Rebellion the First: Awaken To Thy Fate

'What on...?' a silver haired young man thought to himself as he violently lurched upwards in his bed, sweat beading and pouring down his face as he breathed heavily. His entire body was in pain as his sight adjusted to the candle lit room.

"You alright?" he heard an unfamiliar voice say. Turning his head, he saw a man with silver hair dressed in a red coat and black hakama clothing laying on his own bed with his hands behind his head as he relaxed, though he did appearing to be looking over with slight concern in his red and green eyes. "I was wondering when another one of us would finally wake up."

"When one of us?" the younger boy repeated as he glanced over to his other side. Seeing that there were two more individuals inside, both of whom appeared to be asleep. "Oh..."

"Though I hadn't expected you to wake up so damn violently. That must've been one hell of a nightmare," the stranger muttered from where he laid. "Well whatever, you can call me Ragna."

"My name is Yu Narukami, Ragna-san," Yu told him. Looking around, Yu tried to get a sense for the surroundings. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Some kind of temple, but that's all they've told me so far. The people that brought us here SAID that they'd explain the rest once you three woke up, but I've been bored out of my mind for the last three days."

"I see... so I've been asleep for three days then," Yu noted, trying to remain calm in the situation.

"At least; I don't have any idea how long I was sleeping before I woke up," Ragna admitted. "Lucky you woke up when you did, I was starting to get annoyed just sitting on my ass."

'This place has a strange feeling to it. This doesn't feel like the TV world or the red mist... so what is it?' Yu thought to himself as he gripped his hand. 'I wonder...' "Ragna-san, I'm going to try something kind of strange, so try not to overreact."

"There's not a lot that can surprise me these days kid, but thanks for the warning," he admitted as he saw the good willed effort. Nodding, Yu then summoned a strange Azure blue card to his hand before crushing it. The result was a creature that stood behind him with a black-buckle jacket and held a strange spear. Its face was covered by a metal mask with intense yellow eyes staring out. "...Not even in my top ten."

"Huh? Are you a Persona user as well?" Yu asked. Ragna shook his head.

"Don't know what the hell this... Persona is, but I've seen much stranger things than that," the Reaper explained. 'And familiar if I include that masked pervert.'

"You must lead an exciting life then," Yu said as he threw off the sheets and realized his clothing had changed. "What the-?"

"Try not to think about it... It's hard, but... You'll lose less sleep," Ragna told him. "Which reminds me..." Yu watched on curiously as Ragna made for the doorway... before questioning that the door had apparently been blown off its hinges. "Oi."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

The sudden screaming of a young maiden was heard clear as day by the Persona wielder. Forgoing reasoning at the threat that someone was in danger, he kept his Persona out and headed for the front door, coming to a halt when he saw Ragna standing in front of a maid. The Reaper didn't appear to be looming over her threateningly, more like he was annoyed that she'd stepped back screaming from him.

"C'mon, I'm not here to eat ya," Ragna told the woman as he shoved a thumb towards the door way. "One of the others just got up, so how's about you get him his damned clothes... maybe let him take a bath after all of the time he's spent in that bed."

"I-I-I-!" The maid seemed like she could do nothing but stutter at him so Ragna made his way back towards the room with a slight growl. Her terrified expression only seemed to remain as her eyes landed on Yu's Persona. Yu realized how off-putting Izanagi would be to a non-persona user and unsummoned it, though the woman's complexion didn't improve that much. Ragna gave Yu a passing glance as he headed back inside the room they'd awoken in, but stopped suddenly.

"So... who's Nanako then?" Yu's body went cold as ice, though the more passive teen did his absolute best not to show it. It was a joke that he'd been hearing more and more lately and he was starting to grow tired of what it implied he was. "Sorry, just a name I heard you mutter in your sleep before you woke up."

"...My little sister," Yu told him. Nanako was really his younger cousin, but with the time he'd spent with her and the 'big bro' nickname she'd given him, he felt safe calling her his younger sibling, even in the present situation.

"...I see," was all Ragna gave him in return. It looked like he had more to say, but instead he headed over to his bed and lying down once more. The thoughts he'd been having in hesitation apparently faded.

While the baths had only appeared as small wooden bathing tubs, as soon as Yu had taken his first steps in he immediately felt a consuming wave of relief wash over him. There was a slight green to the water, suggesting that the servants had added an herbal remedy to the baths. He felt the soreness leave his body, which felt relaxing even with all of the time he'd supposedly spent in his bed. But this new time alone left Yu with his own thoughts.

'If this place doesn't feel like the TV world or even the Red Mist setting I doubt that Sho would be behind any of this. But if that's the case, how on earth am I still able to use my Persona? And I didn't even enter the Velvet Room before I came over to this side... so what's the truth here? Then there's Ragna-san... he's not a Persona user, but I can't help but feel that something's off about him.'

Despite spending a good long while thinking in the baths, Yu wasn't able to come to a proper answer. By the time he had finally made it out, the water was cold and his toes were already wrinkled. Heading over to his belongings that had been brought in before he'd started to bathe, he saw the usual set of clothes that he wore whenever he traveled, the katana he carried for protection, and his own personal suitcase containing his Yasogami High school uniform. Giving a short sigh, he went over and opened his suitcase knowing it fit the occasion.

The baths weren't a long ways away from the room that Yu had awoken in, so his walk back was rather short. This was somewhat of a relief to him as both soldiers and servants couldn't help but whisper as she walked by. Yu was a little off put by the soldiers' armor which resembled knights from the dark ages, but he decided he wouldn't worry about it until he had more answers. Stepping back inside the room, he saw Ragna lying with his hands behind his head much like how he'd discovered him when he'd woken up.

"Feeling better?" Ragna asked, trying to make conversation.

"Much... sorry if I kept you waiting," Yu told him apologetically.

"Don't be, it's those two that we're waiting on," Ragna said as he gestured to the beds of the others... only to realize as a groan then came from both of them. "The hell?"

"Speak of the devil..." Yu began.

"And he shall appear," Ragna finished darkly.

"Cookies..." the young girl moaned as she slowly awakened, leaving Ragna and Yu to glance at one another in concern.

"Ugh..." came the groan from the boy with blonde and black spiked hair as he too slowly rose to an upright position. "Where... am I?"

"That's what we want to know," Ragna told the two bluntly. "Try not to move too much, you two are going to be sore as all hell for the first few minutes."

"Really?" the blonde kid asked. "Cause I can't- Augh!"

"Told ya," Ragna told the two with a grimace as he was proven right.

"Wh-where did my Team go?" the girl asked as she looked around the surroundings before flinching at the soreness herself. "And we'd all just found each other again..."

"Try to take it easy," Yu told them both before looking to Ragna. "Now what happens?"

"Let's let 'em get up and around," the Reaper decided. "After that they can take a bath before we finally get some damn answers for this whole thing."

"Bath?" the girl asked before examining her clothing. "Wha-wha-!?"

"Wh-who changed our-!?" the blonde also demanded, both of their faces bright with blushes.

"It's better that you don't think about it," Ragna and Yu told them darkly in unison.

"Um... alright," the girl said, though it didn't look like her blush was going to fade anytime soon. "I... I'm Ruby... Ruby Rose."

"Call me Hyde... Hyde Kido," the remaining young man said just as awkwardly.

"Yu Narukami, nice to meet you both," he told them both, putting on a pleasant smile on his face to try and put them both at ease. And this here is Ragna... sorry, I never got you last name Ragna-san."

"I don't use one," he told them both before heading into the hallway. "Hey."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!" came the maid's shriek yet again. Hyde and Ruby both seemed to grow concerned, so Yu motioned for both of them to remain calm.

"Oh come on, three times?" Ragna's groan then followed. "The others are up, you mind letting Lavell know what's going on? I get the feeling that she doesn't want to deal with me. Oh, and I think they want a bath so-"

Y-yes my lord, right away!" the mage shouted as she hurried off, leaving Ragna to sigh at her timid nature around him.

"Someone's a lady killer," Ruby groaned sarcastically.

"He... he is somewhat intimidating," Yu had to admit.

"So..." Hyde began trying to change the subject before he smelt himself. "How about that bath then?"

While Hyde and Ruby were guided off to the bathing rooms, Ragna and Yu were left back in the room they'd awoken to wait for the others to freshen themselves. Ragna continued to only lie on his bed and stare up at the ceiling, almost like he was waiting for something to fall upon him. Yu noticed his change in attitude and decided he'd take charge of promoting another conversation.

"So that maid..." he began.

"You have a thing for maids?" Ragna asked, deferring from what Yu had obviously wanted to ask about.

'Yosuke and Teddie might, if their escapade with that Nurse magazine was anything to go off of,' Yu thought to himself. "No, I just had a question about the way she was acting around you. Are most women that terrified when you talk to them?"

"No, most of 'em are just plain disgusted at the sight of me," Ragna told him off. Yu wasn't sure whether or not he was being serious. "With her though... when I woke up I sorta... well I basically wanted to get the hell out of here, and the guards didn't care for that."

"So they forced you back into the room?" Yu asked, not sure why the maid would be so terrified if that was the case.

"Like hell, kicked their metal asses is what I did."

"You, you what?" the silver haired teen asked with a bit of a start.

"Calm down, I didn't kill any of 'em... and I was going to come back to grab you once I found an exit, I swear."

"That's... nice of you," Yu said, still taken a little aback. "But why would you have bothered, wouldn't we have just slowed you down?"

"Probably, but I don't think I could sleep at night knowing that I'd left three kids to god knows what," Ragna admitted before chuckling. "Now at least I'm suffering through it with you. That's a load off my mind."

"Seems strange that you decided to stay though," Yu said, analyzing what he saw and heard of his new acquaintance. "You'd sounded rather dead-set on leaving... what stopped you?"

"That damned princess of theirs," the Reaper told him with a scowl. "That girl must have no shame; begging me while sobbing right in front of me like that. She made me feel like a total villain there!" In spite of Ragna's grumbling Yu let out a chuckle. "You got something to say? Spit it out."

"Nothing, it's just... you're actually a nice guy underneath it all, aren't you?" To the question, Ragna shot the teen a snarky smirk.

"Nah, I'm just a cold-hearted bastard who's allergic to crying girls," Ragna told him in response. Yu laughed and it was actually enough to get Ragna join in with his own chuckle.

"We're back," they heard a voice say from the doorway as they saw Hyde reenter the room followed by Ruby. Gazing outside, Yu could also saw a woman only slightly older than he and Hyde appearing to be waiting for them. She had blue hair braided into a ponytail and carried a longsword at her side, her armor and red cape was also hard to ignore.

"Is that uniform for your high school?" Yu asked observing the belted outfit that the blonde was wearing.

"Yep, though it's what I usually end up wearing anyways," Hyde admitted before smirking. "You're the same, eh?"

"Yeah, I am," Yu said, looking down at his own uniform with nostalgia.

"And I left my uniform at home," Ruby said, disappointed that she didn't have hers to wear.

"Must be nice..." Ragna said enigmatically in turn as he rose from his bed.

"As heartwarming as this meeting is, I'm afraid we should be moving," the armored woman then spoke. "The princess is awaiting us, both with grave warnings of the future and great gifts of promise."

"As long a we stop being kept in the dark," Ragna muttered as the four began following her. "Just give us the damned truth already..."

"...Truth," Yu only repeated.

Author's Note

Next chapter is up and ready. So this chapter had a bit more of a Yu's-point-of-view focus this time around. Hopefully I'll get a chapter like this for Hyde and then maybe one for Ruby. Shouldn't be too bad. Anyways, he's my review responses.

Medblare: I hadn't intended for her technique to sound sexual... I think that's only you. Anyone else think that?

Wlyman2009: The first.

Dread Grim Reaper: That's how I do things.

The Unplanner: Hair color arguments aside, I did create the battle system myself and thanks for the kind words on the fight scene. Sometimes someone just needs to a chance to cut lose and have some fun pwning n00bs.

Mugen7: Excellent! I always enjoy a length summary review.

Hank: Maybe, maybe not. I'm all for cliche's, but they need to be done well first and foremost.

BlackSavior: Well Ragna was trained by Jubei so it makes sense that the cat would teach him at least a little more than the by and by basics... of course, Ragna's never really one to over complicate things. As for his Rachel comments, that was a spur of the moment idea so I'm glad you liked it.

adv: See this one then.

Let the Chaos Begin!

Yu: "After all of the countless Persona references... I've finally been written into an actual story."

Ruby: "Whoop whoop! Story number three for me!"

Hyde: "And Storm's finally played my game... No one really knows who I am, do they?"

Ragna: "Dammit, I better be getting overtime for this crap... Have some variety dammit! You have PLENTY of stories."

Yu (sweat-drop): "He pays you? Well...Moving on, it looks like we have our team."

Hyde (smiling proudly): "Yep! Looks like our team of Rag-Tag Highschool students is good to go!"

Ragna: "Ahem!"

*Everyone then looks to the Reaper, who appears to be raising his brow at being called a 'High School Student'*

Ruby: "Right... Ragna's at more of a college student age isn't he... except he never actually went to school to begin with."

Yu: "Poor guy, never got to experience those golden years of Japanese high school life."

Hyde: "No wonder he's always so grouchy."

Ragna: "Ease up on the mocking-pity-party, alright? All that matters is our team of four is here and it's as ready as we'll ever be to kick some ass. My non-confirmed age be damned to hell."

Hyde: "Still though, it kind of makes you an outlier..."

Yu: "Yeah, this makes a team of three students and one... well, one..."

Ragna (ticked): "If you say old man, I'm going to clobber you. I've already dealt with that in a separate story and I STILL have to be called 'dad' every chapter!"

Ruby (whispering to the others): "So we can't call him dad..."

Hyde (whispering): "Cause that's already been done..."

Yu (whispering): "So that leaves..."

Ragna (dreading the outcome): "I have a bad feeling about this one... What are you plotting?"

Ruby (sadistically sweet): "Ohhhh... Nothing... We just figured out what to call you."

Ragna (dread levels are over 9000): "A nickname, huh? What'd you come up-?"

*All at once the three of them attack the Reaper with a tackle hug; all three of their faces looking very Kawaii in the process whilst Ragna became increasingly annoyed*

Yu/Hyde/Ruby: "UNCLE!"

Ragna: "DAMMIT!"