This is a commission for BraveVesperia01, who requested a RWBY x Persona 3 crossover with a Cinder x Minako (female protagonist) pairing.
Stay high, kizukeba hora
madobashi mabushi sky blue
kitto asu no DOA ga
still green hiraku yo
itsuka meguru toki ga subete wo kaetteshimatte mo
zettai nakusanai yo
"kimi" wa
I'll lead the brand new days
/
(Stay high, if you notice it
Hey, there's a dazzling blue sky on the window
Surely, tomorrow's door
Still green, will open
Someday, if the passage of time changes everything
I will never lose it
It's "you"
I'll lead the Brand New Days)
Chapter 1 - New Day, New Beginnings
Minako opened her eyes, somewhat in disbelief that she could do so. Her last memory was standing at the top of Tartarus and facing off against the nightmarish winged Avatar of Nyx with her friends. The fight had been tougher than any of the challenges the group had conquered since forming S.E.E.S., but in the end they had triumphed.
Or... So they'd thought.
The avatar had summoned Nyx regardless, rendering all they'd accomplished meaningless. With the end of the world imminent, Minako had made the single most important decision of her young life: to sacrifice herself in order to save so many. This wouldn't be the first time she'd saved the world as they knew it, but it would certainly be the last.
In that moment, staring down the literal incarnation of Death with only her Persona at her side, Minako hadn't felt fear—just a calm determination. Driven by the acceptance that this was what she must do because there were no other options, the high schooler had defeated Nyx and, using her own life force, created the Great Seal to lock away the malicious being for good.
There had been tearful goodbyes followed by an intense light show, during which Minako had felt incredibly tired. And then...
...
...
...
Nothing.
Popular culture tells you not to "go into the light," but Minako found that to be impossible. She was the light; a stream of luminescence over which she had no control, headed for a destination unknown. There was no visual indication that she had covered a large distance, but somehow Minako could sense that she was a long way from where she had drawn her last breath.
When at last she came to a stop, the brilliance began to fade and colour seeped into her field of view. First brown, then green, then a pale blue. As she blinked, attempting to reorient herself, Minako realized she was looking directly up at the sky and the sounds of wildlife echoed through the surrounding trees.
How…?
Minako lifted her hand, wiggling slender digits and staring in disbelief. Then, she began taking stock of herself. Her headphones were gone, but her uniform was somehow unscathed. She couldn't find her phone, either, but most importantly—
Minako reached for her waist, where a belt and holster normally hung. In it was a shiny pistol called an Evoker, which didn't fire bullets, but rather allowed her to access the powerful beings known as Persona. She breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers touched the familiar grip.
She couldn't sense her partner, Thanatos, which was odd, but it wasn't the strangest part of her current predicament. Where was she? How was she standing here right now? She was one hundred percent certain that the battle against Nyx hadn't just been some horrible dream...
A growl rolled out of the woods, a threatening precursor to the vast black form that lumbered from between the trees. Minako's breath caught in her throat as a malevolent red gaze swept over the clearing, and she moved without thinking, ducking behind a nearby tree to avoid being seen. She could hear the creature snuffling, scenting, and the hairs at the nape of her neck stood on end. Minako hadn't seen the beast clearly, but she could sense the base instincts that drove it and the capacity for violence it held.
There was a shout in the distance and Minako heard the creature thrash its way through the underbrush, the cacophony of branches and leaves getting quieter as it moved away from her.
What the Hell was that?
There was another shout, this one shriller. Obviously the creature was tracking prey that hadn't been as aware of their surroundings as she. Minako shook her head, already poised to begin moving in the opposite direction. There was no sense remaining here—
A scream ripped through the air, originating from the same direction, and Minako clenched her jaw. That had definitely been a child. Against her better judgment, she followed the trail of destruction the creature had left in its wake.
The end of the trail was the beginning of the blood bath.
Two creatures stood almost twice her height and were ursine in appearance, a white and red mask over their faces and wicked looking spines emerging from their napes. Strewn around their feet was the blood and viscera from the corpses of the duo who Minako assumed had been shouting earlier. There was no blood on broad muzzles or teeth as the beasts snarled and Minako came to the disturbing conclusion that they weren't killing for sustenance.
"Help!"
The young woman could see a girl up in the higher branches of a tree, hugging the trunk and sobbing hysterically. The moment her attention shifted, one of the creatures rushed her and Minako stumbled out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened. Her pulse spiked as she caught herself and whirled to face her enemy. The rules of engagement that forced the Shadows in Tartarus to wait until their turn weren't in effect here. This was a free-for-all.
The second beast was more interested in the girl in the tree, who couldn't get any higher up to avoid the lazy swipe of huge claws. Minako reached for her Evoker as she tried, and failed, to get around the bulky creature. It was then that she realized that she'd lost it during the initial attack. She could see the glint of metal just beyond the dark flank and braced herself to make a mad dash once the creature came at her again.
With a roar, the monster did just that. When Minako lunged, she crossed far more distance than she thought possible and, startled, she faltered. The slight hesitation was enough for the beast to turn with astonishing agility for something so large and slash five ragged lines down the young woman's back. Curved claws cut through fabric and flesh and warm rivulets of blood ran down pale skin, but Minako felt no pain as adrenaline flooded her.
This was real. She could get hurt or killed. What would happen to her if she died a second time?
A fiery bolt zipped between her and her foe, so close Minako could feel the heat as it blazed through the air. She recoiled, uncertain of whether this attack had come from an ally or some new threat, and a goldish shape blurred past her. The blur collided with the monster and it released a roar as it slid backwards, its claws leaving furrows as it tried to stop its backwards momentum.
"Are you alright?" A blonde girl with unusual purple eyes stood before her, dressed casually in a brown blouse and shorts. There were gold gauntlets on her wrists over black, fingerless gloves. "I dunno if you're really brave or really stupid to stand up to a Grimm unarmed. Maybe a little of both."
Grimm—was that what they called these horrifying creatures?
Minako shook her off, fatigue from the blood loss making her head swim. "My weapon."
She was defenseless without it.
The girl looked surprised, but then she frowned and shook her head. "You're hurt. Just stay here; I'll get it."
Without waiting for a response, the blonde took off running. The second Grimm had lost interest in pawing at the crying girl and the ground shook beneath its footfalls as it rushed to intercept her. She crossed her wrists, the gold gauntlets somehow managing to deflect a massive paw despite the size of her attacker. Then, with a powerful uppercut, she actually launched the Grimm into the air.
Before it had even hit the ground, the blonde was grappling with its partner. A punch combo sent it flying into a tree, which groaned as it fell to the earth, and the young woman ran for the Evoker. She scooped it up and trotted back over to Minako with a triumphant smile on her face.
"Here."
Minako nodded her thanks—and pointed the gun not at the enemy, but at her own temple. The back of her hand burned, but the appendage remained steady as her finger tightened on the trigger.
"What are you doing?!" the blonde girl yelled, eyes wide.
"Persona!"
The 'bang!' of the Evoker was drowned out by the voice that came directly from everywhere and nowhere:
"Thou art I... And I am thou…"
The clearing was flooded with what looked like shards of glass that created a whirlwind behind Minako. She grinned, though the expression didn't reach her eyes, as the power of her Arcana swelled within her.
"From the sea of thy soul I cometh…"
The energy coalesced into a humanoid figure with a shock of light brown hair, a golden torso, and long white limbs connected by metal joints.
"I am Orpheus, master of strings..."
Burning orange eyes flashed as Orpheus rounded on both Grimm. Then, just like the first time the Persona had been summoned, Minako felt a violent stirring within the sea of her soul. She clutched her head, the back of her hand burning, and released a wordless howl as Orpheus was torn into shreds by the entity clawing its way out of her. Thanatos, a white-masked, humanoid Persona with a cape of coffins, dressed all in black, landed in a crouch.
Dark, empty eyeholes sent a chill down Minako's spine as Thanatos turned to look at her, his head inclined almost quizzically. Minako's throat constricted and she tried to shout a warning as the Grimm charged the Persona, but it was in vain; her voice wouldn't come out and it didn't need to because Thanatos whirled, catching one of the monster's in a white-gloved hand by its massive throat. Without missing a beat, Thanatos used his other hand to unsheathe the blade at his hip and drive it into the Grimm's chest. Brilliant blue energy shot out of the exit wound, obliterating part of the treeline behind it, and the little girl's scream filled the clearing once more, louder and more fearful than it had ever been.
Minako staggered and would have fallen had the blonde girl not been there to catch her. She was tired. So tired.
"Are you okay…?" The blonde sounded far away. "What the heck is that thing?!"
"Get the girl," Minako managed to say before the world slid sideways and her eyelids fluttered shut.
"Hey! HEY!"
…
When Minako woke, there was a vaulted roof above her head. She had drifted in and out of consciousness, catching snippets of conversation; a male voice asked questions, and the girl from before, who he called Yang, answered them to the best of her ability. The moment Minako sat up, the room spun. Ugh…
"You're awake!" Yang was accompanied by a white-haired man with a cane and a girl around her age with short black, red-tipped hair. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Minako raised a hand to her temple. "Where am I?"
"Welcome to Beacon Academy," the man said. "I am Ozpin, the headmaster here. And you are?"
This place was a school? The brunette frowned. She'd never heard of it, but then she obviously wasn't in Japan anymore. "My name is Arisako Minako. I'm… I was a third year student at Gekkoukan High School."
All three individuals seemed perplexed by her response.
"High school?" the girl next to Yang asked.
The blonde shrugged and it was Minako's turn to be confused.
"Is Beacon Academy not a high school?" Both girls appeared to be near her age.
"We train Huntresses and Huntsmen here," Ozpin answered, smiling politely. As though she was the strange one. "Capable warriors who combat the Grimm and keep our world safe. Yang and Ruby here are two of our students."
Minako had seen Yang's combat abilities, so that made sense. Ruby, as she was called, gave her a smile and a nod.
"Yank spoke highly of your rather unique abilities," Ozpin continued. "And your selflessness when it came to saving someone weaker than you. We would love to have you here at the academy."
She had nowhere else to go. Staying here would at least give her a chance to figure out her options… With that in mind, Minako accepted and joined the ranks of Beacon Academy's Huntresses. When she shook Ozpin's proffered hand, Minako spotted the mark on the back of her hand in a splash of crimson on pale skin.
It was a grim skull hovering before a heavy set of doors—the Death Arcana.