Fate Rewritten by Wordsworthy
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own The Shin Megami Tensei series since obviously Atlas does. This is, after all, just a fanfiction written for the sole purpose of entertainment and no profit motive whatsoever. So please just enjoy the story and do not sue me for this. If you wish to know more about the series, please support the companies producing them directly and purchase their merchandise if you like.
Chapter 14: A Greek Holiday
A light rap sounded against the door of the Fuji suite.
No answer.
A few more raps sounded against the said door.
Still no answer.
"This is strange. Are they still asleep?"
"Well, maybe they're busy?"
"Busy? With?"
"Oh, I don't know. We have two healthy, strong, good-looking men in a secluded room… think of all the yaoi possibilities…"
"FUUKA!"
The little moment of indiscretion was all it took to make the red-haired woman lean just hard enough on the door, causing it to shift ajar. Accidentally of course…
"Ah…"
"It appears that they had forgotten to lock the door. Well, since we're here and all, let's check it out. Maybe we'll get lucky with a nice show."
"Fuuka! We can't just barge into a gentleman's room…"
"Ojamashimasu. Hmm… unfortunately for us, no one seems to be home… Aww…"
The green-haired woman let out a light cheerful giggle upon hearing a suspicious sigh of relief.
"Oh, so you were expecting to find them in bed?"
"Stop! Enough! You win, so please stop dripping all that innuendo!"
Another impudent grin and a V-sign.
"Hee…"
The two women made their way to the lobby of ryokan where the rest of their friends were lounging. Aigis and Yukari were sitting in one corner having tea quietly while Koromaru rested comfortably by the blonde android's side, looking rather contented at having his head patted every few moments. Akihiko and Ken were also seated nearby observing the interaction between Junpei's little family, or rather how the bouncing little girl was being hoisted high up by her dad before being gently lowered back down again while the mom looked on. Or, it could be that they were just smirking at the pained expression that the said dad was trying to hide after every exertion and Chidori's amused but exasperated look… Hmm… yes, that seemed more likely.
"Oh, here they come. Konichiwa Mitsuru-san, Fuuka-san. Did you two sleep well?" greeted Ken politely upon spotting the pair.
"Konichiwa. We slept just fine Ken." replied the chairwoman in kind.
"Yep. But really, who wouldn't sleep well when one's resting on such silky, smooth and soft… oof!" added the chairwoman's secretary before she broke off abruptly.
"Oof?" repeated Ken blankly, a little confused.
"Yes, Fuuka. Oof?" added the older woman as her eyes slanted sharply towards her friend, rolling her shoulder forward and back casually as though she hadn't just elbowed someone nonchalantly.
"Erm, I mean… the futon! Ah yes, the futon was really of a fantastic quality. I feel tempted to get a pair for myself. Ahahaha…"
"Ok…" muttered the college student, trying to hide just how weirded out he was.
"Where's the stoner and the other idiot?" asked Akihiko offhandedly as he looked behind the two women for the other two men.
Fuuka gave a slight shrug of her shoulders as Mitsuru explained plainly before the former could spice things up.
"They weren't in their room, their door wasn't locked and their bags were still around."
"Hmm… a mystery…" mused Ken theatrically as he rubbed his chin in thought. For some inexplicable reason, he had a magnifying glass ready somewhere to complete the Holmes look. As Mitsuru wondered between both mysteries and the idle thought of whether there was a pipe in there somewhere as well, Yukari looked over her shoulder to participate in the mysterious mystery discussion as well.
"If they're both not in, then I'm guessing the idiot probably dragged Minato somewhere to fool around again. Haiz…"
"Hmm… that sounds like what Ryoji would do." nodded the blonde android sagely while Koromaru gave a quick "ruff" as well. "Koromaru thinks so too."
"So, the idiot basically got bored and decided to go play by himself…" reviewed the silver boxer stoically.
"So he dragged Minato off without explaining himself as usual…" continued Mitsuru matter-of-factly.
"Hence the hasty exit and the unlocked door." finished Fuuka with a nod.
"Hey! I'm supposed to be the detective here." protested the college student, although it went mostly ignored.
"So the question is; where did they go?" asked Mitsuru with her hands on her hips to no one in particular, the young brunette still being ignored.
"Ah." began the red-haired mother listening nearby. "I think I ran into them when I arrived here an hour ago."
"Eh?" went the group of friends.
"Hmm… I wasn't sure since I only caught a glimpse of them, but I saw someone who resembled Ryoji-kun skipping happily into a cab, exclaiming "Cinema Town!" while a quiet person who looked a bit like Minato-san walked reluctantly behind."
"Ah…"
"That's them alright…"
"Cinema town… Ryoji…"
"Haiz…"
The group of friends gave a collected sigh at how things turned out.
"Well, we should get going too then." began the red-haired chairwoman with another sigh.
"Yeah…" agreed the silver-haired boxer as he got up to his feet.
"Huh? Why?" asked the detective wannabe.
"Elementary my dear Ken." replied Aigis politely as she patted him lightly on the head as well.
"Their bags are still in their room, so…" added Yukari as she ruffled the young man's hair as well.
"They probably don't have any money to get back." chipped in Chidori helpfully on her way out as she completed the final blow.
"Yay, we're going to Cinema Town." exclaimed the only proper kid in the group excitedly as she passed by the college student, who had just turned to stone, perched on her daddy's aching shoulders. No, just kidding. He was just petrified with how slow he was becoming.
"Lucky you Fuuka. You get to play the knight this time…" teased the chairwoman lightly of her girlfriend-confidante before noticing the still frozen young man. She made her way to him and bonked him softly on the head as well.
"Mada mada ne." comforted the redhead as she nudged the forlorn-looking and slightly clueless 'detective' forward.
"… So this is Cinema Town…" commented Akihiko dryly.
More specifically, the group of friends had arrived at the entrance of Kyoto Studio Park, or also more officially known as the Toei Uzumasa Eigamura. The place was both a theme park and an actual movie set, so there were occasional performances to be expected when one would least expect one. The aged-looking Japanese setting itself was a strangely refreshing difference from the rest of the very modern Kyoto city itself, even though the group had just been at Tawaraya earlier. From the gravelled streets and the short ornate houses that lined it to the crowds of tourists and actors alike milling about in the traditional kimonos and fake wigs of the Edo era… to recount a famous line…
"It sure aint't Kansas anymore." added Junpei with his fake American accent, earning groans from everyone else apart from the other squealing, and much more appropriately restless Iori.
"Wah! This looks just like those samurai movies daddy likes to watch. Everything looks so fun…"
Before the girl could run out and embrace the samurai-ness of the town with her dad, the two found themselves firmly held back by a smiling red-haired mother… a smile that would have looked absolutely benign or divine, if her forehead wasn't twitching slightly.
"There there children. Settle down and behave yourselves okay?"
The two gulped visibly and did as they were told, much to the quiet amusement of the others standing nearby.
"He's whipped." observed Akihiko with a grin.
"Definitely." agreed Yukari with a smile as well.
"Uwaa… Chidori-san's my idol…" admired the green-haired woman softly as she looked on with utmost fascination.
"… I should just tell him. I think I'm getting tired of mentally apologising to Ryoji…" muttered the other red-haired woman as she massaged her temples with another groan.
"Okay… so we're here. But how are we going to find Ryoji-san and Minato-san? This place is huge." reminded the young brunette male as he gestured towards a nearby map-directory of the park.
"Well, since it's Ryoji we're talking about… based on prior experience from my data… probably the noisiest place in the park?" suggested the blonde android.
"That sounds bout right…" nodded Yukari as she arrived at the same conclusion.
As if right on cue, a chorus of cheers, squeals and applause drifted along the soft breeze to our little group of friends.
"That would be it I suppose…" commented the silver-haired boxer as he gestured in the direction of the commotion.
"Well, let's go then. I bet things will be interesting…" said the green-haired woman as the group made for the centre of the park.
After a fair bit of twisting and turning, the group of friends finally spotted one half of the missing duo. Well, it looked like him at least.
Long navy hair flowing in the paltry breeze. Check.
Tall, surprising well-built stature. Check.
The disinterested look and disposition. Check.
But wait…
"What the heck is Minato doing in a Shinsengumi haori?" exclaimed Yukari, Mitsuru and Aigis all at once, although a little belatedly.
Indeed, the more reluctant of the missing duo was all decked out in the blue and white ensemble of the old Kyoto guard, complete with white hand-guards, a sheathed katana and his hair tied in a samurai-like ponytail. For some odd reason, he looked exactly the part of a melancholic swordsman of some doomed forgotten age. Hell, he looked too damn good as the dark, brooding ronin. That was probably why the three were a little slow to react when Junpei spoke up.
"Woah… Shinsengumi cosplay? I never knew Minato had weird hobbies like me… Oww! Hey, what was that for? Oww! Oww! Hey!"
Well, it came a little late, but it wasn't like it was unexpected.
"Shut up Stupei! Don't lump Minato together with your perverted hobbyists… erm, no offence Chidori…" ranted the brunette woman in a half yell before she caught herself and apologized to the owner of the said Stupei. The red-haired mother simply nodded and smiled back appreciatively for her self-restraint.
Fortunately for a certain Iori, some reprieve did come in the form of some distraction. In this case, a continuous hail of floating sakura petals that drifted down and about from the windward direction.
"… Sakura blossoms… in the middle of March?" uttered Yukari a little uncertainly in light of the very strange phenomenon.
"Man, has global warming gotten so bad already?" wondered the college student quizzically.
"It's probably them…" suggested the blonde android plainly as she pointed towards the opposite rooftops. Apparently, there were a few strange people dressed in what appeared to be ninja suits, scattering the petals from a basket into a fan generated breeze.
"What the…"
"Well, it is a movie set after all…"
At that moment, the blue-haired samurai lookalike-cosplayer raised his hand forward slowly along his uplifted gaze as he looked up at the where the petals were coming from, earning another chorus of squeals and screams from a group of young female onlookers.
"Hyah! He's so cool, with those forward looking eyes staring off into the distance!"
"Eyah. The petals were probably getting into his eyes…" thought everyone at once, as their mental images of themselves waved their hands as though slapping the air in a mental tsukkomi.
"Hyah!! He's the spitting image of the ephemeral bishounen swordsman!!"
"Eyah. He's already twenty-eight…"
The blue-haired subject turned his head in the direction of the squealing group of girls, now unanimously labelled as 'the Fan Girls', which was, coincidentally, the direction where the group of friends were as well. Without so much as an additional glance, the samurai swiftly whipped his head around, his ponytail flowing about in the breeze gracefully before he released a particularly heavy sigh.
"Hyah!! He's the shy, awkward but ideally aloof samurai type!! Melancholia banzai!!"
"Eyah. He's just embarrassed to death that we saw him."
"Hyah!! Look at that expression!! What pathos!! What sorrow!! What depth!!"
"Eyah. That's his 'how did I get myself into this mess' look."
"Hyah!!"
By this time, the fangirls had regressed to just randomly shrieking out at the friend in the spotlight, annoying the few secret fangirls within the SEES group enough to consider going up to them and bonking them lightly (yeah right…) on their heads with their Personas. Thankfully, before that could happen, another commotion arose among the crowds as the other half of the missing duo made his appearance.
How did I get myself into this mess… thought the blue-haired man as he berated himself silently. While he had been hoping his friends would come and save him from this… mess… actually seeing them here was… embarrassing to say the least. As he pondered between turning back to look at his friends again and not doing so, he realised that it really didn't matter anymore. He'll probably never live this down ever, so he did the only thing he could do. He sighed. At that moment, another commotion started down the street nearby, signalling the scheduled appearance of the person who got him into this mess to begin with.
Haiz… well, at least he's on time this time. It's almost funny how during the one time I really feel like killing him, I now have to act as though I wanted to kill him instead… oh well… Life's a bitch at times.
The source of his pinch soon came into view, attired in a bright purple and white haori and hakama ensemble of his own, an oversized katana slung over his shoulders like a careless balancing pole and with a wig of long blonde hair no less. Needless to say, with such a flamboyant and eye-catching getup, he brought along his own entourage of screaming fangirls as well. And unlike the quiet other, he seemed quite at home with their enthusiasm, waving to them periodically and sending unnecessary winks here and there.
Still the attention-whore as always. The blue-haired man hazarded a quick glance over at his friends and found his spirits a little better upon spotting the twitching eye of his opposite self's prospective handler-tamer. At least I can look forward to some divine retribution later… but first…
"Oh look. There's a shogunate dog right there. Step right up you Shinsengumi scum and face the righteous might of my heavenly justice, for I am Sakamoto Ryoma, the valiant revolutionary!" rattled off the said other in one flowing monologue with excessive grandiose and theatrics, yet still earning a smattering of applause from his beloved public.
The blue-haired samurai simply rolled his eyes back discretely as only one thought came to mind.
Daikon…
Author's notes:
Hi all. Sorry for the late update. April's been really bad in terms of datelines, revision and exams and I really shouldn't be thinking about you readers until my papers are over, but luckily for you, I succumbed to my writer self. Lucky you no? Well, I mostly felt bad about not posting for a month so I decided to break up my former chapter 14 into two parts instead, since the front portion was already done but just sitting there awaiting the completion of the other 3000 words or so after my exams. If the chapter looks weird or hanging in mid-air, do bear in mind there's a second part to come some time in mid-May when my exams do end, so that's something to look forward to. So please cut me some slack okay?
This chapter is really a lot fluffier than I had intended for it to be, to be honest. Well, it has a lot to do with the action scenes and plot stuff being in the latter portion so I guess it can't be helped. So just enjoy it and take it like some fanfic junkfood.
A few terms that might need explaining is; 1) yaoi, which is the MxM pairings that all good fanfic readers and writers should know by now, 2) Ojamashimasu, which is the expression equivalent to 'sorry for intruding', 3) Mada mada ne, an expression equivalent to 'not quite there yet' and 4) Daikon, which means radish or derogatory term for bad acting. I'm leaving out stuff like futon, sakura and haori and hakama since they're mostly nouns and should be understandable, the latter being parts of a kimonos for those who aren't familiar with it. Oh, and Sakamoto Ryoma is something like a samurai revolutionary, although he really doesn't play any role other than just the character Ryoji is supposed to act out… oh well…
Like the previous chapter, the omake will be slightly more serious stuff to make up for the overdose of fluff. Nothing to worry about really.
I would also like to take this chance to address two anonymous reviewers, since I can't do it anywhere else. To Icedragon2k: I'm glad you liked what you have read so far, and Chidori is alive in my piece because she can be saved in FES if you play your cards right. As for the relationship matters, you have read and find out since I don't wanna spoil it for the other readers yet. To Azimuth: it wasn't really a mistake that I changed the sequence of AON's creation and the Gaea Cult issue. I'm well aware of the Gaea Cult, but I actually liked the poor critters, so I used Nihilo as my bad guys instead. In addition to that, do bear in mind that this is set in the Persona 3 continuity, so without the vortex world being summoned yet, having demons run about so freely is a little… out of point? Hence the humans in AON. In any case, if you read on, the betrayal of Hikawa of the SIU kinda parallels his betrayal of the Gaea Cult in Nocturne, save he didn't really get to destroy the world this time. Hmm… I won't deny that I'm not following SMT lore faithfully like I should, but I'm just weaving things around so that they can have a place in my own piece as well. I hope for your understanding, although you did get me thinking about a novelization attempt at Nocturne… Maybe…
Alright, that's all for now. Do read and review if you have any comments or questions, and I'll try to address them. It's a little hard for anonymous reviewers, but I'll try to address you guys too, so don't be shy with the comments.
Later then.
Omake 11: Temptation
Date: March 2017
Location: A secluded research facility somewhere IN the Swiss Alps
A room appeared, shrouded in mystery and an unnerving blue glow. A backdrop of chains and links shuffled upon layers of itself, as though the room was constantly ascending like an ancient elevator. Nothing else existed in the room, save a clock that didn't tell the time, a table that didn't allow for negotiation and an old man who never tells the truth…
"Welcome. My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
Where are we?
"We are here of course. Here is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It's been years since we've last had a guest."
What do you want?
"Oh, nothing really. The question is, what do you want?"
What do you mean?
A red notebook suddenly appeared on the table, as though it had always been there, just unnoticed all this time.
"Initially, only those who have signed the contact can enter this place. But what I can do for you is different from what I can do for the others, so I will make an exception for you this time. I have come to tell you that you have been chosen. And as such, it is my place to grant you one wish."
Chosen? Wish?
"Yes. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return… that you abide by the contract and assume responsibility for the choices that you make."
Is this a dream?
"Precisely… however, realities are misleading and indefinite when people like us are involved."
I understand.
A pale hand reached out for the offered contract and signed upon the slated line.
"Very good. So what is your wish then? Ah yes… of course. You don't have to say it. It shall be done come morning. Oh yes, where are my manners. Forgive me for being tardy, but what is your name?"
… Sheffield…
"Well well, look and behold. As requested, I will grant you a glimpse into God's domain…"
The room floods with a flare of white unseen lights as the brilliance rose in crescendo as waves of impossible luminance assailed what senses a dream may have.
And the world darkened.
Eyes had been opened.