Author Note: This was actually my very first idea that made me want to write Arcana Chance, but I only ever got around to it now. I've been adding to it bit by bit over the past month-ish...school is winding down, so that means projects, projects, and finals. Well, I really did enjoy writing the beginning of this, but by the end, I completely didn't know how to end it. I think it might be rushed. Anyways, thanks for all the kind reviews and criticisms, and I hope you enjoy reading this one too.

Review Note: Oh, I also want to note that I am using each person's individual arcana, instead of their social link arcana. For most characters, its the same, but P3P changed some around. Like Akihiko is an Emperor, but the social link with him is for Star. I think the only other one is Aigis's link being Aeon when she is the Chariot, and Shinjiro's link being Moon, when he's actually the Hierophant.

The Lovers, The Chariot, & The Emperor

Kanji Tatsumi couldn't believe he was here.

All around him, it was a scene of pure chaos, as people crowded around this or that, usually stopping only for a few seconds before moving to another location. Every so often, someone would shout, either in joy or dismay, and Kanji even thought he heard a fight break out at one point. It was a regular battle royale, the likes of which Kanji had never seen before. Seated behind his table, the young man wondered for a moment just what he was thinking when he signed up for his own stand here.

At this sewing and knitting convention.

The chaos, however, didn't really extend to his little booth. It had already been a few hours since the convention started – when would he have time to get food anyway? – but he quickly noticed after the first hour that few people chose to stop and look at his creations. Maybe his dolls weren't cute enough? Nah, no way. He had cross-checked with Rise and Nanako before coming here, and they both guaranteed him that they were the cutest dolls ever. So that wasn't it.

Letting out a half-frustrated, half-annoyed sigh, Kanji leaned back in his chair and began to wonder just what made him think this was a good idea.

He hadn't really been against this, sure. Ever since he started his sewing classes back in Inaba, the business for Tatsumi Textiles had soared. Of course, although there were the few assholes that attended just to try and mess with him, try was all they could do. He wasn't ashamed of himself anymore, and there were plenty of people that accepted him for who he was.

Thinking back, it was those very same people that got him into this mess.

On a whim, he had crafted a doll version of Take-Mikazuchi and Rokuten Maoh. He hadn't really given it much thought at the time – he always just made whatever he wanted when there weren't any requests – and kept the two dolls in his room. It was only after Rise found them and showed them off to the whole team that everyone started to want their own Persona dolls. One thing led to another, and he eventually found himself selling off smaller (and cuter!) versions of the ones Senpai used.

Around town, news of "Tatsumi's handcrafted one-of-a-kind dolls" was a big hit. Not just kids, but even girls (and occasionally a few guys) his age, and even adults, came often for his creations. He was pretty proud of himself, that was true. Maybe too proud, because when Yukiko suggested he set up a stand at this convention to sell his dolls, he had agreed pretty fast.

Nothing was going right though. Most people glanced at him and just walked away. He was starting to get more pissed off every time he saw someone whisper to their friends while pointing at him. What was wrong with him being here, anyway? He could probably sew twice as good, no three times, as most people here. But hardly anyone spared a glance at his creations, and the few people that did pretty much just paid for it and left, no small talk at all, no interest, nothing.

Maybe he was just no good at this? It might have been better to keep selling these back in Inaba, instead of thinking he could make it big out here. Yeah, probably too soon for him to try and break out his skills in the "outside" world. Better to just head back to the hotel now, get some rest, and take a train back tomorrow.

It was a depressing thought, but one that stuck, nonetheless. Reaching underneath the table, Kanji slid a cardboard box out from underneath the table and began to place his collection back inside. Nobody seemed to mind, and he wasn't going to make a big deal about it. There was a lot to place back, and he needed to be care – some of these were fragile, after all – and as he finally reached the last row on display, his ears caught a nearby conversation.

"—shouldn't worry so much. Whatever Akihiko needed translating probably wasn't that important, otherwise he'd still be calling, right?"

"...I suppose. But just to be safe, maybe we should hurry ba—"

"Don't worry so much, Aigis! C'mon, it's your first convention, let's find something nice to bring back as a souvenir."

Nothing important, really. Just convention-goers doing their own thing. Well, it's not like he meant to eavesdrop anyway...stuff like that just happened. Thinking that, he sealed up the box he had filled and crouched down to place it underneath the table, grabbing another box in the process.

"Oh, Aigis! Look at those, aren't they cute?"

Footsteps. Fast, loud footsteps.

Were they headed for his stand? He wasn't entirely packed up yet, but it must have at least looked like he was getting ready to leave. Besides, once they saw him...they'd treat him the same as everyone else here.

Just that mere thought was enough to force Kanji's face into a deep scowl as he stood up from behind the stand to get a look at his two customers. A brunette in a fancy dress with a fur lining and other seemingly expensive pieces of accessories — not that that denoted the quality of the clothing...he was sure he could make better — and a blonde girl with some fancy headphones and a blue sundress – now that, on the other hand, was beautifully made. He couldn't admire their choice in clothing for long, though, as he quickly noticed the shocked expression of the brown-haired girl.

Leaning over, she whispered to her companion so softly that Kanji had to strain to catch what was said. "Aigis, maybe we should go somewhere else. That guy looks angrier than Shinjiro when someone doesn't finish their plate..."

That did it.

That was the last straw.

"Just what is with you people, anyway?" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the table.

Picking up the closest doll to him, he waved it in front of the girls. "What is wrong with me making these dolls, huh? What, is it too difficult to believe that someone like me can make anything like this? I promised Senpai that I would do my best to get people to understand me, but none of you people even try!"

He didn't even care that most people were ignoring him, as long as he could get this out. This whole plan was a disaster, and this was the perfect ending to his perfect failure. Looking away, he bent over to pick up his fallen box, placing the doll he had held onto the table in front of the girls.

A slight silence passed before he heard a voice, with at least some regret in her tone. "...sorry. I shouldn't have said something like that.."

"You know what? Whatever. Just hurry up and leave so I can finish packing this up."

No longer even looking at them, Kanji reached up to grab the closest doll on the table when he felt resistance. Someone else was...pulling it? Not releasing his grip, he picked up the conversation between the two girls.

"Aigis! What are you doing? He told us to leave..." urged the brown-haired girl.

"My apologies, but I need to inspect this doll," replied who he assumed was 'Aigis'. An odd name, but he wasn't one to judge. "Tatsumi-san, please allow me to do this."

Being spoken to directly, Kanji didn't know exactly how to react. On one hand, he had just yelled at these two, but, then again, that was only the other one. 'Aigis' actually seemed interested in his doll...and he couldn't deny that it made him just a little happier now that someone was interested in his work.

"...alright," Kanji said, immediately feeling the doll being tugged away from his hand. "Be careful though, the stitching on the scarf took a while to do, and for something that small, I can't really say how safe it is."

"I understand," she answered before looking over the doll in excruciating detail, spinning it around numerous times. How fast was she looking at it?

Well, even if she says she understands, she's being pretty damn rough with it. Not that he expected it to fall apart...it was something he made after all, and that made it tough enough for most situations. Still...why would she need to look at it so much...

Apparently, her friend was thinking the same thing too, as after a few minutes of "inspection", she chimed in. "What's wrong? Do you want to get it, Aigis?"

Oh, that must be it. Maybe she wants to make sure it's well-made. Mentally flexing to himself, Kanji could only think that if that were the case, it would be a guarantee sale.

"No."

Disappointment. Massive disappointment.

"Rather, Yukari-san, doesn't this doll look familiar to you?" she asked, holding the doll up.

Wait, what?

"Hrmm, now that you mention it, I get the feeling I've seen this somewhere before..." answered 'Yukari'. "But where...?"

No way.

"My time wielding it was short, but even before that, I never forgot each and every one of them. This one...Apsaras."

Shit.

"And that one over there...King Frost, Power, Seiryu, Shiisaa, Eligor. All of these dolls are modeled after a Persona."

By now, Kanji was sweating bullets. Just who were these girls that knew about Personas? On top of that, how did they know the exact names of these ones? They were Senpai's...this wasn't adding up at all.

When the two simultaneously turned towards him, he was practically speechless, only capable of waving his hands in front of him before stuttering out, "Who...just the hell are you two?"

A slight smile, more of a smirk, appeared on the brown-haired girl's face before she answered. "I'm Yukari Takeba, and this is Aigis. But, the more important question here is...who are you and just how do you know about Persona?"

Lie. That was the key here. That's what Naoto had said. "Uhm, er...name's uhhh Yos...Yosuke Sa, uh, Satonaka. Yeah, Yosuke Satonaka."

If possible, the smirk grew. "Nice try, but that name tag clearly says 'Kanji Tatsumi'. You're pretty bad at lying, aren't you? Just cough it up, just where did you get the idea behind these dolls."

Laughing as cheerfully as he could in this situation, Kanji knew that he was pretty much screwed. Whoever these girls were, they clearly knew what a Persona was, and it would probably only be a matter of time before they made him spill everything. What would everyone else do in this situation? Senpai, Yosuke, and Rise would probably be able to smooth talk their way out. Naoto, on the other hand, could probably completely turn this on the other person. Chie and Yukiko both were pretty scary. Teddie...well, ignoring Teddie, everyone could probably solve this themselves, and he had to as well.

"Lemme tell you about that, the story is kinda weird but—" Kanji started, a perfect story already made up in his head.

"Wait," interrupted Aigis. Her voice was filled with sadness, but Kanji could detect determination too. "Yukari-san, are you sure we should be investigating this matter more deeply? Two years ago...didn't we all make that promise?"

For a while, there was only silence. And then...

Laughter.

Yukari, even if she had been at a Yukiko-level of terrifying a few seconds ago, suddenly let out a small laugh. "That's right. We did, didn't we? I'd almost forgotten, because it all came back so suddenly, didn't it? Thanks, Aigis."

Her friend smiled back, satisfied with Yukari's decision.

Turning towards him, she bowed down slightly. "I apologize for any inconvenience we have made towards you today."

Now he really didn't know how to respond. A minute ago, he thought he had to either run or fight, and now everything had gone back to them just being regular customers, rather than...well, people who knew about Persona. "I guess that's fine. It's not like you two bothered me much, I was already packing up..."

Aigis only nodded, but Yukari took this moment to jump in. "That won't do though, you still have so much left."

Sigh. "Yeah, but nothing I can do about it. Nothing's selling, and this whole damn convention can just go and get be—"

"Then how 'bout you sell it to us, then?" she asked, with a warm smile on her face.

"Huh? That..that's...isn't that a bit...I dunno, much?" Kanji replied. Just how much money did these girls have?

"Well..it wouldn't just be for us. We have a few friends who might enjoy these too, so..." she answered before leaning over to Aigis. "We could probably charge this to Mitsuru-senpai...she did say that we could for emergencies, after all."

"This would be acceptable, I think."

Before he could even reply, Aigis had dropped more than enough yen on the table and snatched his one filled box away.

Still speechless, the girls began to walk away before he heard Yukari's voice calling back to him. "Keep up the good work, Tatsumi-san!"

...

...

This certainly was an interesting first convention.