brought him back to when he and the other Mirage Masters had prepared to perform the Opera of Light, ready to face Medeus head on, before that one fateful assault…
"Had the spirit of the Hero King not arrived, I guess I would've…"
"And this is where you come in, onii-chan."
Tiki waved her staff once more, and in front of her, floating in midair, were four tarot cards similar to the one Itsuki had touched earlier.
"The Chariot, The Priestess, The Lovers, and The Wheel of Fortune." Tiki pointed to each one as she introduced them. "These represent the links of friendship you have with your female friends."
Looking closer, Itsuki could make out faint images of Tsubasa, Kiria, Eleonora, and Mamori's faces imprinted on each of the cards. How odd…
"Onii-chan, if you please, take out your card."
"My card?" It was only then that he realized that the card he touched earlier had placed itself in his pocket. Itsuki took it out, and as plain as day, his own face was imprinted on it.
"The Fool. That is who you represent, along with the Legendary Hero King."
"The Fool? Are you implying…?"
"No, no, no! Just listen onii-chan!" Despite having aged a few years, Tiki still sprouted the essence of youth, and was still very child-like in that matter. Having calmed down a little, Tiki took a deep breath. She had to finish what she started.
"The Fool is only a title, a representation of what role you play in this story. Since that brief moment when you shared souls with the Hero King, your fate had been established, and the link between you and him began to forge."
"The Hero King has strong spiritual ties with Lady Naga, and due to your link with his spirit, this indirectly relates to you as well. You see, the Hero King was one who made a great deal of friendships during his time. While each and every one was important to him, only one of these links was essential to defining who he was. As of recent, Lady Naga has detected a fault in this link, and now it is up to you to determine how to mend it."
"And by that you mean…"
Tiki began to look a little flustered, albeit a bit depressed at the same time, as she knew full well of the consequences the following events would uphold.
"You have to… forge a lovers bond with someone."
….
"Itsuki, you okay there bro?"
Itsuki found himself back at the café, surrounded by his friends. Everything had reverted to how it was before the appearance of the Idolosphere. Everyone had resumed their casual attire, all staring at Itsuki with increased concern.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Itsuki accepted Touma's hand as he hoisted him up. While he recovered, he thought about what Tiki had told him during his visit to the Bloom Palace. Why him? And why did it really have to be that? Considering he had four options to choose from, only one mattered in the end. Sheepishly, he looked around at those who he considered his friends.
Tsubasa Oribe. The Lovers Arcana.
Kiria Kurono. The Priestess Arcana.
Eleonora Yumizuru. The Chariot Arcana.
Mamori Minamoto. The Wheel of Fortune Arcana.
The bonds he had forged with each of them were all so important to him, yet he could only proceed with one of them. He was treading in dangerous waters indeed.
"Tiki told me, well, I'm not supposed to explain it. I'll let you know if there are any more Mirage attacks. Until then, stay sharp."
And Itsuki walked out of the café, much to his friends' bewilderment.
….
As everyone from the group parted ways, we now shift our focus on our four leading heroines.
Tsubasa rode the bus back to her apartment. Feeling both confused and concerned, she couldn't stop thinking about what Itsuki was going through. As his childhood friend, Tsubasa was always on the receiving end when it came to helping each other out. It was thanks to Itsuki that Tsubasa's career as an idol blossomed, but now, she was beginning to feel guilty for not doing anything in return.
Kiria ordered a cab back home. While she felt it was the most sisterly thing to do, she couldn't help but be concerned for Itsuki more than everyone else of the group. After all, he was managing all of Fortuna Entertainment mostly on his own. If it wasn't for his encouragement, Kiria would never have embraced her love for cute things, and would've retained her cool, withdrawn demeanour throughout the rest of her life.
Eleonora borrowed a bike and headed out. While pedalling, she recalled memories of hanging out with Itsuki and all the things they discussed. Never had she met someone who was willing to converse with her seriously despite her status as a biracial. He was even willing to listen to her rant on about how good Hollywood was, and helped her attain the fame she has today. Even so, she got all she wanted, but realized that her connection to Itsuki and Japan still lingered, and wished to maintain it.
Mamori decided to take a stroll and think about things. Being the youngest of the group had its difficulties, certainly when trying to land roles in the entertainment industry. Nevertheless, it was Itsuki who encouraged her to try out everything, and surprisingly has led her to where she was now. There was so much she wanted to say to him for everything he's done, yet she didn't know what she could come up with.
Surely, this would be a difficult task for everyone; one full of heartbreak and sorrow. But nonetheless, something had to be done. The longer this harem drama drags out, the longer Naga continues to suffer, and Tiki could do nothing but watch how things play out, all while a dark force begins to lurk around in the shadows…
Prologue: The First Debut END
A/N: And this concludes the introduction for this story. Now, I have an excuse to call this a Fire Emblem/Persona crossover because of the tarot cards right? (Sorry SMT fans, Persona interested me more)
Also, please refrain from saying who you'll vote for in the reviews, although from the poll, I think it's pretty clear who'll win. Either way, what I'll do is refresh the poll every now and then, in case anyone changes their mind throughout the story and wants to vote for someone else. In the end, I'll tally up all the votes for all the polls and write the final chapters based on the winner. So if you haven't already, head over to my profile and cast your votes!
Until next time folks!
