A/N: Okay once again I lied about the update. Sorry don't hit me :(

However I do have a decent excuse. After the last chapter I went brain dead, then finals were coming up so I had to study, and finally Persona 4 came out! Major distraction, and my favorite pairing is the main and Rise! They're just so cute together, Yukiko too.

Most of the names are just random Japanese voice actors. I don't want to come up with my own names and have the meaning be something really weird. Also, I realize that in Japan, people are supposed to use someone's surname until given permission to use the given name. But for my own convenience and maybe yours I will skip the whole permission part. It might be only for this part of the story though, due to the many characters in this section.

And this is an action chapter. Sorry if the fighting sequences seem weird or awkward, I'm entirely new to this sort of thing. And I apologize for not being able to write/release this earlier.

Random: Don't worry with the release of this chapter and the next; I'll start moving everything towards the main plot. These past chapters have been more of an introduction to everything sort of thing. Hopefully everyone will stick with me even with the slow start.

Thanks to Marada, Whole Yet Hollow, Hydrangea, Random, and Shazura for reviewing. Hehe I don't get too many reviews so I can mention everyone ^^ although I shouldn't be too happy about the lack of reviews .

I get motivation from reviews so remember to just drop a comment or two for faster releases. It may not seem like it from the long time between updates but it does help.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, Atlus does. Any similarities to other works are coincidental. I do however own this fanfiction and all original characters and ideas like the battle style with the different summoning levels.

Enjoy reading!

--

Raging Wolf

"Let the battles begin!"

It was a very feminine voice that announced the start of the tournament. Junpei and Yukari both commented on this fact since it seemed that a certain Kenji was supposed to host the entire thing.

Minato of course simply let their words flow through his ears as he recalled the earlier incident.

Why was she dressed like a man?

She was like the sun with that shower of scarlet hair. And those eyes I could have lost myself in them…

Plus she seemed really elegant even though she had fallen; there was a…air around her.

Tch! What the hell am I thinking right now? This isn't the time to have such idiotic feelings.

"Yo! Minato, earth to Minato!"

"Jeez you were spacing out even right now!"

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. Well at least we're not lat–"

The same voice came booming across the stadium as the trio continued sprinting around vendors and citizens to the contestant break room located at the back of the stands.

"It appears that Kenji will be out for a while longer so I'll just take care of his job for now!" She giggled lightly. The amount of attention she garnered was on par with that of an idol.

"At the moment all of the contestants are preparing so let me explain the rules to you all! There are over a hundred participants in this tournament hoping to win fame and glory. But there are just way too many to have a pairing for each and go from there. So…contestants will be randomly placed in groups of around ten for a free for all. This will count as the first round of eliminations and only one person per group can win. After that there should be only sixteen competitors left, from there it will be pairs.

Please remember that this is simply a measure of strengths so don't try to kill anyone, it'll only result in an immediate elimination. Other than that anything goes, but please don't worry we have medics at the ready.

Now let's introduce the first group! A round of applause for these brave warriors please!"

--

"Amazing! Look at Hotaru-chan go! Ooh! Nasty blow to the head for Souma-kun! Will he recover in time before another decisive hit?!"

*pant*pant* "Damn! Barely made it."

"Yeah…we're lucky Minato wasn't in the first group."

"I don't think he'd been happy if we came any later."

"Junpei, you really are a Stupei aren't you. Obviously he would not have been happy! It's an automatic disqualification if you're five minutes late after the first call."

"Sniff, do you have to be so mean about it. You hurt my fragile feelings."

"Oh put a sock in it!"

"But…Damn dude! You're not tired at all from that marathon huh?"

"Heh if I was how do you think I would manage the battles to come?"

"Very true I suppose. Sigh if only you had half the stamina he had Junpei I wouldn't have to worry about you falling asleep during missions."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Anyways, just talk to the attendant over there Minato and they'll explain everything. We're heading to the stands now. But don't worry we'll be cheering you on." Yukari winked as she passed him.

The pair soon left, leaving Minato to gaze around at his new surroundings. The entire room was fairly large with cushioned seats against three walls. The last side of the wall had the attendant's counter in the middle while two archways lay on the sides. One led to a café while the other led to break rooms though they were more along the lines of a locker room.

Guess I should talk to the attendant as soon as possible to complete my registration…

Hmm wonder what kind of persona is that?

He had missed it on his first glance, but by the side of the walls were a woman and her persona being surrounded by a crowd. The woman was garbed in military like clothing and her persona projected an image of the current battle. It was similar to a hologram.

"Heh, from the look of your face I guess you've never seen that kind of persona before right?" A tall man with light black hair had approached him as he was glancing over at the screen. The man had similar clothing to the woman.

"Uh, yeah I don't think I've seen it before."

"Well I would've been surprised if you did. Only a few of our military members can train their personas to function that way. Over there is Yuko Nishiwaki. Her persona is a support type that can display images of nearby places if she concentrates hard enough. A few of us were assigned to do things like this so the tournament can be experienced to the fullest. We have another man stationed outside doing the same. Oh heh, sorry I've been rude. My name is Kazushi Miyamoto, and yours is?"

"I'm Minato. Thank you for the information but I have to go register. Excuse me."

"Hmm not a talker I guess. Oh well, I had to go check up on Mamoru anyways."

As the other man walked away, the cobalt hair man walked towards the counter.

I wonder if I concentrated hard enough, could I get one of mine to do the same?

--

"There you are! I was wondering when you would arrive. Oh! Jeez you look so adorable I could snuggle you to death."

"Well I had a slight detour so…"

"Oh dear, I bet your radiance did not even diminish even though you're dressed like a man."

"Well neither has yours, right Kiriko?"

"Oh pfft. You praise me too much…hime."

"Well now let me get back to my new job since that dead beat over there collapsed"

The silver haired woman stopped her hushed conversation with the scarlet princess and directed her attention once more to the audience.

"Ladies and gentleman, it is now the time for our last group to enter the sta–"

"Kenji you're up again! Here I'll let you handle things from here on." Kiriko smiled at the man who had finally regained consciousness. Unfortunately her smile was too dazzling leaving him to collapse in a pile of his own blood, again.

"Oh…just kidding…Well let's hear it for our latest contestants!"

--

"Will the following people please head towards the guide at the eastern door."

After a few names were called…

"And finally Minato"

Sigh, guess it's time.

-Yes it is-

Heh decided to talk now. Anyways are you ready?

-Do you even need to ask?-

--

The moment the entrants entered the stage cheers and calls were made. With the booming voices and blinding lights it was like a concert being staged.

The platform for the battle looked surprisingly new for all of the fights that had been taking place on it.

I suppose they laid a barrier on the ground too so they would not have to replace the stage constantly.

Once everyone had made their way onto the stage the barrier was put up once more by persona users scattered around the area.

"Okay! I want an amazing end to the first round everyone!"

--

Four people are already down…

The rest will probably attempt to split into pairs and battle it out… But that's the fool's way. Everyone left has used their personas at least once. They'll be wary of me since I've yet to reveal anything so they may attempt to team up against the biggert threat. I could probably take them all out using a Vorpal Blade by Siegfried but…

"Urgh!"

Another competitor had taken advantage of the lull in battle and slammed his hammer towards Minato's leg attempting to slow down his movement. It had already been clear to the others that the cobalt haired man was quick on his feet and this would have reduced his capabilities.

As the hammer swung down, just at the moment of contact Minato leaped up and came down with all of the force he could summon bringing it all down on the large weapon. The man dropped the weapon from the shock but the recoil also left Minato a bit shaken.

Recovering quickly he jammed the pommel of his sword into the man's throat knocking the wind out of him. A woman had thought the blue haired man to be too busy to notice her so she started to evoke her persona and just as she was about to speak Agilao, the fallen hammer came sliding across the ground towards her.

Smacking directly into her legs she lost her balance and another competitor severed a muscle in her left arm. As she began passing out from the blood loss, the last thing she saw was a flicker of blue before her eyes finally closed.

Two down, three to go.

Hmm if I just let the three of them go at it then that would make life so much easier.

"BUFULA!"

A short woman summoned her persona and impaled her opponent with a flurry of ice.

Make that two left. That woman uses double swords, so she must be pretty fast especially when she slashed at that man and quickly finished him off with the spell.

And that other man took out that woman's muscle earlier. He definitely knows what he's doing…

Ugg what a pain, why do these two have to be such a nuisance? Sigh…

I seriously just want to pull out the big guns and just finish them off now.

-Please do not be stupid. It is far wiser to hold back so they do not realize our true power-

I know but…

-If you know then please do as I say-

-He's right you know-

-Yes. Please realize that. We can always add our power to yours if you would like-

-Aww, no fair. I wanted to have some fun with these weaklings. New toys :)-

Silence all of you! Sigh. It would be pathetic if I couldn't handle them without your help anyways.

Breaking off from his reverie, Minato focused once more on the two people before him. Deciding to intimidate his foes a bit he stared the pair down. All the while he drew on a bit of power from his persona to amplify the gaze.

Unfortunately for the other opponents, it was quite intimidating. The two seemed to be older than him and had believed that they had the upper hand in terms of experience. But now…

A dark menacing shadow loomed behind the blue haired man. It was contorted in a shape that resembled a wolf with fierce eyes and sharp fangs. Howling into the sky it began rising even higher and it seemed to be coming towards the pair. However it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived as if it had been a fleeting dream. Its appearance left the two visibly shaken. The woman shook slightly and dropped one of her swords while the man left his defensive position and held his sword at his side with a dazed look on his face.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in reaction, Minato leaped forward aiming for the woman. Quickly he lunged towards her attempting a thrust. She broke from her fear and grabbed her fallen sword barely blocking the fatal attack in time.

Growling in dissatisfaction, Minato began a barrage of slashes, strikes, and thrusts at the woman. She was clearly overwhelmed from the strength of the attacks. Strike after strike wore down the defensive position she had placed herself into.

Her hands felt numb as her reaction time became slower and slower. The small cuts all over her body proved that the relentless assault was working.

Just as the Minato was about to swing his sword down in an overhead blow to finish his opponent off, his other opponent had finally recovered from his daze.

The man believed with the two distracted with their own battle, he'd be able to finish the pair off. Standing still he began movements to evoke his persona for a devastating spell on the two.

Finally developing the proper concentration he chanted the final words.

"Maragion!"

"Ahh!!!" screamed out the woman. The noise was like the screech of nails on a chalkboard.

The woman immediately fell to the blow. It seemed to have completely crippled her.

Heh her persona must be weak to fire attacks. But…dammit! Where the hell is that kid?!

"You must be wondering where I went…But it's too late to think about it now!"

"What the–"

The man immediately sensed an attack coming from above him and narrowly raised his sword in time to counter the blow.

"Tch too slow" scoffed the young man as he flipped over after the failed strike.

*pant*pant* Damn this kid is just too fast. Shit at this rate I really might lose…

Can't even call on my persona…I'll be mincemeat before I can even get a proper move in.

But hell will have to freeze over before I lose to some punk who was in diapers when I was fighting for a living.

"Rawr!" Feeling a burst of energy the man charged at the cerulean haired man.

"Heh stupid" the younger of the two muttered as he held his position and raised his sword to a defensive position.

As the older man came nearer he made a feint towards the other in an attempt to lure him into attacking.

However Minato would not be fooled, he ran to the man as if falling for the trick and at the last moment pulled a feint as well.

Believing himself to be successful, the man pulled his sword back to thrust at Minato but was surprised to have instead stumbled forward when Minato sidestepped his blow when the younger man had not followed through on his attack.

Sigh, outsmarted by a kid. How pathetic.

With the stumble the man had been left wide open. He shivered slightly as the cold steel of the sword touched the nape of his neck. Sighing he dropped his sword and as it clattered noisily on the stone ground he raised his hands up in defeat.

"Oh! What an intense battle and I do believe we have a winner here, Minato-kun!"

Kiriko's voice burst out suddenly surprising everyone with the sheer volume of it.

"Oops! Hehe I was a bit excited, please forgive me." She raised a few fingers to her lips and pretended to look innocent.

The crowd had been silent from the intense match but now there were cheers and calls everywhere. They ranged from praises to the winner and awe of the host.

"Amazing! That young whippersnapper sure dished out a beating" called out an elderly man as he stood up to cheer. In the process he smacked a few with his cane while his daughter attempted to sit him down.

"Pfft he's not that great" complained a fan of the last opponent of the winner.

"Ooh! Look how cute Kiriko-chan is!" said a rather large man in glasses as he gawked at the lady. All the while receiving glares at nearby fan girls.

Minato retracted his sword and sheathed the deadly blade.

"Tch, hate to say this but good match" said the man albeit a bit grudgingly.

"You did better than I expected" Minato smirked at the man as he left the stage to head back to the break room.

"Smug little punk!" Muttered the man as he collected his sword and headed towards the same direction.

"Well that was certainly a finish for the final match of the first round! And I'm sure that all of our competitors are exhausted from these past battles so there will be an hour break. Hopefully it'll be enough time to recharge and prepare for the next round. Now everyone please take this reprieve to relax too. I'm sure that these matches have taken a lot from you all too. We'll meet again in an hour. Ciao!"

--

How was that for the first round of the battles? I'd like your opinion on the way I worded the battle scene before I write more. And although I'm sure that you all are disappointed from the fact that it wasn't that much of a battle, the next chapter or chapters will be featuring the main fights.

Although I already have a plan and I'm going to begin writing the next chapter immediately this time. I kind of would like some feedback on the battle so I can improve so please review!

Let's hope I get another chapter up before the holidays are over :)