Minami: Last time on Persona Genji! We met Magoichi, then we met the Fudo brothers.
Rin, Yin, & Jin: Fighting Fudo Brothers!
Minami: Yoshitsune met Magoichi, and Magoichi met Tomoe's foot.
Magoichi: *groans* Why?... *feints*
Minami: Now after one long night of partying and myself having joined the gang, we're off to the next stop in our journey.
*The Title Persona Genji. is written in calligraphy style then a sword slashes the period into a !*
Gaiden 1-3: Thou art I, I am thou!
Two thieves are counting their spoils in an alley at a small town north of the Inn. "Eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one..."
"Do you have to count out loud like that?"
"Well now I lost my place so no." The thief with the knit cap pushes all the coins together again and begins counting only mouthing the numbers 'one, two, three...' "You sure snagged a nice load Shizuka."
"That's why they call me the best." She flips a coin in the air then catches it.
"No, they call you the fastest. Kabuto is the best."
"What does Kabuto got that I don't?"
"Uhh I don't know patience, smarts, grace, ingenuity..."
"Jeez Yuko if you love him so much why don't you marry him." Shizuka then gets a look at some new arrivals. The five travelers, entering the town of Yumi. Shizuka eyes up and down the samurai and an opportunistic grin brightens up her face.
Yuko looks at the group next to her friend then begins shaking her head. "No, no, no, no! Whatever you are thinking don't." Shizuka ignores her friend and pulls out an oil case and begins applying make-up and scents to her face. "What does Kabuto always say? Don't go after Samurai unless you want to get caught! What are you doing?"
Shizuka splashes water over her newly applied makeup to make it run down her face. "Remember that trick we did back in Kyoto? This will be cake."
"Shizuka! No! Aw crap!"
Shizuka runs to a bench to sit down and starts breathing heavily to bring out tears and start crying. As Yoshitsune's group walks closer to her she quickly thinks up what she is about to tell the incoming victim. Shizuka began making loud sniffs and whimpers. Yoshitsune notices the disturbance and kneels down towards her.
"What's happened?"
"I...I...I lost my dog!" She begins sobbing loudly, Yoshitsune's face became more concerned.
"It's okay, I'll help you find him, did you see where he ran off to?"
Shizuka nods her head seeing that he had taken the bait, now she just needed to target him alone. "I th-think he wandered off into that alley over there." Yoshitsune rubbed his chin and nodded in agreement.
"I bet he smelled something there, maybe some thrown out meat or..."
"Hey! Yoshitsune?" Tomoe shouted as the group was moving ahead without him.
"I'll be back one second!" He waved back, Shizuka focused on covering her smile, it was like stealing candy from a baby. As Yoshitsune escorted her to the back alley she hang to his arm and began carefully rooting through his back pockets and pulled out the coin purse. Her nimble fingers kept the coins from clinking together and blowing her cover all she needed to do was find some way to distract him or find some stray on the street and it was sweet, sweet victory.
"I don't see anything here." Yoshitsune look back and forth the straight alley.
"Well maybe he's... um..." Shizuka needed an exit strategy fast, and where was Yuko? " Hey wait! What's behind that blue curtain?" She didn't remember it there when she left just a minute ago.
"Let's have a look." Yoshitsune still had hold of the girls hand she couldn't slip away just yet. They went down and through the Velvet coloured curtains...
They both stepped inside to a room coloured the same as the curtains in the front. Blue Velvet. Yoshitsune heard the sound of music, but it wasn't like any instrument he heard before. Shizuka began to panic Yoshitsune would not let go of her hand, and it didn't seem like he had realized.
"Welcome to the Velvet room." The two were startled by the introduction and they turned to see an equally startling appearance, it was a man sitting at a circular table with large bulging eyes, his nose pointed out at least a foot from his frightening grin.
"My, It seems we have more guests. My name is Igor."
"Uh, hello Igor? I'm..."
"Yoshitsune Minamoto and Shizuka, Ah yes?"
"How did you know?" Yoshitsune looked puzzled, and another red flag popped up for Shizuka, Yuko was right not to rob Samurai!
"Fate has a way of bringing people together, lets see what the cards can say about your's."
Igor flips the first card The Fool.
"You are currently embarked on a journey yes?"
"That's right, A pilgrimage..." Yoshitsune wasn't superstitious but it really seemed like this person could see the future, not to mention the aura of this room felt strange, like it was in another world.
The second card Chariot, upright.
"And at the journey's end will be a war."
"The Taira clan..."
Then the third card Tower, reversed.
"Hmm."
"You stopped. What does it say?" Yoshitsune's eyes rose in anticipation of the ominous premonition.
Igor chuckles to himself. "The candle that burns brightest is ended twice as quick. You may interpret the card's meaning as you wish."
Yoshitsune began to doubt the fortune tellers predictions, they did begin to seem vague. Maybe he was just some man who knew about the Minamoto clan and came up with this 'fortune' for him.
"The path you walk is a woeful one, and the further you walk the more you begin to see that the sides you fight for are not what they seem. For this my master can offer you some protection. A bit of... insurance." Yoshitsune almost rolled his eyes, there's where the scam came in.
"As a sign of goodwill between my master and the mortal world I give you his protection, just understand the responsibility that goes with this gift."
"You mean like a contract?"
"Ohohoho! What a splendid idea. A binding contract that holds the user accountable of their actions. We should start one from now on."
"Uh.. your welcome?" Yoshitsune bowed rather confused.
"Yes, thank you and farewell."
Yoshitsune and Shizuka walked out of the Velvet coloured room hands held until he noticed finally after leaving. He then let go and forgivingly bowed. Shizuka looked out and saw Yuko sneaking behind the corner and knew it was time to get out of there stat!
"Uh, there's my... sister! I'll go look for my kitty with her now." She ran off in a hurry.
"Good luck Shizuka!" Shizuka stopped mid-run realizing he had her name now! She bowed quickly back to him and ran double time before he checked his pockets.
As Shizuka scurried away Yoshitsune as staring at the girl longer than usual. Magoichi looked at his dead stare and making gestures to get him to turn around. "Yoshitsune? Yo! Yoshitsune your hair's on fire! Hey!"
Yoshitsune snapped out of his gaze and waved back to his traveling companion. Magoichi seemed almost worried and had to ask. "What's up?"
"Huh?" Yoshitsune didn't follow Magoichi's question, turning his head up above.
"I mean what's wrong?"
Yoshitsune was just lost in the picture of her face. The way her chocolate brown hair went down to her waist. He memorized the delicate features of her face, dark eyes, creamy peach skin. Then he remembered how her kimono was so tattered and dirty, and how it had different patches of cloth sewn in place, just to imagine a jewel like her to grow up so poor. And now she was gone.
"Guys! I think he's broken." Magoichi makes lightly of Yoshitsune's bizarre behaviour.
"Come on Yoshitsune! We need some more yen for this guy over here." Minami yelled from a block away
Yoshisune finally snapped out and started padding himself for his sack of coins. "What the?"
"Magoichi do you have the money from last night?"
"What? No way man." Magoichi denied, feeling insulted.
"Yoshitsune! Hurry the hell up!"
Yoshitsune searched harder around the area, he had gone back to the alleyway with the velvet room but oddly enough the curtains leading to it had vanished, along with his money.
Tomoe charged up to Yoshitsune in a fit. " Hey dumbass, where is the money?"
"I don't know." He could only replyTomoe angrily sighed. "Don't know? You've had it all this time!"
"I never took it out for anything, and it was right here in my back pocket, tucked... carefully." He slowly started to piece things together, his pause in realization lead to the same conclusion with the others, well except for Magoichi that was.
"Yoshitsune, you! You! Ughh!"
"What's she going off about?"
"Sounds like the girl played the old, 'damsel in distress' routine." Minami clued him in.
"You don't know that!.. Maybe she took it thinking it was hers or something I don't know!"
"Usually when thieves steal something they do think that it's theirs. Kind of how stealing works." Magoichi quipped.
"You're all wrong! I'll find her myself, you'll see it was just a misunderstanding." Yoshitsune bolted away from the group full speed in the direction Shizuka left determined to prove her innocence. The others, Tomoe in particular, questioned his fervent belief in her.
Tomoe and Benkei then followed in pursuit. "Really guys?" Magoichi groaned loudly, then the merchant who was expected to be paid came running after Magoichi so he then knew to book it like everyone else.
Yoshitsune sprinting for nearly an hour without rest kept chasing after his mischievous maiden, only relying on a certain gut feeling that he knew where he was going. The sun began to move across the sky, and in another dozen kilometres Yoshitsune collapses of exhaustion, right into the dirt paved road.
In his incautiousness he slowly drifts through a void. The void slowly paints itself into a woodblock painting. First the golden fields which his body lays on. Slowly the environment spreads further to build mountains with clouds at their peaks like white swirling tides. His eyes widen at the scene of this painted world. He stands up to feel the grass brushing his feet. Grabbing a strand he feels the surface and looks at it's simple colours and texture, like living art.
He turns to see the girl from the village again. Just how the thought of her burrowed into his mind, that it was like even though he was witnessing a world of living art, all he focused was her.
Yoshitsune runs towards her and goes to hold her, but she evaporates into a swarm of blue butterflies.
"He's over here!" Minami turns over Yoshitsune's limp body on his back. "He needs some water, quick!"
Thou art I...
"Benkei hand me the canteen! Tomoe get a wet cloth he might start running a fever!" The three are all running around taking out supplies to revive Yoshitsune. Magoichi shambles his way to the others utterly exhausted and also faints to the floor, but no-one seemed to take notice.
I art thou...
Minami gives him a sip of water and he begins choking and coughing. "He's alive! Thank goodness."
"I'm alive too!... I think." Magoichi dramatically groans.
From the sea of thy soul I cometh...
Some noises from the trees echo out of the forest. Yoshitsune begins to struggle more and the rustling gets louder. Out from nowhere three creatures leap out in front of them. Hideous robed bird-like creatures with long-beaks and large sandals, Tengu. Yoshitsune follows the words of the voice in his mind and says.
"Per...so...na"
Author's Note:
I'm not dead!
This wasn't meant to take like 5 years I swear!
Okay updates. First Characters! Today's new introduction was Shizuka! Submitted by Tealcloud!
Also Rainbowbutterfly's two OCs Shiraren and Kuroren Kage are in! Wewt!
Second Fan art! OMG OMG OMG! So Krescent wolf sent me some fan art right after I published chapter 2 about Magoichi/ Tomoe, which is exactly how I imagined they'd look. Plus Chibi Magoichi = best Magoichi. and you can find that on Krescent wolf's deviant art account. Or my new deviantart account (link in my profile page). Where you can find and look at all the future fanart submissions, and maybe reuploads of Fics or things (Provided they aren't hard to upload on dev idk i haven't tried it yet.)
Last thing to add is that Ocs will be closed by the next chapter, because if I add another after that i would have to go back and redo some stuff and it would just be a lot of more stress right now. Hope you like the story/chapter, give reviews, and feedback. And I'm sorry for whatever I did wrong XP
Next Episode! Persona! I Call Forth!