Narukami Yu yawned as he got out of bed in his Tokyo apartment, smiling slightly as he remembered what day it was. The silver haired young man eagerly made his way to the shower, intending to get ready for what he hoped would be an enjoyable time in the city.
He was buttoning his shirt as he padded to his kitchen for breakfast when he paused, glancing at the coffee table, where an opened acceptance letter lay where it had been left the previous day. He smiled slightly when he saw it, pleased at the reminder. He looked forward to the looks on his friends' faces when he let them know.
Soon enough he was leaving his apartment, locking up behind him. He said hello to his neighbor, an elderly woman who was fussing over one of her cats, receiving a greeting in return. Then he slipped his earphones on and set his playlist to shuffle as he made his way to the subway station.
Once he was on the train he reached up for a handhold as he brought his phone up to his face to check his emails. A message from Nanako checking in on him. He sent a quick reply back, a smile on his face. An email from Ai with pictures of her vacation in Costa Rica, along with a promise to bring him some of its famous coffee, which also received a response. Another from Kou, talking about how odd it was to have moved to America to study, and admitting that he was considering heading back to Inaba due to nerves. Yu quickly sent his friend some encouragement, reminding him that he went through something similar when he first went to Inaba, and encouraging Kou to make some friends, perhaps over basketball, which he knew was pretty big in the US..
By the time he was done he looked up to find that his stop was next. Getting out among the crowd and doing his best not to touch anybody anywhere inappropriate, Yu made his way to his destination, bobbing his head lightly to the music filling his ears and drowning out the sounds of the crowded Tokyo streets.
Within ten minutes he'd reached a large, high end cafe and was met by a hostess. "Where would you like to sit, sir?" She asked with a welcoming smile on her face.
"Actually, I'm part of the group that reserved your private room for the morning." He said after pulling off his earphones.
"Ah, I see." The hostess said, quickly moving to a tablet on a nearby table, tapping on it. "May I have your name, then?"
"Narukami Yu."
The hostess checked a list of names before tapping on it. "Yes, here you are. You're the first member of your party to arrive, Narukami-san. Please, follow me." Then she turned and began heading toward the back of the cafe, Yu following sedately behind.
Soon enough he was seated in the nicely appointed private room, a cup of coffee in front of him, sipping on it as he listened to his music, lost in thought.
Things had thankfully been quiet since the Love Meets Bonds Festival. The Investigation Team hadn't had to get involved in any new supernatural shenanigans since then, leaving that to the Shadow Operatives, who had also, from what Yu learned as a reserve member of the organization, had a quiet time since then, only dealing with a few investigations into things that turned out to be nothing they needed to be involved with.
He was bringing his cup to his lips when he paused, the song that had started to play always having that effect on him whenever it came up nowadays.
Burn My Dread.
He remembered when he'd been listening to it a bit too loudly while waiting to have a meeting with Mitsuru. He'd looked up only to find her looking ashen, a look in her eye that concerned him. He'd asked her what was wrong, and she told him. Told him that this was the previous Wild Card before Aigis, the combat leader of SEES's, favorite song.
His senpai, Arisato Minato.
When he officially became a member of the Shadow Operatives, even if as a reserve, she had given him access to some of their files since he was the leader of the Investigation Team, including those of the events that claimed Arisato's life.
Reading through those files had left him drained. The journey SEES had gone through to save the world was harrowing, even for someone that had been through everything he had. He remembered hearing about Apathy Syndrome, but to learn the unvarnished details got to him. And knowing that his senpai had given his life to save the world…
He'd had nightmares for several nights after that. Memories of the fight against Izanami-no-Okami, of seeing his friends being dragged into Yomi, of clawing at the ground in desperation, trying to avoid the same fate, to keep fighting, all while Rise's screams rang in his ears…
Yu brought his coffee to his lips and took a sip as the song continued. It always brought on memories of what he'd learned about his senpai, but it also always made him wonder: were there others? Others Igor had chosen to aid? Did he have other senpai, who had finished their fight against Shadows and gods, and either died in the process or now continued their lives ignorant of those that came after?
More worrying to him, did he have kouhai? Were there other teens fighting some monstrous calamity at that very moment, struggling and believing they were alone, completely unaware, as he had been, that they were part of a legacy? Were Igor and Margaret teaching another Wild Card about Social Links, and how to strengthen their Persona through their bonds with other people?
Could he do anything about it if there were?
Thankfully the arrival of the next members of his party drew him out of his thoughts, and he smiled as he turned the music off and got up to meet them, bracing himself for what he knew was coming.
"Senpai!" Rise cried happily, leaping forward and wrapping her arms around him before bringing his head down to give him an eager kiss, which he was more than willing to return. Enthusiastic as always, the idol didn't let up till the need to breathe finally forced her to pull back.
"Hello Rise-chan. I missed you." Yu said sincerely, holding the girl gently. Then he looked up to see the rest of the new arrivals standing behind Rise with blushing, amused faces. "Hey girls."
"Hello, Narukami-kun." Mashita Kanami said with a smile as she looked at her embracing friends in amusement, a light blush on her face after witnessing the passionate kiss.
"Fer a second there ah was sure you were gonna finally suck his tonsils out, Rise-senpai." Ujima Sumomo said with a snicker as she made her way to the table, taking a seat before anybody else.
"Yes, maybe you should avoid such displays in public. You don't want people catching wind of your relationship." The girl with the heaviest blush, Nakahara Nozomi, said in her normal, quiet voice as she fidgeted lightly.
Sayama Tomoe turned from where she'd been looking at the door. "I don't think the hostess saw anything, so it should be fine, Nozomi-chan."
"Something tells me Rise-chan wouldn't care even if there was a bunch of paparazzi watching." The final member of Kanamin Kitchen, Uesugi Tamami, snarked as she moved to join her fellow idol at the table. From the look on Rise's face, the other girl was entirely correct.
Soon enough Rise finally let Yu go, and everyone was seated with drinks in front of them as they animatedly conversed.
"…and the album should be coming out in December." Tomoe was explaining as she and her fellow idols enjoyed some pastries Yu'd had the foresight to order.
"I'll be sure to buy it." Yu said with a smile.
"No need." Kanami said after finishing a bite of red velvet cake. "Ochimizu-nee has already arranged for each member of the Investigation Team to get a physical deluxe version which we're all going to sign. Oh, and Nanako-chan too." She added at the end.
"I'm sure she'll love it." Yu said, pleased. "She still practices the moves you helped teach her every day."
Kanami blushed, pleased to hear that. "That's great! Maybe I'll see about visiting her sometime when I have a break."
"I think I'd like to go too." Nozomi said softly as she sipped her cappuccino.
"We've heard so much 'bout Inaba from Rise-senpai ah wouldn't mind goin too." Sumomo added with a grin.
"Then we'll make it a group vacation!" Tamami declared eagerly, a big smile on her face.
Before more could be said the door opened once again, this time letting in the rest of the group they had been waiting for. Yu got up with a smile as he watched Yosuke lead the rest in, though Chie and Yukiko quickly sped past him.
"Yu-kun!" Chie exclaimed happily as she hugged him before boosting herself up to give him a quick peck on the lips, a light blush on her face at doing so in public.
"It's good to see you, Yu-kun." Yukiko said as she Chie made way for her, giving him a hug and kiss of her own.
"Chie-chan, Yukiko-chan." Yu said as he returned the girls' kisses. "I hope things are going alright with you two."
"You know it!" Chie said with a grin as she took Yukiko's hand, interlacing her fingers with the yamato nadeshiko's, prompting Yukiko to smile happily with a small, cute blush.
Yosuke shook his head. "Seriously partner, do you have to rub the fact that you have multiple girlfriends in the faces of us poor, single bastards?" Despite his words he had a teasing grin on his face as he approached Yu and gave him a manly hug.
"Yeah, Sensei! It's not fair that you're the only one that's managed to score!" Teddie said with a bit less levity as he looked at the silver haired boy enviously.
Naoto sighed as she stepped past the boys to make her way to Yu. "Maybe you'd have some success if you didn't talk about 'scoring' so much, Teddie." She said before kissing Yu as well, lingering slightly with her eyes closed and a smile on her face even as her cheeks turned red at being so affectionate in front of other people, even if they were her friends.
"Yeah Ted, I'm pretty sure a few girls have checked you out before, but then you open your mouth and they run away." Kanji said as he ran his fingers through his currently black hair in exasperation, making the shorter boy pout. Then he nodded to the various idols around the table. "Hey girls."
The girls greeted their Investigation Team friends with smiles, Nozomi focusing on Kanji with a blush on her face, which made Sumomo and Tamami giggle.
Soon enough everyone was seated with a drink in front of them, talking amongst themselves animatedly.
"So yer joinin the police academy?" Sumomo asked Chie with interest.
Chie nodded with a pleased grin on her face. "Yep! Dojima-san gave me a recommendation. It starts up a few months from now."
"I got into Nagoya University." Yosuke said, seeming slightly dazed by that fact when he recalled it. "The tests were absolute hell, but I managed it somehow."
"Congratulations, Yosuke-senpai! That's awesome!" Rise cheered with a clap of her hands, some of the other's there doing the same, making Yosuke blush. Then she turned her attention to Yu. "How about you, Senpai? Which school did you get into?"
Yu took a sip of his coffee in order to tease his girlfriend, who was looking at him expectantly. Then he set the cup down with a smile. "I got an acceptance letter from Todai's Law School on Wednesday."
"Holy crap!" Kanji said with wide eyes after a moment.
"That's good, right? I remember Todai was mentioned in Yosuke's Love Hina manga…" Teddie said as he tried to remember.
"Todai's Law School is the best in the country." Tomoe explained before turning her attention to Yu with a smile. "That's an amazing accomplishment, Narukami-kun."
Yu wasn't really in a position to respond, seeing as his girlfriends had proceeded to mob him and kiss him silly in celebration. Kanami shook her head. "Maybe it's just me watching too many dramas, but every time I see them gang up on Narukami-kun like that, I can't help but wonder why they aren't tearing each other to pieces to be his sole girl."
Sumomo shrugged as she dug into an eclair. "This ain't television, Kanami-senpai. Poly relationships are a thing. Ah've read about weirder things online."
Nozomi glanced at the youngest member of the group with a sweatdrop. "Something tells me we need to monitor Sumomo-chan's internet usage a bit more heavily..." She muttered.
The moment was interrupted by Yu's phone ringing. The silver haired boy pulled back from his girls and removed his phone from his pocket. The smile on his face disappeared when he saw the caller ID, but before the others could ask he answered the phone, bringing it up to his ear. "Hello, Kirijo-san."
At that everyone around the table straightened up and glanced at each other worriedly. The Kanamin Kitchen girls knew about the Shadow Operatives due to the fact that they had been involved in the Love Meets Bonds Festival incident, which the group had investigated afterwards. So everyone knew that getting a call from Kirijo Mitsuru was rarely a good thing.
"Good morning, Narukami-san." Mitsuru said calmly, though there was a hint of urgency in her voice. "I apologize for interrupting your day, but I'm afraid there's a situation that only you are currently in a position to deal with."
"I'm in a cafe in Tokyo with my friends. I'll go ahead and put you on speaker, since anything you need my help with, they can probably assist with." Yu said, suiting actions to words, setting the phone down on the table as his friends settled in their chairs, faces serious.
"That's fortuitous. I feel better about asking you to deal with this if you have your team to back you up." Mitsuru said. "I'm sorry for interrupting your time together, everyone, but this is urgent, and unfortunately Aigis, Akihiko, Yamagishi and I are all currently in Sapporo, leaving all of you as the nearest available agents, as the issue is just outside of Tokyo."
"What exactly is the issue, Kirijo-san?" Yosuke asked seriously in his capacity as spokesman and second-in-command of the Investigation Team.
"Labrys will be joining you on the operation as she was left in the Tokyo offices in case of just such an occasion, so I will leave a more detailed briefing to her, but I will give you a quick summary: We've received information that one of the top scientists working with the Kirijo Group's Shadow Department in association with the Shadow Operatives has gone rogue." As the Investigation Team glanced at each other in alarm at that information Mitsuru continued. "I and the others were investigating his activities in Sapporo when we registered readings approximately a hundred kilometers outside of Tokyo similar to those recorded during the Hi-no-Kagutsuchi Incident in Inaba. The rest of the Shadow Operatives' reserve members are too far from Tokyo to be called in in a timely manner, which is why I reached out to you." She paused briefly. "Labrys can give you more information when she reaches you in approximately twenty minutes. Are there any other questions that can't wait?"
"I'm assuming Labrys will have the equipment we left in your care with her when she comes to pick us up?" Naoto asked as she and the rest of the team began to prepare themselves for another fight.
"Indeed. She's been informed that you all are there and is making sure to pack all your weapons." Mitsuru confirmed. "Is there anything else I should have her bring along that you think you might need?"
Yu glanced at his friends in turn, each proceeding to shake their heads. "No, that'll do. We'll go ahead and prepare ourselves for her arrival."
"Very well. Labrys will keep me apprised of any changes. Good luck." With that the call ended.
There was silence in the room before Rise got up and made her way to the door. "Where are ya going?" Kanji asked as he took a steadying sip of his drink.
"If we're going to end up in a fight, I'm not going to do it on an empty stomach." She waved to a waitress. "Excuse me, could I have a couple of slices of cheesecake?"
The others glanced at each other before following Rise's lead. They had twenty minutes to prepare themselves as much as possible. Might as well take advantage of it.
"Hey everyone!" Labrys called cheerfully in her Kansai accent as she stepped out of a large black bus. "It's good to see ya!"
"Labby-chan!" Teddie called happily, leaping forward to greet the mechanical girl.
"How ya doin, Ted?" She smiled before turning to the rest of the approaching Investigation Team. "It's good to see you all. Just wish it was in better circumstances."
"Yeah. Glad to see you seem to be doing alright, though." Yosuke said.
"We can catch up more after this situation is dealt with." Naoto reminded them all. "We should get going."
Labrys nodded seriously. "Right. All your stuff's on the bus. I've got the briefing ready with the latest data." Then she noticed the Kanamin Kitchen girls. "Oh, sorry. These your friends?" Her eyes narrowed as she took them in. "Wait, are you Kanamin Kitchen?"
"That's right." Tomoe said. "You know of us?"
"Yeah, I started followin Rise-chan's career back when we first met. I listened to your collaboration album. You're pretty good."
The girls preened. "Thank you." Nozomi said.
"Uh, no offence though, but is now really the best time for cosplaying? I mean, aren't you heading into a fight?" Tamami asked in her usual brusque manner.
Labrys laughed, used to people thinking she was cosplaying by now, as Kanji proceeded to explain. "She ain't cosplaying, girls. Labrys is actually a super strong android."
As the idols blinked in surprise at that they turned to Yu for confirmation, seeing him nod. "That's so cool!" Sumomo squealed excitedly. "I didn't know things like that could exist in real life!"
"To be fair, that's what we thought about Shadows not too long ago." Kanami said wryly.
"We should get going." Naoto reminded them again, mindful of the time.
The Investigation Team said their goodbyes to their friends, receiving orders to stay safe in return, before getting onto the bus. They all took their seats in the high end vehicle as it got underway, seeing the many computers and displays that told them this was meant to be as much a mobile command post as transportation. "Kirijo-san still tends toward overkill, doesn't she?" Chie said wryly.
"Probably an effect of being the head of a huge zaibatsu." Yosuke said as he flopped down. Then his face firmed. "So, what's the situation?"
Labrys stepped up beside a large screen, making sure everybody could see it before picking a tablet up and tapping on it, bringing the face of an average looking Japanese man up on the main screen. "This is Ito Tenya. He's one of the top scientists in the Kirijo Group's Shadow Research Division, which was restructured to work for the Shadow Operatives after the Nyx Incident." Seeing everybody was focused on what she was saying the mechanical girl continued. "He was one of the lead scientists leading research into both the Hi-no-Kagutsuchi and Mikuratana-no-Kami Incidents."
"Kirijo-san said he went rogue. What brought him to your attention?" Naoto asked, a notepad and pencil in hand.
"Ito-san started focusing his research on the TV world." Labrys said to the consternation to the gathered teens. "His notes say he thinks that it might be a link to places other than the one we all know. It was determined that his experiments were falling outside of the guidelines in place and he was told to scale them back. He seemed to comply, but it was later noticed that some equipment, information and field samples had gone missing. This came to light when he abruptly requested vacation time, and since everything led to him, Mitsuru-sama took her team to Sapporo, where his family owns a house in the country."
"But then you registered something closer to Tokyo." Yu said as he looked at the screen, which Labrys changed to show an aerial view of a more rural area outside of Tokyo.
"Right." Labrys said with a nod. "The readings are a lot like what was recorded when that whole mess with Minazuki in Inaba happened. We're assumin that whatever it is, it involves him trying to access the TV world."
Chie let her head fall back with a groan. "I hope it's not another uppity god. I'm so sick of them. Only good deity I've met so far is Marie…" She sighed as Yukiko patted her hand commiseratingly.
"Anyway, I've got your stuff." Labrys said as she set the tablet down, motioning over to some lockers at the back end of the bus. "Feel free to gear up."
Yu was the first to get up, moving to the locker with his name on it. He smiled when he opened it and found the Blade of Totsuka carefully packed inside, ready for him. Picking it up his smile widened when he felt the sword's power connect to him as it usually did. He wished he'd had it with him the last time he'd had to fight instead of the cheap sword he'd bought from Deidara as a backup in case of emergencies, but now that it was in his hand he felt ready for anything.
He stepped away and watched as his friends all grabbed their own weapons, each one letting out pleased exclamations as they picked them up. His smile faded slightly as he saw Rise look a bit wistful.
Moving over to Labrys, who was also watching everyone with a smile on her face, he spoke in a low tone to her. "Did you guys manage to finish the weapon for Rise?"
Labrys nodded. "You didn't notice? She has a locker with it near the end. I'm guessin she wasn't expecting one, so she didn't look for it." The artificial girl made her way to Rise with a smile. "Aren't you gonna get your gear, Rise-chan?"
Rise looked at her, surprised. "What?" Seeing Labrys pointing at a locker with her name on it she blinked before making her way over and opening it, revealing a microphone with a collapsible stand, both appearing to be reinforced and inscribed with various flowing symbols.
"You're mainly our tactical support and navigator, Rise-chan, but ever since your Persona evolved back in Inaba so you could fight with us I figured it would be best if you had something other than the cheap generic mic you used back then to fight with." Yu explained as the idol looked over her new weapon. "I spent a while discussing things with Kirijo-san, and let her examine my weapon to see if they could replicate its properties, after which they showed me something called a Nihil Weapon that I used to help make that. It's probably not as good as our Reaper spoils, but it should still help you, I think. We named it Siren's Chord."
Rise calmly set her new gear back into the locker before walking towards Yu, blank faced. Yu raised an eyebrow, expecting something a bit… louder… from the idol.
He got it when she leapt at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his body and smashing her lips against his, kissing him so fiercely the others actually became a bit worried for their wellbeing. That worry increased when over a minute passed without them pulling apart, Yu holding the girl up with his hands under her legs.
"Damn…" Labrys said, eyes a bit wide.
Yosuke checked his phone's clock. "Uh, guys, don't you need to breathe?"
Rise finally pulled away from Yu, the spectators all imagining they could hear an actual pop as her lips left the slightly stunned boy's. She unwrapped her legs from around him and let her feet rest on the ground again before cuddling up to the silverette. "Thank you, Senpai…"
"You're welcome." Yu said with a smile.
After a few seconds Labrys cleared her throat. "Riiight… Maybe we should start coming up with a plan, then?"
Yu nodded before sitting down as the others did the same, the group beginning to discuss their next moves.
The first thing they noticed the oppressive feeling in the air as they approached their target. It reminded the Investigation Team of when they first entered the TV world, before Teddie gave them the glasses that protected them from the effects.
Labrys had the driver stop near the edge of the smallish town (for a given value of small, considering its proximity to Tokyo) before she led the way off the bus, the weapon that shared her name in hand.
"No visual indications of anythin like the red fog back in Inaba." She said for the recordings on the operation that were automatically being uploaded to the server in the Shadow Operatives' Tokyo Headquarters for Mitsuru and everyone else's later perusal. "I'm not registering anything hazardous to a human's health. But that doesn't explain the sensation in the air…"
Yu stepped out of the bus next, soon followed by Yosuke, then Naoto, and so on, with Rise emerging last as the one least experienced in actual combat, Siren's Chord held tightly in her hand.
The team looked around. "It's quiet." Yosuke said.
"Don't say it." Chie warned him with a sharp look.
"Too quiet." He finished, sending her a quick grin before dodging a kick.
"It's true, though." Yukiko said as she stayed close to Chie.
"I don't even hear any cars." Kanji added, looking uncomfortable.
Indeed, it was abnormally silent. They seemed to be the only ones making any noise. Not even the usual background sounds of any populated area could be heard. Inaba had infinitely more life to it.
"Street's empty, too." Naoto added, glancing along the street. "There should be some vehicle or foot traffic, even in a less populated area like this."
All in all, the first impressions the team were getting were worrying.
"I found someone!" Teddy called from a bit of distance away, the now costume clad bear having decided to take a look around, Seireiga ready just in case.
The rest of the team rushed over, finding a man of about twenty sitting against the wall, originally hidden by some bins.
"Hey, you alright?" Labrys asked, kneeling in front of the man, eyes serious. The man didn't react, not even shifting his head at the sound of the girl's voice. They might have thought he was dead if it weren't for the fact he was breathing. Labrys reached forward and gently lifted his head to make him look at them.
The man's brown eyes were dull, not seeming to register anything in front of him. He just blankly stared forward, no sign that he noticed that he was being manhandled at all.
Of them all, Naoto was the first to recognize what they were looking at, though Yu was getting there by the time the bluette said anything. "Apathy Syndrome." The detective hissed, jerking back slightly and glancing around worriedly, Black Hole clutched tightly in her hands.
"We only noticed the readings from here a few hours ago." Labrys said with a frown, letting the man go, his head drooping down, his breathing once again the only indicator that he was still even alive. "How'd this affect him so quickly?"
"I've got another one!" Rise called from a bit further away.
"Same here!" Kanji said, looking around a corner. "More than a few!"
Yu glanced around, his grip on his sword shifting as he readied himself for a fight. "I thought Apathy Syndrome was caused when a Shadow consumed a person's psyche?"
"According to the information Kirijo-san provided, that's correct." Naoto said, sticking close to her leader even as the rest of the team began to fan out in order to investigate further. "During the events leading up to the Nyx Incident, those who were attacked by Shadows during the phenomenon known as the Dark Hour would end up like this. There would be some recovery among the populace once SEES dealt with the massive Shadows that appeared during the full moon. The theory is that the taken psyches had been consumed by those Shadows in some way, and were thus returned after their defeat. Which is why everyone recovered once Nyx was dealt with."
Yu nodded his thanks to his detective for the reminder as he thought over the information. "What's worrying me is that we haven't seen anything that would allow Shadows to manifest. No fog, no odd effect like the Dark Hour, nothing."
Labrys walked over to them, mulling that over. "What are you thinking, Yu-kun?"
"Whatever happened here already ended, leaving everybody as the Lost." Yu said grimly. "That means that there's either a large mass of Shadows, or a single large, powerful one, somewhere around here. Most likely wherever Ito set up his lab."
"How do you know it happened to everyone?" Labrys asked.
"If there were people unaffected, at least some of them would be tending to the victims." Naoto said, understanding what her leader was driving at. "True, we've only seen a very small amount of the town, but we'd still hear ambulances driving around to assist the afflicted, for example. That means that whatever happened, it likely occurred before anybody could really react and got the entire populace." She looked around again, looking worried. "Of course, we may find out we're wrong the further we investigate, but…"
Labrys looked impressed. "You guys are so smart. I'm glad I've got you with me." Then she turned serious again. "Alright, so if you're right, we need to find where Ito is holed up as soon as possible so we can fight whatever super Shadow he managed to let loose." Then she sighed. "Easier said than done. The instruments on the bus aren't sensitive enough for that. They've gotten us as close as they can."
They were interrupted by the familiar sound of a Persona manifesting, everyone turning to find Himiko standing behind Rise, the idol's visor already on her head as she scanned the surroundings.
"You were able to summon your Persona, Rise?" Yukiko asked, surprised.
"I wanted to see if I could get more information by summoning Kanzeon. It was just a hunch, but it looks like it paid off." Rise said with a smile. "I can't go all the way to Kanzeon, but Himiko should be enough."
After a moment to let that sink in, the others all tried summoning their Personas, finding that, like Rise, they were able to summon the initial forms, but not the more advanced ones. Still, they all felt relieved that they'd have a better chance against any Shadows that popped up now.
"Excellent work, Rise-chan." Yu said warmly, making the girl flush in pleasure. "Can you see if you can determine where the epicenter of all this is?"
"I'll do my best." Rise said with a smile before her face dropped into a mask of concentration as she worked on her task, the rest of the team moving closer to her to both protect her and hear any new information.
After a few moments Rise gave her report. "I can't pinpoint Ito's lab exactly, but I can give us a smaller area to search. There's a place near the market district of several blocks that's blanked out of my sight because of the huge concentration of the energy we're all feeling. My guess is that's where it's all coming from, so we can search there."
Labrys entered the bus again for a moment before emerging with a tablet in hand. "Here's a map of the place. Can you highlight where it is so we know where to go?"
Himiko promptly disappeared, allowing Rise to do so, quickly highlighting the location she'd determined Ito's lab was.
Yu glanced over Labrys' shoulder, nodding to himself as he looked around the streets. "Alright, we're all heading over there together as a group, then. I'd like Rise to stay in the bus…" A statement that prompted a baleful glare from the idol. He continued, undeterred. "But I don't want to leave her on her own in a potentially hostile environment, and leaving someone with her would cut down on our combat power too much, so she's coming with. She'll stay by my side so I can protect her." He turned to Labrys as Rise's glare turned into a smile. "Have the driver pull back a few kilometers, just in case. We can call him back if we need a pickup later."
Labrys nodded and moved to do as told, leaving the Investigation Team to sort themselves out. "Alright, standard exploration formation, everyone." Yu said, getting nods all around. "Rise, stay in the middle of the formation. You can hold your own well enough, but you're still the one with the least combat experience here, so I'd feel better if you were where we can look out for you." Rise pouted at the order but nodded, knowing better than to try to argue.
Once Labrys returned and the bus began to slowly back away down the street the team began to move out.
As they made their way through the town the team was met with further evidence of the calamity that had struck. The deeper they went, the more victims they found, all of them lying on the street, not moving or reacting to anything, only their breathing letting the passing teens know that they were still alive. A few had even soiled themselves, laying in their own filth without even seeming to notice.
"Is this what it was like back on Tatsumi Port Island during everything Kirijo-san's team went through?" Chie asked quietly, looking disturbed as they paused at a crashed car to check on the occupant, who was thankfully fine, apparently not having been going too quickly.
"In some ways it was worse then, because a cult of Nyx worshippers sprang up among those that weren't afflicted." Naoto said tightly. "The closer The Fall came, the more things descended into anarchy. I've seen pictures and videos taken during that time. There was quite a bit of infrastructure repair that needed to be performed after all was said and done, which the Kirijo Group helped deal with."
"All of this because someone wanted to get into my world?" Teddie asked, looking especially affected, receiving a head pat from Kanji to soothe him.
"Ito thinks finding out more about the TV world would help people travel to other worlds." Labrys said tersely.
"Hasn't the dude ever played Doom?" Yosuke asked, irritated.
Eventually they reached the area Rise had determined Ito's lab was likely in, and everybody turned to Yu for instructions.
"Alright, we need to find the lab, but there's no point in being reckless. We're going to pair up. Chie and Yukiko, Yosuke and Teddie, Kanji and Naoto. I will go with Labrys and Rise. Keep an eye open for Shadows or any indications of Ito's lab."
"He's gonna need space and lots of power to run his equipment." Labrys added. "Keep an eye out for that."
The team nodded before pairing up and heading in separate directions in order to begin searching. Yu glanced at his companions. "Shall we?" At their nods he began moving as well, maintaining a wary eye out for any trouble.
They'd walked a couple of blocks before Yu caught sight of something that made him stop in his tracks. He quickly considered how to keep his companions from noticing it as well, but he knew he was too late when Rise let out a gasp and rushed past him to kneel down beside the young mother that was laying in the street, her baby on the ground beside her.
"Oh no…" Labrys said.
Rise quickly checked on the two, obviously fearing the worst, before she slumped with relief. "They're alive." She said as she picked the baby up, nestling it protectively against its mother. "The boy is fine, but he does have a couple of bruises." She said.
Yu studied the positions of the mother and child. "She was close to the ground when it happened, probably trying to protect her son from the Shadows, so he didn't drop far."
Rise gazed sadly at the infant, who stared at nothing with blank eyes. "I doubt everyone was that lucky…" She said softly, as though just then realizing it.
"I'm gonna hurt Ito when we find him." Labrys growled.
"Join the club." Yu murmured softly before taking a deep, steadying breath, reminded of when he'd had Namatame in his hands when Nanako was hospitalized. He'd almost killed the man that day, but he'd managed to focus past his rage and do the right thing instead of the immediately satisfying one, and he was glad he had. They'd likely have never caught Adachi or stopped Izanami if he hadn't.
The silence that fell after that was promptly shattered by an explosion in the opposite direction they had been travelling, from where Yosuke and Teddie had headed to investigate. Yu glanced at the girls before quickly beginning to run in the direction of the fight his friends were involved in.
When they arrived they found the gates to a local school blown off their hinges, the explosions coming from the direction of the gym. Yu saw that Yukiko, Chie, Kanji and Naoto were fighting against a mass of low level Shadows, easily holding their own but still being held back by sheer numbers.
Without hesitation Yu summoned Izanagi and launched a Maziodyne, clearing out a large amount of enemies. The others quickly did the same, eliminating swaths of the Shadows infesting the school campus.
"In the gym!" Kanji yelled to Yu as he swung his Perun Plate at one of the last remaining Shadows, being the closest to his leader. "Yosuke and Teddie are in there!"
Yu rushed into the gym as quickly as he could, the others following as they dealt with their last opponents. Inside he found Yosuke and Teddie scrambling away from the attacks of a massive Shadow in the shape of a tree. The tree grew fruit on its bare, leafless branches, each fruit bearing a different arcana mask, and threw them at its attackers. Each different type of fruit had a different effect, whether it was an elemental attack, an ailment, or even a mass of smaller Shadows, no doubt it was the source of the ones the team'd had to fight earlier.
Behind the flailing Shadow was a mass of equipment connected to a huge television, the kind it would take someone like Mitsuru special ordering to obtain, which was set on its side so it was vertical rather than horizontal, no doubt so it could act more easily as a door. Ito was working feverishly around the machinery, apparently realizing that their presence meant his work was in danger.
"Back up Yosuke and Teddie." Yu ordered immediately. "Rise, scan that thing and offer support. Don't enter combat unless you need to defend yourself. We need information more than another fighter." As the Investigation Team dove into the fight with various cries of acknowledgement Yu glanced at Labrys. "Let's go speak to good old Ito, shall we?" The mechanical girl gave a dangerous smirk in response as she hefted her axe.
The two ran around the edge of the gym, avoiding the fight as best they could. They were occasionally attacked by a minor Shadow, or had to dodge one of the tree's fruit attacks, but eventually they reached the other end of the gym. Yu raised his sword, pointing it at the scientist, who hadn't noticed them, too focused on his work. "Shut it down, Ito."
Ito jumped, glancing at them with wide eyes. "W-what?" Then he caught sight of Labrys, who was glaring at him with her axe at the ready. "W-what!? You should be in Sapporo!"
"He said to shut it down!" The girl said firmly, her eyes taking in the various machines with inhuman precision. "You have no idea what you're doin! You already fed this entire town to the Shadows!"
"I'm so close!" Ito shouted, eyes wider than was entirely sane. "The multiverse is at my fingertips!" He flinched at an explosion as Naoto launched a Megidola at the tree. "Imagine the things we could find in worlds different than ours. New energy sources! New medicines! We could revolutionize the world!"
"Or you could release another entity like Nyx and doom it!" Yu responded grimly. "You might be correct, but you're being too reckless. You could let a horde of Shadows out to consume Japan like you already did this town."
"Th-that was an error!" Ito blustered. "We can contain the shadows with the barriers I've devised using the frequency of the space between. I'm proof of that! It's why that Shadow didn't consume me too! That's just the tip of the marvels my research can provide!"
"Shut. It. Down." Yu ordered one last time, not even reacting as a shard of ice whizzed past his face from a Bufudyne from Teddie.
Ito snarled and suddenly drew a pistol, firing at Yu. He had surprisingly good aim, considering the circumstances, forcing the silverette to deflect it with his sword.
Labrys launched herself at Ito after his attack, but the scientist slammed a hand on a button, and a box that had rested against the wall burst open, releasing a group of Shadows at the Anti-Shadow Weapon. Labrys was forced to stop to defend herself, which let Ito quickly type a command into the cheap laptop plugged into the machinery he'd assembled.
Yu caught a glimpse of the TV, seeing it begin to glow, static appearing before it began to emanate multicolored light. Different scenes appeared on the screen, going by too quickly for Yu to make them out, but some were alien enough that even the leader of the Investigation Team felt very disturbed.
"It's working." Ito whispered, awed. He picked up a backpack and began running for the TV, Yu following behind him, trying to catch him before he made it through.
There was suddenly a titanic sound like a billion sheets of paper tearing, and Yu looked over at the fight to see that his friends had defeated the Shadow tree. The problem with that was that it had been ripped to pieces. Pieces which were now flying in Yu's direction with immense force. He quickly stopped and managed to put up a Tetrakarn just in time to avoid being seriously injured by the Shadow's remains.
Ito wasn't as lucky. He let out a scream as he was blasted into the machinery directly connected to the TV. The combination of his body, the Shadow, and the force of the impact destroyed a lot of the delicate equipment, causing surges of energy to begin streaming through all the remaining machines.
The TV doorway began to shake, the images it had been displaying blending together, and a high pitched sound that Yu couldn't identify beyond something that shouldn't exist in nature filled the air.
Yu knew what was going to happen next. He'd seen enough action movies and anime to figure it out. Labrys was the one to react first, however, turning a panicked gaze to him before yelling as loudly as she could. "RUN!"
The Investigation Team immediately began making tracks as they tried to get out of the gym. Yu joined Labrys in hurrying away from the destabilizing machinery. They almost made it, too.
There was a sudden silence, and Yu couldn't help but look backwards at the TV. Cracks were appearing in the screen, eerie light emanating from them. Then, a moment of stillness where he couldn't even hear his feet hitting the floor. He knew what was coming next and he leapt for Labrys, who was running slightly in front of him, instinctively trying to protect her with his body. Then a roar of sound, a blast of light, a paradoxically freezing heat engulfing him and the rest of his friends, then…
For an instant Yu couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Then the scene seemed to crystalize, and he saw a massive monster that rose from among a sea of Shadows, roaring in the horrifying rage of futility as it clawed at a wall that went on past the horizon, its sole gates shut by chains tied to the statue of a boy.
Yu knew what this was. Knew in the deepest parts of his soul. And he would take that image with him to the grave.
For a moment he felt like an awareness touched him, the feeling of the pride an older sibling felt for a younger one being conveyed, and before he knew it, his World had grown a bit more. Then…
The strange, strange man he knew so well and not at all sat in a space that shifted constantly. A bar, an elevator, a limousine, a prison, and so, so many more facets, the man with the large, bloodshot eyes and abnormally long nose was content in all of them. He looked up at Yu, his permanent smile widening just a touch, and he nodded in greeting, making Yu feel like something inside of himself had become deeper, before…
In a space that was and wasn't, ever changing, yet always the same, a pool of calm, clear water sat, shining in the light of a moon that wasn't there. Butterflies in velvet blue circled the area, flitting to and fro.
A man that wasn't a man that wasn't a butterfly that wasn't a god that was a man stood atop the water. The form shifted, the mask on the being's face going from simple to elaborate and back. He gazed at Yu for a moment that lasted forever, and somehow Yu knew he was receiving a smile that made him feel like a hundred doors in his mind unlocked. Then the guide went back to playing chess with the c*tH)T%# H(o|&\ for everything and nothing.
Before a second had passed in total, Yu had moved on to…
"Think we got enough?" Labrys asked as she and Yu walked home, bags of groceries in their arms.
"It better be. We don't have enough money that we can spend it carelessly." Yu said as he enjoyed the peaceful environment of the park they were passing by.
It had been over a week since Ito's machine had exploded so spectacularly, and the Investigation Team was still trying to make ends meet.
The first thing they'd done when they all woke up in the middle of a warehouse full of abandoned TVs on the edge of town was try and get in contact with Mitsuru. Labrys had tried the woman's number only to be surprised when an unknown person had responded. Of course, that was nothing next to accessing the internet to send her boss an email only to find that, not only did the woman not seem to exist at all, the Kirijo Group as a whole seemed to have vanished from existence.
After that it was relatively easy to figure out that they weren't home anymore, in many senses of the word. It was apparent that Ito had succeeded, a fact that didn't help them in the least when it came to getting back, not having any of the man's research at hand to try and recreate the experiment, even if they were foolhardy enough to attempt it.
There were other, more worrisome things as well. They'd experimented to see if they could summon their Personas in the real world, with the result being that they not only could, but had full access to all their powers and abilities, unlike when they had been hunting Ito. That was good, as it meant they could protect themselves if needed. This had also allowed Rise to use Kanzeon to check for any Shadows that might have followed them through. Thankfully there were none, but she had registered multiple non-human signatures that she couldn't make heads or tails of. All she could determine without seeing them for herself was that they were quite a bit more powerful than humans and, to quote her, "feel like a patch of darkness with missing malevolence". Even Rise had seemed confused by the description.
Not knowing the rules of the world they were currently stuck in, the team decided to keep their heads down for at least a little while. That of course brought up the issue that they didn't have enough money to survive for long.
They'd all pitched in what money they had, relieved that the currency was the same and their bills were accepted. That had allowed them to stay fed for a few days if they were frugal. That still left issues with shelter. They managed to find a house that was set to be knocked down to make way for some shops by lucky chance, and were currently living there, obtaining necessities through second hand shops.
Yu, an experienced part timer, got a job in order to help feed the team. Kanji contributed by making various dolls, which the others went around selling. The girls attracted plenty of customers through their looks, and Teddie was a hit with the kids in his bear costume, his experience working at Junes serving him well.
All in all, it hadn't been easy, but their time in Kuoh Town was going better than they could have predicted.
"Huh, that's cute." Labrys suddenly said as she looked at the park. Yu looked over to find a couple of teens standing by the fountain, apparently on a date. The brown haired boy looked nervous as hell, which Yu could sympathize with, looking like the girl in front of him was his sole focus.
Yu smiled, but before he could say anything the girl suddenly changed, black wings emerging from her back as her outfit shifted into something more suited to a strip club. Yu was already dropping his grocery bags, vaguely aware Labrys was doing the same, but they'd barely started reacting before there was a flash of light and the boy fell back, a ragged hole in his chest spewing blood.
"Labrys, go!" Yu shouted as he raced to the boy, the mechanical girl quickly doing as told and attacking the winged woman. Yu slid to a stop beside the boy and grimaced at the injury. The boy was choking for breath, looking disbelievingly up at the sky, his eyes becoming unfocused.
Before Yu could summon a Persona to heal the victim a circle of red light full of symbols like something out of Fullmetal Alchemist appeared on the boy's other side. A gorgeous girl of about seventeen emerged from it, her long crimson hair extremely distinctive, which coupled with her very impressive figure made her quite unforgettable.
The girl looked at him in surprise before glancing over at where Labrys was fighting the winged woman, her eyes widening at what she saw, before she turned back to Yu. "Who are you?"
Yu couldn't help but sigh, wondering if he was simply cursed to always wind up in unusual circumstances shortly after arriving in a new town.
I can already hear you all screaming "Another Fucking Story!?"
Sorry, but I've had this one rattling around in my brain for literal years, and I just needed to finally let it out.
Persona protagonists ending up in DxD isn't new. I mean, 'Demon Among Devils'. Need I say more?
But I've never seen it done with Yu (if there are fics with that premise, let me know). And I've especially never seen the entire team get involved instead of just the protagonist. So I thought this would be an interesting experiment. Especially as, unlike some people, I'm counting Arena, Arena Ultimax and Dancing All Night as canon, as you might have been able to tell. I feel they add more to the Persona story.
Also, yes, this Yu got the Harem ending, which is going to either piss Issei off or make the boy worship him. Could go either way. How that happened will be revealed later.
This story is going to take a bit of inspiration from 'Beyond the Outer Gate Lies… a Highschool Library' in that, while the Investigation Team will occasionally get involved in the Gremory Peerage's shenanigans, particularly in the beginning, there's going to be a lot of them having their own adventures in the DxD world as well. So there will be more than enough original content to contrast against DxD canon.
One thing I like about this first chapter is that, if I feel like it, I can reuse the entire beginning up until they get launched out of their world for other fics. Do I want to drop them in, say, Final Fantasy? Fate? RWBY? Worm? They're all options at my disposal. I just need to write something new for the end of the first chapter.
As is normal for my new stories, I will put out a second chapter before adding it to my patron poll.
Now then, speaking of, I have a few Pat A Ron related things to talk about.
The first is just a reminder that you can have a say in what I write when you donate to my Pat A Ron. Every dollar donated equals a vote in my monthly poll, and now I've made it so that the votes for the things that don't win in a given month roll over into the next. This should give those who donate lower amounts more of a say in what's written, since the stories they vote on can accumulate votes over time. So if you want to donate and see your favorite stories of mine updated more often, go to Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. The current poll closes on October 5th.
The next two are more important to me, however. First is that my best friend has begun a Pat A Ron for their original fiction. Donate any amount you want and get access to some objectively excellent writing (far better than mine, if I'm being completely honest). So far they've posted six chapters of their first story, which is a supernatural steampunk detective thriller that I very much enjoy called 'The Curious Investigations of Mister Jonathan Scott'. If you like, say, The Dresden Files, but want it more steampunk, this is for you. They've made the first chapter free so you can have a taste and see if it's your style before donating. You can find their stuff by searching for Grimm Tales on Pat A Ron.
I would appreciate it a lot if you could help them out, as unlike me they've had employment trouble due to some disabilities, which this pandemic hasn't helped.
Second, my sister has also begun a Pat A Ron. She recently got her Bachelor's in Digital Animation. She's trying to make her own series to post on Youtube, but needs money, so she's making art and is accepting commissions. She primarily does tokusatsu themed fanart (Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, etc.), and she plans to let people have a say in what she makes, much like I do. That's at Pat A Ron dotcom /linduarte. (Oh no, now you know my last name! The horror!)
Please keep in mind though that we've been made aware of a bug with the site that makes it seem like you can't donate less than $5. If you don't want to donate that much, to any of us, just put a zero before the number you want to donate, such as 03. That should get you going.
I think that's all from me. As always, I hope you enjoyed it, please review, and stay safe out there. Bye!