Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

13. College Days

A/N Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a good end to 2021 and here's hoping 2022 is one to finally remember in a good way.

Quick note on character ages before the chapter starts, which is laid out in a bit more detail at the end. Sae by my estimation is ~24 maybe 25 y/o, so she'd be 3-4 years older than Yu, who would be 22 y/o as of the start of this story.

Without further ado, here we go…

Chapter 13

Tokyo: Sanshou Hotel, Naoto's Room

In the aftermath of the raid, the members of the Investigation Team had returned to their hotel and made their way to the ace detective's room. Almost immediately after entering, Naoto rushed over to her computer and began to monitor the tracking device's signal more directly.

Upon doing so, however, Naoto could only sigh out, "…it's still moving."

"Really?" asked a surprised Yosuke. "Just how far away is their main base?"

"You're assuming that they even retreated to it in the first place," Yu pointed out. "And also that they haven't even once stopped yet, which judging by the look on Naoto's face…"

"And sadly, that's correct," the detective admitted tiredly. "Given the number of times they've actually stopped, I'm beginning to wonder just how many facilities they have. Suffice to say, I'm not interested in playing a prolonged game of whack-a-mole when people's lives are at stake."

Truthfully, this was the first bit of bad news that the group had been struck with all day. Up until that point, things had gone so swimmingly that their luck was bound to run out eventually.

Then there was the silver lining of the actual human men they were able to detain in the raid. Though they were currently too disoriented to be interrogated, they would likely become useful sources of information as the first White Masks to actually be captured.

"Then… we're kinda stuck playing the waiting game?" Rise wondered aloud.

"Seems so," answered Naoto. "I think it's best that we turn in for the night."

"Actually…" Yosuke spoke up.

The brunette seemed to struggle with actually saying what it was that he clearly wanted to. Chie, for her part, just rolled her eyes in about the most dramatic over-the-top way possible.

"Just spit it out already, Yosuke."

He looked at Chie almost warily as if he wasn't entirely sure if he should actually speak his mind. Eventually he came to the conclusion that actually having his question answered would be worth whatever pain it brought on him.

"So, uh… Yu," he continued. "What's the deal with you and the super-omega-hot lawyer chick?"

Just as he'd feared, he received a stern nudge to the ribcage that had him rubbing his side within seconds. He of course knew it was a result of how he asked his question, but the honest truth was he was incapable of asking it any different way.

"I'm really not sure what you mean," Yu replied. He rubbed the back of his head, clearly at a bit of a loss. "She and I knew each other at Tokyo-U, and—"

"Oh c'mon, I'm not talkin' about the short version." Yosuke stated. "I mean the real story, dude."

"I'd like to hear about that too," Rise quickly chimed in.

Her demeanor couldn't have possibly made it more obvious as to why she wanted to know. Although her motives weren't shared by the group at large, she was still far from alone in her curiosity.

"Oooh, that does sound pretty interesting!" Teddie cooed.

"It actually does," Yukiko added.

It took very little time for their esteemed leader to see where things were headed.

"Well, alright," Yu casually relented. "I guess at this point it'd be about four years ago…"

Tokyo: Upscale Building, Sae's Apartment…

"—and you're sure you're fine?" Makoto asked.

Sae opened the door to her apartment with a scowl, unable to stop herself from doing so in the wake of what had to be the fifth time her younger sister had asked the exact same question.

"For the hundredth time, I'm fine, Makoto."

The eldest of the Nijima sisters took a few steps into her unit, though after a split-second she started to stumble. She immediately grabbed the countertop on her right, managing to stabilize herself and prevent a nasty fall.

While Sae herself was clearly shocked by the sudden onset of fatigue, her younger sibling appeared to expect it.

"There it is…" Makoto uttered. "I have to admit, that you're only just now showing signs of fatigue is pretty incredible. When I awakened to my Persona for the first time, I was barely able to stand the second I got back to the real world."

Without even so much as asking if her help was needed, the brunette came to Sae's side and placed herself underneath her shoulder. She then guided her to the couch, ensuring that she was able to lay down comfortably until she felt she could walk on her own two feet without fear of collapsing.

"Thank you," said Sae evenly.

"Don't mention it," Makoto replied with a smile. "Do you need me to get you anything? Perhaps a glass of water?"

"Yes, actually. I'd appreciate it."

A silence gripped the room as Makoto filled a glass from the tap and brought it back for her sister. She then took a seat, still remaining ever-silent, just watching her sister

'It could not be more obvious that you want to ask me something…' Sae thought, almost annoyedly.

She intended to berate her sister for her hesitation the moment she finished drinking her glass. Ultimately, in what would be a pleasant surprise, no prodding on her part was needed.

"So…" spoke Makoto, a lack of confidence evident in her tone. "What exactly is the story between you and Yu-san? The real one, I mean. Not the abridged version."

"What an odd thing to ask," Sae thought aloud. "Why the curiosity?"

"I mean, you two seem to be closer than just acquaintances. How could I not be curious?"

For a moment, it seemed that Sae mulled over exactly what to say. At first, she believed that the story of how they really came to know each other wasn't anything special, but very quickly she realized that wasn't quite the case. As she weaved together everything in her mind, it became clear that the retelling would not end anytime soon.

"I don't mind, but it is somewhat of a long story."

"I've got time," replied Makoto.

"Very well. It all started around three years ago…"

Tokyo University: Lecture Hall 01A - April 20th, 2012

Sae Nijima stood at forefront of a large lecture hall, hosting a review session held for students of an 'Intro to Civil Law' class. The lecture hall, to the surprise of no one, was packed. Whether that was a testament to the young woman's intelligence and teaching skill or her beauty, however, was up to interpretation.

Although barely twenty-one years of age, she resembled her future self to an incredible degree. Even her choice of clothing was still as professional as ever. Her poise, posture, and confidence certainly tracked back through the years, as did her beautiful crimson eyes and well-kempt silver hair, though said hair was much shorter by comparison to the three years from that point.

She finished putting the final touches on the blackboard relating to the case study she had been outlining for those present to take notes on. Efficient as ever, she wasted no time in turning to the students to ask the obvious.

"This should be everything you need to know about Satagayama v. Yaritori. Any questions?"

As was traditional in most lecture halls of this size, her inquiry to the students was met with absolute silence. However, as they were near the end of the review session, she hadn't the desire to press them to respond.

"Very well," said Sae, keeping a firm tone. "In that case, the review session is at an end. Good luck on your exam next week."

The silver-haired beauty began to pack up her things, seeing the students file out of the lecture hall all the while. Her eyes narrowed at some of the young men snickering as they exited, doing so as a result of knowing full-well what they were discussing.

'Do they seriously come here just to gawk at me?' Sae wondered tiredly.

A few moments later, the room became as quiet as a crypt and seemingly devoid of students. Sae, still agitated by what she'd heard as they'd all left, sat down in her chair and released a heavy sigh.

"Just how long is this obsession with my appearance going to go on?" Sae uttered in a voice just above a whisper. "It's bad enough I have people obsessed with such things outside of class. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm teaching correctly at this point…"

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you're doing a great job."

The voice quickly startled Sae who had up until that moment believed herself to be the only person in the room. Her widened eyes landed on a young man seated on the right side of the room's center—practically blending in with the background.

He had silver hair styled in a bowl-cut and eyes of a matching color. His clothing was a simple white dress shirt, which practically made him appear like a chameleon as he sat within the bland, gray-coated chairs in the lecture hall.

As far as appearances went, he seemed perfectly harmless, though the awkwardness of realizing his presence almost immediately had Sae packing up the rest of her things in an effort to get out of the room as soon as was possible.

"Y-Yes, well, thank you," replied Sae. She cleared her throat before walking towards the exit. "I'll be heading out now. Good luck on the exam."

"Thanks."

She caught a glimpse of a friendly smile as she bolted for the door, somehow managing to do so with pride and dignity even in spite of how clearly embarrassed she was. Yu was readying to leave as well, though a quick glance at the desk at the room's center gave him pause.

Present Time…

"…I have to say, I'm having a really hard time picturing you getting embarrassed like that."

"No one is immune to that kind of situational awkwardness, Makoto. Not even me," Sae admitted, sounding almost bitter at the memory. "Although I did feel a bit guilty that I'd left so quickly. As I remember it, he seemed perfectly kind."

"…right," Makoto replied, her eyes skeptically narrowed. "So, what happened next?"

"Well, you recall that towards the end of college I'd gained a stalker, correct? Well, that very night…"

---

"Woah, a stalker?!" Chie exclaimed.

"That's some serious stuff to deal with for an ordinary twenty-year-old attending university," Yukiko muttered.

"Yeah," replied Yu. Almost absentmindedly, he added, "Although I wish I knew at the time she was dealing with one."

"Why's that?" Chie pressed curiously.

A very not-jealous and not at all bitter Yosuke chimed in, "Probably so he could go all 'Prince Charming' and save the beautiful damsel in distress…"

"That's not it," Rise stated, her eyes narrowed at the brunette. Her mood took a total and complete U-turn as she shifted her sights to the silver-eyed lawyer with a hopeful, almost pleasing look in her eyes. "It's not, right?"

"Nope, not at all. I would've liked to know for my own safety…" Yu replied, a bead of sweat dripping from his temple.

"How d'ya mean that?" asked Kanji.

Tokyo University: East Campus, - April 20th, 2012

Sae found herself walking back to her apartment on campus in what was currently the early hours of the night. Although she'd just evaded a rather awkward situation, she was by no means relaxed at present.

Her eyes darted slowly across the landscape at her front as she entered the east campus' plaza. It was entirely devoid of people, the ideal time for an unwanted approach from an equally unwanted onlooker.

Though she was by no means a fan of physical confrontation, Sae was almost thankful for the scenario that she found herself in. She could feel a set of eyes on her and now merely waited for their owner to make their move.

The crimson-eyed lawyer-to-be stopped abruptly, pulling out her phone and making it seem as if she were scrolling through messages. It was entirely a bait, and upon hearing the ever-so-slight footsteps of someone approaching, she knew it had worked.

When it was clear that someone was directly behind her, she lifted her right leg and delivered a roundhouse kick with all everything she had. Her eyes quickly landed on her assumed attacker, who ended up being the very same silver-haired young man she'd seen in the lecture hall just a few moments ago.

Thankfully for the both of them, he managed to dodge, albeit barely so.

Yu said not a word, though he was taken entirely by surprise and clearly relieved that he'd not been brutally maimed. A lone bead of sweat dripped from his cheek as he looked over to his upperclassman.

Sae was displeased to say the least, unsure of whether or not the young man was her stalker for the briefest of moments. She scowled reflexively, keeping her guard up in spite of the fact that he was obviously not about to make an advance anytime soon.

"Care to explain why…!"

She paused, noticing the book he was holding in his hand, or more specifically her book in his hand. It took no time at all for Sae to realize his purpose for following her. Agitation was replaced with both dread and embarrassment at what would inevitably be his response.

"You, uh… left this behind at the lecture hall," Yu replied, holding up the book in her direction. "Although it seems like you really don't want it back."

"No, no!" Sae exclaimed. "That was… I'm sorry, it's complicated. T-Thank you for returning my notebook, I appreciate it."

The young woman graciously accepted the return of her book, though even in the midst of her embarrassment, there was one thing she couldn't help but point out.

"Not that I'm trying to make up an excuse, but it wasn't the brightest of ideas to sneak up on me like that," Sae stated pointedly.

"Sorry, that's my bad. Although that reaction was a bit much," Yu said, attempting to be as respectful as possible. "Is everything okay? If you're on edge because you're walking home at night, I can walk back with you if you want."

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you," she replied.

Although she sounded a bit more annoyed than she likely meant to, it didn't seem to bother Yu in the slightest.

"Then just be careful, okay?"

He almost immediately started walking away, drawing a curious brow from the eldest Nijima daughter, who hadn't expected that response.

"You're just going to drop it and leave?" Sae inquired, sounding almost surprised.

"Hm? Well… yeah," replied Yu, his tone as casual as they came. "You said you were fine, right? And my apartment's this way, which is why I'm headed that direction."

Just like that, the enigmatic young man was off. His deadpanned response had left Sae perhaps the most confused she'd been in recent memory.

It wasn't that it was necessarily bad, it was simply the case that most men in that scenario would assume her to be a delicate flower that needed protection from a big, strong man. They were all wholeheartedly wrong in that assumption, but that had never stopped any of them before.

'What a strange person…' Sae thought.

Still, she was thankful that he wasn't upset about nearly being put in a hospital bed for the night. An elongated and awkward interaction like that was something she certainly didn't need at the moment.

"H-Hey, so… who was that guy?"

A nervous-sounding voice had just caught the red-eyed beauty's attention. She turned quickly to see what appeared to be another college student, likely around the same age as Sae herself. He seemed normal enough, being rather bland in appearance with black hair and brown eyes, although his skin was somewhat pale. She didn't recognize him, however.

"Do I know you?" Sae pointedly asked.

"I mean yeah, o-of course you do. You have to know me, right Nijima-san?" he casually replied. "So again, about that guy…"

"I don't believe I know you, actually. What's your name?"

The young man seemed agitated by the question and started moving ever-closer. He scratched the side of his head and chuckled uncomfortably.

"Answer my question first. Nijima-san, who was that?"

It went without saying that Sae remained totally silent. Her narrowed eyes watched every movement the clearly deranged person was making. It seemed that her lack of response triggered something, as he quickly grabbed a knife from his pocket once he'd come close enough.

"I said, answer m—"

The raven-haired college student didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Sae's fist planted itself firmly in the center of his chest. He recoiled and hunched over, dropping the knife and gasping for air.

He looked up angrily at Sae, though such a nasty look did little to prevent the incoming axe-kick that she then delivered straight down onto his back. With a gasp, the young man hit the ground like a sack of bricks. Quiet, pained groans were the closest thing he came to moving.

In the aftermath, the aspiring lawyer adjusted her hair, all the while keeping her eyes ever-fixed on the immobile body simply to ensure that if he didn't so much as move a muscle.

"Impressive."

A now-recognizable voice called out from the right side of the plaza. Somewhat surprised, she turned to see the silver-haired boy approaching yet again. She quickly realized that he'd been keeping a fair distance away, likely expecting something like this to happen.

"…did you know he was here?" Sae asked.

"Not really, but I did have a feeling you had someone following you based on your reaction earlier. I decided to stay back for a bit, just in case."

"Clearly it was unneeded," protested Sae, her arms crossed and brows furrowed. "As I said before, I can take care of myself."

"After you nearly took my head off, yeah, I kinda figured that. Still, if you were attacked, who's to say they weren't armed? What if they got the jump on you?" Yu countered. He smirked as he jokingly added, "Plus, if you'd gotten hurt, I'm pretty sure my grades would tank on account of those review sessions being cancelled. You're a lot better at teaching that class than the professor is…"

"Heh, flattery will hardly get you into my good graces," replied Sae, her words harsher than her smile would let on. "Still… you do have a point. Thank you for your concern, unneeded as it was."

"Don't mention it. The police are also on their way."

In the midst of their conversation, neither of the two hard realized the stalker had regained some of his ability to move. Fueled by sheer rage, he grabbed his knife and picked himself up off the ground in one quick motion.

"Stuck up bitch!" the man shouted

He lunged at Sae, plunging the knife forward with everything he had. She, however, would not need to guard against it.

Yu quickly put himself between both Sae and her attacker. In an impressive display of spend and reflexes, he caught the thrusting knife in his hand, letting the blade slip through the cracks in his fingers while his palm gripped the hilt. Without missing a beat, he then cocked his fist back before slamming it straight into the black-haired stalker's face. He slammed into the ground, this time entirely unconscious.

Hardly a part of Sae could bring herself to criticize the move made by the silver-haired young man, even in spite of the fact that she could have handled it herself quite easily. It was a display of such incredible finesse and skill that even she was stunned.

"You okay?" Yu abruptly asked.

That seemed to shake her out of her stupor.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks again," She replied. Clearing her throat, she went on, "Although I now realize this is the third time in quick succession I'm thanking you and yet we haven't formally introduced ourselves. I'm Sae Nijima, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Yu Narukami, and likewise."

Present Time…

"No way," scoffed Yosuke, staring skeptically at his best friend. "You seriously expect me to believe you caught a knife like that without getting so much as a scratch?"

"I can see it," Chie stated.

"I mean yeah, he's capable of some incredible stuff, but that's a bit much even for him!"

"Don't be jealous~" Teddie cooed.

The brunette seemed to just wave him off.

"To think all that started just with you returning a book…" Yukiko thought aloud.

"Now that I think of it, doesn't this story seem kinda familiar?" Chie muttered contemplatively.

"What d'ya mean?" Kanji asked.

"You know, how he freaked her out by returning the notebook. I swear that's so familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Several present seemed to get the same feeling but couldn't quite put their finger on it. Three people in the room knew it immediately, those being Yu himself, Naoto, and a certain redhaired songstress.

"Because it's basically how we first met," Rise replied. Her smile twisted into one that was forced, beneath which was likely a jealous fury she was clearly doing her best to keep contained. "I guess you just can't help yourself, huh, Yu~?"

"Oh yeah, you lost your phone and he tracked you down in that elevator at Junes, right?" Chie uttered in realization. She chuckled, adding, "But I guess back then it didn't end with him punching out a stalker. That's totally next level, huh?"

Although the officer of the law had clearly meant it as a joke of sorts, it was clear that it was not well-received on the part of Rise. For a moment, it looked like a vein in her head was about to burst open.

"I, uh… sorry," Chie quietly apologized.

"So anyway, what happened next?" Yukiko pressed.

---

"…did he really do that?" Makoto asked in shock.

"Yes," replied Sae with a chuckle. "He really caught the knife in his hand. I was shocked, to say the least."

"Yu-san really is something else."

"…he really is."

There was a bit of wistfulness in her sister's tone that quickly caught Makoto's attention. She was swift to get the conversation back on track.

"Y-Yes, well, what happened after that?"

"Naturally, we became somewhat close after that," Sae answered. She cupped her chin in thought. "We'd often speak after class—not about anything in particular, though he was always interesting to talk to. There was also a coffee shop we enjoyed frequenting and I'd often help him study whenever we found the time to go together."

Sae was too lost in thought to see the look of shock and dread that her younger sister was giving her. Queen, the great calm and collected strategist of the Phantom Thieves, could quite literally not fathom what she was hearing.

---

"What you are describing sounds an awful lot like dating, my guy," Yosuke couldn't help but remark.

"Pretty sure it wasn't," replied Yu.

"It does kinda sound like it," Kanji chimed in.

"I'm with Yu. It wasn't," Rise forcefully added.

At this point it appeared her jealousy was becoming impossible to contain. The look of her eyes could terrify a demon, so it was only natural that Kanji moved a few paces away from the redhead for his own safety. Yosuke would have as well, but he had the good fortune of being on the opposite side of the room already.

"I gotta agree with Rise here," Chie commented.

"Whatever…"

Said topic was something that Yukiko couldn't care less about. Something far more pressing and relevant had been on her mind.

"Hold on, if you were close during that time, then why did you fall out of touch?"

"Did you two hop into bed and then it just got too awkward afterwards?" Teddie abruptly asked.

The looks Teddie received were mostly those of absolute shock and disbelief. Rise, however, donned an expression that had Kanji at the ready to restrain her before she did something she would regret.

"No, of course not," Yu quickly answered. He looked at the bear-sona user strangely. "Why would you even ask that?"

"In the TV dramas I watch, a lot of the times when two people sleep together in the same bed, they wake up the next morning and it gets super awkward between them!" Teddie replied. Though he was full of energy, nearly everyone else deflated. No one even knew where to begin to start as far as correcting him went. "Sometimes they go without talking to each other for ten episodes! It makes me wonder why taking a nap next to someone can make things so awkward…"

"Teddie, I keep tellin' ya not to watch that crap," Kanji sighed.

"Ignore him," Yosuke stated. "So anyway, partner, what really happened?"

"That's… Hmm…" Yu trailed off.

The question itself seemed innocent enough, though in spite of this, Yu seemed weirdly contemplative upon it being asked. It was certainly strange to see.

"Uh, you good, partner?" Yosuke inquired, a touch of concern in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," he answered with a smile. "It's just that the answer to that question isn't exactly simple. A lot went in to it from my end."

"Well, we're all ears," Yukiko said assumingly.

Tokyo University: East Campus - November 15th, 2012

The second term of the year was nearing its end, and for a class known as 'Intermediate Legal Theory' today marked the final lecture prior to the final exam the following week. In what most students considered a miracle, the professor was absent and the lovely teacher's assistant was proctoring in his place. Though several were just intent to stare on account of her looks, the real reason many were relieved was due to her skill as a teacher.

In just a short few hours, most felt as if they'd learned more than they had in any of the previous classes put together.

"With that, we're at time," Sae spoke, turning to face the mass of seated students. "Your final exam will be next week in this room at exactly 10:00am. Be sure to arrive at least fifteen minutes prior."

Each of the students started to gather their things, and while Sae herself did the same, her eyes weren't set on the exits. She scanned the room, quickly finding Yu at his usual seat in the middle of the hall. A smile crossed her lips, though it quickly faded upon seeing him quickly become surrounded by a number of girls.

The female students quickly began conversing with Yu pleasantly enough, perhaps a little too pleasantly. Subtle touches and girlish laughs could be seen and heard respectively by anyone watching. With her eyes narrowing involuntarily, Sae started to approach, but she hadn't made it so much as three steps before two students came up to her, taking her by surprise.

"Nijima-san, sorry to bother you," spoke one of the students. "But I just had one question I'd like to run by you. If you don't mind, of course."

"Me too."

"Yes, that'd be just fine," Sae replied, her demeanor pleasant once again. "So, what can I help you with?"

Even as the two were asking their respective questions of her, Sae couldn't help but steal a glance at Yu. He in turn clearly noticed, flashing her a friendly look and waving in her direction before heading off.

Much to her annoyance, the same group of girls followed him in tow.

"…Nijima-san?"

"Yes, sorry," she replied evenly. "The answer is a bit simpler than most would have you believe. You see…"

It took a few minutes for her to give them a proper response, and her mood did somewhat brighten upon seeing how relieved they were. All the same, she gave her farewell and quickly headed to the doors.

A part of her had hoped and expected to see Yu lying in wait, though it seemed he wasn't present. It was difficult to describe how she felt in the moment, though obviously she knew it not to be pleasant.

Even in spite of her disappointment, she was far too rational to put the blame entirely on him.

'Well… it's not as if I control his schedule. Perhaps he just had somewhere to be,' Sae mused. 'Though it would have been nice for him to give me a heads up if he was just going to leave right after class.'

At this point it was implicit on both of their schedules to leave together once the lecture had ended. On Tuesday's they would walk towards their next respective classes and on Thursday's they would spend some time at a local coffee shop.

Today, incidentally, happened to be Thursday.

It occurred to the aspiring lawyer that Yu may have had 'somewhere to be' with those girls that were practically tethered to his side before he'd made his way out. The thought of that, however, just annoyed her all the more, and it showed.

"Everything okay?" Yu inquired without warning.

Sae, confusion written on her face, turned to see him seated at a bench just a short distance away. She'd somehow failed to see him when she did a scan of the area, which shocked her to no end. Although perhaps his ability to blend in with the environment was par for the course at this point.

"Do you just enjoy sneaking up on me or something?" sighed Sae, albeit with a smile tugging at her lips. "Good grief, how many times does this make it?"

"Twelve," he answered flatly, holding a good-natured grin as he did so. "Though I noticed you didn't answer my question. Are you alright? You look a bit—"

"I-It's nothing," Sae assured. "I could use a good cup of coffee right about now though. Shall we get going?"

She received a curt nod and the two were off. However, the silver-haired young man had no intention of dropping his previous question. At least not when he now believed he knew the answer.

"…did you think I'd left without you?" Yu asked.

"Well, that's…" an embarrassed Sae trailed off, averting her gaze. "I had thought you might've had a prior engagement. Perhaps with those girls that were talking to you at the end of the lecture."

"That?" Yu uttered in a surprised tone. "No, they were asking if I wanted to join a study group before the final."

"If so, they seemed quite intent on having you join," Sae remarked. "Clearly to the point that they were fawning over you head to toe—though that isn't any business of mine."

"I wouldn't really say it like that," he chuckled. Giving her a reassuring smile, he added, "No prior engagement either. I wouldn't have scheduled something on a special occasion like today."

"How do you mean?" Sae asked, her tone betraying her hopeful curiosity.

"Today's the day you find out you passed the bar, right?"

"So you remembered after all…" Sae quietly muttered. "And what makes you so sure I passed? I don't recall telling you the results just yet."

"Because it's you," Yu quickly replied. He smirked cheekily, his eyes holding a teasing undertone to them. "And that wasn't a compliment. Just a fact."

In what had to be one of the only times in her adult life that she could recall, Sae felt her cheeks heat up. Out of an abundance of caution, she looked forwards and avoided eye-contact, even going so far as to push her hair forwards with her shoulder to cover her face in case her presumed blush was too noticeable.

They walked the short distance to the café that remained in comfortable silence. A very welcome wave of warmth washed over them when they entered, which served as just another sign of the changing seasons. They took their seats and placed their orders, finally unwinding after what had undoubtedly been a long day.

"So," began Yu, "what will you be doing now that you've passed the bar?"

"I'm going to become a public prosecutor, actually," Sae replied. She took a sip of her coffee before calmly explaining, "I've already had several interviews with the SIU here in Tokyo. Evidently, they see me as a young talent they'd like to cultivate."

"Can't say I blame them."

"Now you're just brownnosing," countered Sae. Her smile became bittersweet in nature. "Still, that would make this my last week at Tokyo-U."

The truth was Yu had expected as much from the beginning. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone as exceptional as Sae Nijima would be moving up to the real world sooner rather than later.

"Selfishly, I'll miss having you around," Yu admitted with a chuckle. "But really I'm happy for you. That sounds like a great opportunity."

"Yes, it is," Sae stated. Her tone was oddly even and unenthused. "The pay is quite high, though I'll certainly be incredibly busy. I imagine work will consume most of my life."

"I imagine so, yeah."

"I'll have precious little time for anything else."

It was at this point that Yu was becoming somewhat confused. He was unsure of exactly why Sae was saying what she was or to whom she was even saying it. Nevertheless, he responded politely to continue the conversation.

"Probably none at all once they realize just how capable you are. That's not necessarily a bad thing though."

"…yes, quite so."

Sae looked at Yu, hesitation in the back of her mind though it kept itself from showing on her features. She debated whether or not she should say anything at all, though clearly she settled on speaking her mind.

"Yu, I was wondering, hypothetically—"

Her would-be question was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress. The admittedly cute young woman walked right up to Yu, bearing a receipt in hand.

"Sorry to bother, but I figured I'd hand this over sooner rather than later," she stated sweetly, a friendly smile plastered from ear to ear. "Let me know if you two need anything else, 'kay?"

"Yeah, sure thing," answered Yu.

He then reached for his wallet, though in doing so he left the receipt wide-open for Sae to take at her leisure. It went without saying that she'd grabbed it almost immediately.

"You paid last time, remember?" Sae pointed out with a wry grin.

"But this is a special occasion, so call it an exception," he countered.

"Your appeal is summarily denied," she answered. "And besides the term's almost done, so as your upperclassmen, I…"

The silver-haired young woman stopped and stared down at the receipt with thinly-veiled contempt.

"What?" asked Yu, curiously. "Did they jack up the price or something?"

"No, it's just that this was clearly meant for you."

She then handed over the receipt, revealing a phone number written in pen. If the heart on the end of its was any indication, it was left by the waitress that handed it to him in the first place.

"You know, I'm starting to notice a pattern…" Sae began. The traces of bitterness in her tone were only amplified by her now-crossed arms. "First those girls at the lecture hall, now this… And come to think of it, I regularly see girls making a pass at you. Clearly it must be quite an adventure to be Yu Narukami with countless girls fawning all over you."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous," Yu replied jokingly.

"And if I said I was?" Sae asked.

His remark wasn't meant to be taken seriously in the slightest, so hearing her say that of all things had him about as caught off guard as he could get. He looked at her with widened eyes, though the sight of an uncharacteristically playful grin offered plenty as far as explanations went.

"…okay, I admit it, you got me there," Yu said with a chuckle. "When did you pick up a sense of humor?"

"How rude," she replied in feigned indignation. "I'll have you know that I… I…"

The beauties' crimson eyes became half-lidded and she started to lose balance even as she was seated in her chair. She held onto the table trying to stabilize herself, but it clearly didn't do her any good.

Yu reflexively reached out to check on her, but he too soon started to feel the effects. Frantically, he started to glance around the room, seeing most everyone else experiencing the same sudden onset of vertigo.

The room itself started to twist as if reality itself were becoming distorted, though clearly Yu was less impacted by it than others. It still gave him one hell of a headache. It abruptly stopped, and with it came a strange but familiar feeling that the gray-eyed tee couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Found you…!"

The warped sinister voice had called out from the large television in the corner of the room. He turned, seeing a young man's head pop out of it.

'That's…' Yu thought with narrowed eyes.

He recognized it to be the very same young man that had stalked Sae a few months prior. Although now his eyes were a sickly gold and his appearance somehow seemed more manic in nature.

Grinning madly, the raven-haired student crawled out of the TV, subsequently after which he stared at Yu with his dead, golden eyes.

"I've been looking forward to this."

"Can't say I feel the same," replied Yu. He stood tall, unafraid of the deranged young man. "That you crawled out of the TV can only mean one thing. I don't know how you got your abilities, but I'm going to give you one chance: back off."

It was clear that in turn his soon-to-be attacker was caught off guard by his lack of fear. However, he suddenly started to cackle maniacally. Naturally, Yu assumed that to mean his warning had fallen on deaf ears.

"Do you seriously think I'd fall for something like that?! As if I'd let you be!"

A humanoid darkness-coated creature started to form at his side. Sadly, for the young man, it wouldn't even get the chance to fully form.

Yu charged forward, arriving at the raven-haired man's side with such speed that it clearly caught him unawares. He crushed a tarot card in his hand with conviction, calling forth Izanagi. The mythological deity soon thrust its blade directly into the chest of whatever Persona had been forming up until that point. As if that wasn't enough, the metal soon began to roar with thunderous energy, lighting the creature to its very core.

The stalker shook violently, clearly affected by the attack on his as-of-yet unformed Persona. It soon vanished, and with it the stalker himself fell to the grounds of the coffee shop. A quick examination confirmed he'd lost consciousness.

"Sorry, I just wasn't in the mood to mess around," Yu replied.

"Predictable. After all, he just wouldn't listen."

The sudden voice cut into his ears like a knife. It clearly didn't belong to the stalker he'd so easily dispatched, and in fact he would have been amazed to know it belonged to a human. It held a strange seductive pleasance to it, and yet the voice breathed so sinisterly that it sent a chill down the spine.

Before he could even fully react, Yu felt a cold hand place itself on his shoulder, and though it held no ill-intent, he couldn't help but be frozen in place. In spite of everything he'd experienced up until that point, he genuinely didn't think it was possible for a touch to feel as if it gnawed at the soul. That was now no longer true.

Realizing that standing still would likely do no good, he borrowed a page from Sae's book and attempted a roundhouse kick. It missed entirely, crashing through little else but the remnants of a thick darkness that kissed the air even after the departure of whatever had been standing behind him.

"Was it something I said?"

Again, the same icy chill reflexively shot down Yu's spine. This time, he turned quickly to face the voice's source, coming eye-to-eye, metaphorically speaking, with something he was certainly unprepared to see.

A short distance away stood something that, while roughly the size and shape of a man, was certainly the furthest thing from human. Its entire body was coated in an obsidian shade, the likes of which could snuff out even the brightest of lights. The darkness exuded from its torso like a fog, coating the air around it and dissipating shortly after departing from its body.

The only other discernable features it seemed to possess were clawed hands and a pair of glowing eyes of a deep-crimson color.

Yu didn't need to speak to it in order to understand that it was both hostile and a threat. He made to summon Izanagi, intent on making a move before it would get the chance.

Faster than Yu could even crush the tarot card, however, the being vanished from existence, its body collapsing into darkness. It quickly reappeared in much the same manner next to Sae's unconscious body at the table, placing a clawed finger gently against her cheek, though it stopped just short of the skin.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The threat could not have been clearer. It went without saying that Yu froze, and subsequently the tarot card that was just above his palm vanished into thin air. Still, the current situation possessed a bit of a silver-lining. As such, he calmly stood tall.

"What do you want with me, exactly?" Yu questioned.

"Who's to say I'm not here to harm her or anyone else in here for that matter?"

"Because if you were here to hurt her, you'd have done it by now instead of just threatening to," Yu replied. The question itself was an offense to his intelligence, though perhaps the shaded creature just wanted to hear him state the obvious. "Although on the off-chance you so much as scratch her, I can promise it won't end well for you."

"Boldness befitting a wielder of the Fool," it chuckled throatily. "As for why I'm here, let's just say it's to send a message. Apologies for using that useless waste of space to do it, but in truth it had to be him."

"I take it you're the reason he attained a Persona?" Yu mused.

"Something along those lines, yes. I did want him to be at least somewhat more competent, but he just wouldn't listen to reason and went off on his own. Oh well, it's what I get for prioritizing ceremony over substance. After all, an idiot with power is still an idiot nonetheless."

The implications immediately brought back recollections of the dark goddess Izanami. Thus far, that had been the only being he encountered, other than perhaps Igor, that held the ability to gift someone a Persona.

If this shadowy creature was anywhere near those two in terms of power, then the fact that he was in a coffee shop surrounded by unconscious innocent people became all the more problematic. Unfortunately, he was all but sure it was. After all, there was no other explanation as to how it managed to bring the TV worlds presence into the real world.

'I can't afford to get into a fight with this thing here… maybe even not at all,' Yu thought.

He kept a calm outward demeanor in spite of his inward worry. However, it seemed that the shade saw through it entirely if his next remarks were anything to go by.

"I'm not here to fight. Merely to bid you my greetings," said the obsidian being. It retracted its hand from near Sae's face, shortly after which it vanished from existence yet again. It appeared right at Yu's side in an instant, whispering into his ear in a sadistic, cold tone. "Yu Narukami."

Unphased by a move that was clearly meant to rattle him, Yu quickly opened the palm of his hand and crushed a tarot card within it. Almost instantaneously, Izanagi appeared directly in front of the shade and pierced the center of its chest.

A black tar seemed to seep onto the floor from the gaping wound, though it clearly hadn't done enough damage to seriously wound the creature.

It casually placed its hand on his shoulder, its voice yet again whispering into his ear.

"Be seeing you."

And with that, its body began to collapse into darkness once more—or at least it attempted to. Izanagi abruptly swung its blade towards the large TV in the corner of the room, effectively flinging the Shadow into its screen from whence it likely came.

The eerie glow that had previously coated the room started to recede, evidence that as the creature left, so too did its otherworldly influence. All the same, Yu was in no mood to let the Shadow slip away, and as such he called back Izanagi before making a beeline straight towards the TV.

Yu dove through the screen in style, landing on his feet in the other side in what was obviously the Metaverse equivalent of the coffee shop. He ignored the twisted scenery and opted to hyper-focus on locating the Shadow that had arrived just moments before him.

The teen's eyes quickly landed on a shattered hole in the storefront's glass window. It seemed that Izanagi had swatted the being away with such strength that it had been catapulted into the streetway.

He began to confidently rush for the door, knowing that this time the creature wouldn't have the luxury of being surrounded by unwitting hostages. Now, he didn't need to hold back in the slightest, and so all that remained was to face it head-on.

When Yu did make it outside, he was greeted with the sight of the shade picking itself up off the ground, a gaping hole still present in the center of its chest where Izanagi had previously struck.

"Nasty wound you've got there," Yu dryly remarked.

"It won't be for long." Almost instantly, the gash collapsed in on itself, leaving the Shadow's torso complete once more. "See?"

"Nice trick. Let's see how long you can keep that up."

A torrent of blue energy started to rage around the Wild Card user. In a manner typical of his summoning means, he called forth Yoshitsune, wasting no time whatsoever by sending the warrior forth in a blitz.

The Shadow attempted a retreat yet again, though the red-clad warrior was far too fast to allow such a thing. Raising its two swords, it captured the creature in a seemingly endless barrage of slashes, effectively tearing it to pieces.

Bits and pieces of its shaded torso fell to the ground. However, as opposed to dissipating in a mist as was typical in a Shadow's death, they fully sunk into the ground. Yu could only scowl upon seeing this, knowing full well it meant the Shadow wasn't dead.

It soon reappeared a fair distance away, perched atop a small building and glaring down at the silver-haired teen.

"If it's any consol—"

The Shadow didn't get to so much as finish its sentence before Yoshitsune lunged towards it yet again. It managed to sink back into the structure and effectively evade the attack, though the building itself collapsed in on itself as a result of the Persona's steel swords ripping into it.

This time, the red-eyed demon took its position much further away and presumably out of reach of any attacks for the time being. It appeared far more serious and on-guard than prior, likely out of necessity.

"…have it your way."

The shaded humanoid being extended a hand, subsequently after which a series of gashes in reality itself started to form around the immediate area. Shadows poured forth from the pitch-black portals in droves, coming in such great variety that listing them off would be an impossible task.

Yu faced the coming horde unphased. He called held out his hand, calling force a tarot card once more.

"Alice!"

A pale-skinned girl sporting a purple dress and remarkably doll-like features phased into existence within the storm of blue energy that still raged around its master. Alice merely extended its hand in a fashion similar to the being that had summoned the mass of Shadows in the first place.

The Persona's eyes flashed a deep crimson, subsequently after which, a seemingly endless number of large playing cards began to swirl around the battlefield. They picked up speed second by second, pulling the mass of charging Shadows towards the center of the pillar they had formed.

A tornado had effectively appeared on the battlefield, on the ends of which were the same large, floating cards that even now seemed oh-so-harmless. Seconds later, they proved to be anything but. A red aura emanated from the center of each of the innumerable playing cards, culminating in the eruption of large deep-red pikes that shot out towards the tornado's center.

Although the cards themselves vanished into thin air, the pillar itself remained in the form of a deep gray fog, a testament to the sheer number of Shadows that had been culled by the attack. Though the remains took their sweet time to decay fully, once they had finally dissipated, the two combatants were all that remained, staring at one another across the long streetway.

"I take it you're not very fond of doing your own dirty work," Yu mused. "What's the matter? Are you scared or just not capable of fighting on your own?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I would, but at this point I doubt it'll matter," replied Yu.

His gaze became cold and deathly serious, all the while a sea of blue fire started to rage around his body without relent. Although his prior summoning's were both powerful in their own right, the pressure they gave off paled in comparison to that which was currently on display. The Shadow took notice, appearing as if he knew what was about to come.

"You can't possibly mean to…!"

"Izanagi no Okami!"

A white-clad, towering herald of creation graced the Metaverse with its divine presence, its luster being such that even the red-shaded cityscape seemed to revert to its real-world appearance in the area immediately surrounding it. Even its blade, a lopsided keyblade with a massive golden circular guard, breathed elegance befitting of its standing.

The personification of the mythological god gripped the hilt of its weapon and raised it high into the air, causing the very skies themselves to shake and rage like an uncontrollable tempest within the confines of the Metaverse.

The dark-coated Shadow was taken completely by surprise. It believed, at least at first, that it would have the time to retreat prior to his opponent making his move.

It was clearly mistaken.

"Face the Myriad Truths!" Yu exclaimed.

A blinding light flashed from the heavens before crashing down to the earth. All things, even sound itself, were overpowered by its almighty presence. It eclipsed all things, culminating in an explosion of raw energy that shook the dimension itself to its core.

When the dust had settled, very little, if anything, remained for as far as the eye could see. Even the buildings had been evaporated to their very roots. In the distance, Yu noticed the what was left of a shattered torso slowly dissipating into nothingness and clearly unable to regenerate.

He recalled Izanagi no Okami and began approaching the remains with evident caution. Still, any movement on the Shadow's part seemed impossible. It barely had an arm alongside half its chest and head to work with.

"I hadn't expected you to be able to attack with such force so quickly," it remarked, almost amusedly. "I take it you put the fog earlier to good use?"

"If by that you mean I used it as a smokescreen to prepare for that attack just now, then yes."

The Shadow spat out a dry laugh.

"I must admit you exceeded my expectations. Still, don't be fooled. This isn't over."

"The next time won't end any different," Yu replied coldly, gazing at the ever-shrinking remains of the Shadow. "And just what are you, exactly?"

It said not a word, only giving a sadistic chuckle that echoed as it faded away into nothingness.

Present Time...

The description Yu had given clearly gave the horror of what he saw justice. Although Yukiko was entirely fine, as one would expect, Chie was latched onto her so tightly that one would think they were joined at the hip. Rise had gripped Naoto's hand rather tightly in the aftermath, and the detective in turn gripped it right back in spite of her calm exterior. Even the other men of the group appeared somewhat shaken.

"Holy shit," Yosuke remarked, shivering impulsively. "You're givin' me the willies partner. Just what the hell was that thing?"

"Can't say I blame you. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Worse was that the Shadow wasn't lying—it did end up coming back again."

"And why haven't you brought this up before?" Naoto pressed. "If this thing is still going after you—"

"Believe me, if it was, you'd all be the first to know," Yu stated firmly. The honestly in his eyes seemed to serve as evidence enough for the group. "I dealt with it a while afterwards, but that's a totally different story."

"And does Sae-san know about that whole Metaverse part?" Chie asked curiously.

---

"So, you were talking to Yu and just… blacked out?" asked a shocked Makoto.

"And the next thing I knew, I was waking up next to him and on the floor was none other than the stalker that had attacked me a few months prior," Sae answered. She cupped her chin in thought. "I remember thinking of it as oddly coincidental at the time, but stranger things have happened."

There was a moment where Makoto wondered if something otherworldly had occurred at the time, and it seemed Sae shared the same thought. However, there wasn't quite enough to go on to back up that train of thought.

"Then what happened next?" asked the younger of the Nijima sisters.

"Naturally, the police were contacted and we were questioned."

Tokyo: Streetway Near Tokyo University - November 15th, 2012

Both Sae and Yu stood side-by-side giving their recollection of events to a kindly police officer. He finalized their statements and put his notebook away, tipping his hat to them in a respectful manner.

"Thank you both for your time," the officer said. "And thank you, Narukami-kun, for being brave enough to stop that misguided young man. It's a good thing no one was hurt."

"My thoughts exactly," he replied.

As the officer walked off, Yu looked over to Sae, noticing a rather strange look crossing her features.

"Everything alright?" Yu asked.

"It's just… I'm sorry," she apologized, sighing. "That you needed to deal with something like this is just so—"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it," Yu interjected, his tone firm. "You're not responsible for your stalker, right?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Still though…"

That she appeared to place the blame for recent events at her own feet filled the Wild Card user with understandable guilt. If anyone deserved any form of blame, it was him, or at least that's how he felt.

All the same, Yu couldn't well explain why that was the case. If he did, Sae would probably ensure he was sent to an insane asylum within hours—as would any other normal person with no knowledge of the TV world.

"I really wish you wouldn't blame yourself," Yu said, his voice holding a softness to it that at least earned a reaction.

"Good luck getting her to think otherwise. That girl's been wearing the world on her shoulder's for as long as I can remember."

A man that was currently walking up to the pair had clearly overheard Yu's comment.

He stood fairly tall and was dressed rather formally, sporting a gray dress shirt and brown dress pants. As far as age went, he was clearly far from young, though in spite of this his frame was noticeably muscular. His shaven face gave off an oddly approachable vibe, and, lastly, he had a pair of crimson eyes and well-styled silver hair.

Though Yu himself hadn't the slightest idea of who the man was, the same could not be said for his upperclassman.

"Hm?" Sae perked up, recognizing the voice almost immediately. She turned to the man, clearly shocked. "Dad?"

'Dad?' Yu wondered, clearly surprised for an entirely different reason. 'Actually, that I think about it… I see the resemblance.'

"What's with that look? Not happy to see your father?" he asked.

"No, just surprised to," replied Sae, her voice strangely blank. "What's the occasion?"

"My daughter getting attacked by a stalker. Again," answered the man. He sighed, "Busy or not, what kind of a father would I be to not check on my daughter after something like that?"

"…well, as you can see, I'm fine. Thank you for checking."

It was at that point that her father seemed to finally, if not abruptly, notice Yu's existence. His gaze, previously natural at worse, became cold and steely.

"Oh, my apologies," he said, sporting a veiled smile. "And just who might this young man accompanying you be?"

"Yu. Yu Narukami."

The mere mention of that name seemed to spark a reaction from the Nijima patriarch. He appeared far less hostile, which, while great for Yu, spelled the apocalypse for his daughter. Sae could tell just with one look at his expression that he was about to embarrass her beyond belief.

"I see, then you must be the Yu Narukami I've heard so much about," he uttered mischievously. "My daughter mentions you quite often when we find the opportunity to talk."

"Hopefully it's all positive," he replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Believe me, it's—"

"Dad!" Sae quickly exclaimed; her face ever-so-slightly flushed. "Stop. Talking."

"What? What'd I do?"

"You're becoming a walking stereotype. That's what."

The glare that Sae was giving to her father was one that would likely have caused a lesser man to flee for his life. He in turn just continued to act aloof, which likely did little more than fuel her annoyance even further.

"Sorry to bother you Nijima-san, but the paramedics are ready to give you a final examination!" one of the officer's called out.

It was obviously meant for Sae, though she felt rather conflicted about actually heading off. Just one look at her father made it obvious he had no intention of leaving Yu's side.

There was nothing in the world she wanted less than for those two to enter a prolonged conversation.

Her father soon prodded, "Sweetheart, you should probably get going."

Having literally no recourse, Sae nodded her head and started to walk off. However, as she took her leave, she grabbed her dad's shoulder and leaned into his ear.

"You had better not say anything stupid, otherwise those paramedics will be getting a new patient to triage…!" Sae hissed through a whisper.

The silver-haired beauty released her father's shoulder before taking her leave. Even the officer of the law that he was seemed somewhat shaken by the venom backing his daughter's words.

"…glad to see she's steadfast as ever," he said with a chuckle.

"I'd be more surprised if she wasn't. It takes a lot to get under her skin," Yu stated.

"You can say that again." Sae's father then extended his hand, clearly intent on formally introducing himself. The young man took it in turn, gripping his hand firmly. "I'm Detective Akashi Nijima of the Shinjuku police force. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Did Sae ever mention I was a police officer?"

"Yeah, she's mentioned it a few times," Yu replied. He couldn't help but feel there was meant to be some kind of hidden threat behind the question. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just important to me, as her father, that you're aware."

"Uh… okay."

Yu sweatdropped at the detective's pointed choice of words. Somehow it started to seem like he was in the beginning stages of an interrogation. Akashi noticed this and offered a friendly chuckle.

"Lighten up, kid. I've spoken to convicts less nervous than you are right now," he uttered in a friendly tone. In what was a complete one-eighty, his demeanor became rather foreboding. "And you have no reason to be nervous around me, right?"

"None that I'm aware of…" Yu replied.

Akashi Nijima sternly looked the young man dead in the eye, his gaze baring the full force of a seasoned officer of the law and a father of two young women. It seemed as if Yu was on a trail of his own making, taking place within the confines of his own mind where he would be judge, jury, and, if need be, executioner.

Luckily for Yu, the verdict seemed to come back positively. The detective's disposition softened noticeably.

"Good man," Akashi stated cheerfully, patting the Persona user on the shoulder. "And while this may be belated, thank you for all you've done for my daughter."

"I don't think I've done all that much," admitted Yu. "Especially the first time around. Sae-senpai essentially dealt with the creep on her own."

The silver-haired detective looked at him strangely. Clearly, Yu had been referring to the two instances in which he'd helped Sae deal with her stalker, however that wasn't what he was talking about in the slightest. He was actually quite surprised his words had been interpreted that way.

"You misunderstand," he replied with a wry grin. "I'm thanking you for being her friend. Sae may not look it, but she's always been—whoops, sorry, I probably shouldn't say much more. Well, I should get going. Tell Sae I'll be home for dinner tonight and that I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He took his leave as abruptly as he'd arrived, waving Yu off and as he did so. However, something seemed to occur to him just before he was outside of earshot. He peered over his shoulder, glancing back at the gray-eyed teen.

"Oh, and one more thing… I only have one major requirement. You know, as her friend," Akashi began. His eyes once again became stern, baring the full weight of a protective father. "You keep her safe. That means you don't bring trouble to her just as much as it means you keep it away."

Naturally, the Wild Card user couldn't quite believe his ears.

'Wait, does he…?' Yu wondered in surprise. 'No, there's no way he could.'

Whether it was his intuition as a father or as a detective, it seemed that Akashi had a sixth sense of some kind. At the very least his intuition was strong enough to warrant his partings words.

Yu felt the discomforting touch of guilt reach its way into the forefront of his mind yet again. He couldn't deny the fact that he'd violated that requirement at least once, and he couldn't deny the possibility it would happen again.

In fact, it was almost a guarantee at this point that he would.

Sae came rushing back shortly thereafter, appearing panicked by her standards, which in turn broke Yu out of his thoughts. Once she realized her father had left, she quickly calmed.

"I see that he's left already," she mused. "What exactly were the two of you talking about?"

"Nothing in particular," Yu replied. "He did say to let you know he'll be home for dinner. Mentioned something about not missing it for the world."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've heard that one before and it won't be the last…" she muttered under her breath. "In any event, I've been cleared to leave. I have a train to catch so I can get back home, otherwise dinner won't be getting made anytime soon."

"I'll walk you back," Yu offered.

"I should hope you don't feel obligated to do so."

"Actually, I'd prefer to spend a bit more time together, if possible," Yu replied. "This could be the last time we get to talk like this for a while after all."

His charming visage gave her virtually no chance to refuse.

"Very well. A-Although I would ask that we part ways in front of the apartment itself," Sae conditioned, seeming somewhat bashful in the wake of her own request. This prompted Yu to quirk a brow, clearly a bit curious. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd prefer my sister not see you. If she does, I'm sure to be assaulted with questions, and then there's the fact that I always tell her—"

"It's okay, I'm fine with that," he interjected, giving her a small smile.

"Oh… good, then," she replied. "Shall we go?"

Present Time...

"—and that would end up being the last time we saw each other in person up until now," spoke Sae. "We messaged each other back and forth on a few occasions, but we fell off communicating entirely towards the end of that year."

For a moment, Makoto was lost in thought. That period of time rang a bell for her, and although it took her a time to realize it, she eventually recalled why it seemed so significant.

"That's around the time that dad…"

Even to this day, finishing that sentence was not easy for Makoto to do. Thankfully, a solemn nod from her sister proved doing so unnecessary.

"After what happened in Shinjuku, I lost myself. I dove into my work, and you know the rest," Sae stated.

It was rare for the red-eyed beauty to wear any emotion on her face, rarer still for said emotion to be anything other than anger or agitation. However, in the moment, as Sae's head hung in what was clearly deep thought and consideration, Makoto could recognize one dominating feeling: regret.

"Sis…" Makoto uttered breathlessly.

She debated leaning in and capturing her sister in a warm embrace. Ultimately, she decided not to, knowing that although the silver-haired attorney was many things, a huger was not one of them.

"I'm sorry, Makoto. I promise there's no need to worry about me," Sae abruptly stated. Seeing the brunette teen's confusion, she couldn't help but smile amusedly. "I'm not the only one whose wearing their emotions on their sleeve right now. You look like you're about to wrap me in a hug out of sympathy."

"T-That obvious?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

"And then some," replied Sae. She took a glance at the clock on the stovetop in the kitchen. "It's getting pretty late. We should both turn in."

"Do you need any help getting to bed?" Makoto offered.

The silver-haired beauty seemed to tested the waters by attempting to get up on her own. She successfully picked herself up and managed to stand with relative ease.

"No, I think I should be fine. Thank you though."

"Don't mention it. Good night, sis."

"Good night, Makoto."

The two sisters parted ways and entered their respective rooms. The very moment that Sae entered her own, she walked to the center of the room and stood completely motionless for a time.

'As I thought, perhaps it was better to have not told that story…' Sae mused.

She took a step towards the vanity and peered directly into its mirror, frowning on account of the deep emotion written all over her face.

"I didn't think it was this bad…"

"Then stop feeling needlessly guilty. There, problem solved."

The young lawyer went wide-eyed as her reflection in the mirror had suddenly been replaced with the visage of her own Shadow. She was understandably confused and surprised, though she didn't back away from the mirror by even one inch and showed not an ounce of fear.

"What on earth…?" uttered Sae reflexively.

"What's with that reaction?" chuckled the Shadow, clearly amused. "Surprised to see me? Well, I suppose I can't blame you. Even I'm a bit surprised myself."

"But… how are you here? Didn't you become my Persona?" Sae questioned.

"That I did, but clearly I'm still here. It's something I'd like to know myself," she replied. "Still, our curiosity is irrelevant. Things are what they are, no?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"More to the point," Shadow Sae spoke, her eyes fixed in a glare and a scowl crossing her features. "Stop being so pathetic. It's making me sick to my stomach."

"Excuse me?" she growled in response.

"Did I stutter?" the Shadow gnarled right back. "It's like I said before, you didn't need his help back then and you don't need it now."

The real-world Sae was about to give an agitated rebuttal, though just as abruptly as she'd arrived, her Shadow vanished. Yet again, she was at a loss. There seemed to be no impetus one way or another that triggered the Shadows arrival or departure, at least none that could be easily discerned. In any case, it was far too late into the night for her to spend time thinking on it.

She turned her back to the vanity and headed over to her dresser, preparing to disrobe before hopping into bed for a much-needed night's rest.

Still, she had only a few choice words that needed to be said, hoping that her Shadow could hear her speak them.

"You're wrong."

Tokyo: Sanshou Hotel, Naoto's Room

"So… anything happen after you walked her back?" Yosuke pressed curiously.

"Not really, no," answered Yu. "We messaged each other a few times before that year ended, but that was it. We never saw each other again before today."

"…but why?" Yukiko questioned.

"I can't speak for her, but for my part…" Yu began, his voice lidded with emotion. "The Metaverse isn't something I wanted to force on anyone, let alone a perfectly normal girl like Sae. With that thing clearly after me at the time, I just… I just didn't want to risk dragging her into something like that. By the time I finally did nix that Shadow, I was already busy studying for the bar and then Iwate happened, so I just naturally fell out of touch with her."

The rest of the Investigation Team couldn't help but feel sympathetic. If any of them had been in the same situation, it was difficult to say if they'd have done anything different. After all, they knew all too well what happened to most people that wound up on the wrong-side of the TV world.

"Yeah, I getcha," Kanji spoke up. "Still, it makes me wonder why she never tried to reach out to you herself. Especially since she obviously—hngh!"

The bespectacled fashion designer found his sentence cut short courtesy of a firm elbow to his ribcage. His expression colored with rage, he pivoted to get a good look at whoever had been stupid enough to do it, though once he had, anger quickly gave way to fear.

"What was that, Kanji?" Rise asked, her voice sickeningly sweet and her smile as ominous as they came.

"Oh, uh, n-nothin'…"

"I'm more curious about what became of that mysterious Shadow you encountered," Naoto thought aloud.

"Same," Chie remarked.

"I dunno man, it's gettin' kinda late…" Yosuke groaned, stifling a yawn. "Wouldn't it just end up like it always does? With it being all 'I shall destroy the world, mwahaha!' and Yu just beating it down again until it finally ended up disappearing for good?"

"…actually, that's not far off from what happened," Yu admitted, cupping his chin in earnest thought.

"See?"

"Pretty sure I can go without hearing that for tonight," Rise stated pointedly. She started to head for the door. "I'm gonna go turn in. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good night!"

"I'll head back with you," said Yu.

Everyone else seemed to announce their departure, save for Naoto for the obvious reason that they were all in her room to begin with.

The young lawyer and the idol headed down the hallways towards their rooms in silence. All seemed normal up until the point that they'd reached Yu's room. Just as his hand started to turn the knob, Rise reached out and grabbed one of his sleeves to get his attention. The skittish nature of it actually caught Yu off guard, finding it somewhat out of character for Rise to hesitate in general. He was even more confused when he saw that same hesitation written all over her face.

"Hey, do you… do you mind if I ask you something?" Rise questioned.

"Have I ever before?" he countered, offering a friendly smile. "Ask away."

"The reason you didn't reach out to me for so long… to all of us for so long," Rise began, staring directly into his silver eyes. "Was it because you wanted to keep us away from that other world?"

"What? No, of course not!" Yu immediately replied.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Rise pressed.

There was a desperation in her tone that was like an arrow piercing Yu's heart. The fact that he could tell it was genuine only made it that much worse. The redhead in turn noticed the effect it seemed to have on him, and though she felt a bit of guilt in abusing the moment, she knew that there wouldn't be a better time to voice her concern.

"I-It's just that I can't help but feeling you weren't telling me the full story the other day. When you apologized, I mean," Rise explained. Her gaze became downcast, evidence of the guilt she felt at the admission. "I couldn't help but feel there was more to why you fell out of touch."

Yu couldn't help but don a sympathetic expression. Steeling herself, she picked her head up and gave the silver-haired man as stern and serious a look as she could muster.

"Look, if you tell me I'm wrong, I'll believe you, okay? And I apologize in advance!" Rise exclaimed. "But I want to… no, I need to hear it from you!"

"Rise…" Yu uttered breathlessly.

There was a long pause, during which time the idol looked to the Wild Card expectantly.

"No, that wasn't the reason, and you have my word on that. With Sae-senpai, it was different because she's not… well, wasn't a Persona user. But as for you, Yosuke, Chie and everyone else? I know you can handle yourselves just fine, so of course I wouldn't fall out of touch over something like that," Yu finally answered.

The songstress seemed to take his words at face value, though of course there was no way she could have taken it any other way. His rare ability to breathe out such genuine honesty made it impossible for her to think otherwise.

"In that case, I'm sorry for doubting you," Rise apologized.

"Don't mention it," Yu softly replied. "Good night. I'll see you tomorrow, Rise."

"Good night, Yu."

With that, the two parted ways with the lawyer finally crossing into the threshold of his room. He couldn't help but release a tired sigh, feeling as if he'd just been released from an eternal inquisition.

Truth be told, the shock of being asked that by Rise was still gnawing at him. He couldn't help but laugh dryly at the turn of events.

"She always was more intuitive than I gave her credit for…" Yu thought aloud, a bittersweet smile crossing his lips.

The songstress had been right, he did have a reason behind why he'd gradually fallen ever-further out of touch with everyone that had nothing to do with Iwate or his job with the SIU. It remained true that he'd been so busy that in all likelihood communication with him would still have been scarce, but scarce was still better than he'd been over the past two years.

"And of all the people to come close to realizing that… it had to be her."

As far as his true motivations went, Rise was the last person in the entire world he wanted to know them. Whether it was Kanji, Naoto, Teddie, Yukiko, Chie, Yosuke—no matter who among them it was, the conversation would be far less soul-wrenching than it would be with her.

Picturing her reaction, or really the reaction of any of his close friends started to weigh heavily on his mind. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd been right—if he was right even at this very moment.

The Wild Card user's mind went back to the moment that, perhaps, had started it all in the first place.

Metaverse: Tokyo- November 15th, 2012

"I must admit you exceeded my expectations. Still, don't be fooled. This isn't over."

"The next time won't end any different," Yu replied coldly, gazing at the ever-shrinking remains of the Shadow. "And just what are you, exactly?"

It said not a word, only giving a sadistic chuckle that echoed as it faded away into nothingness.

Just before it would disappear from this plane of existence, however, it reached out with its singular, barely-formed arm and gripped Yu's leg tightly.

In the blink of an eye, reality itself had changed. Quite literally nothing around him was the same as half a second ago. Gone were the twisted streetways of the TV world and gone was the decaying Shadow at his feet, and in their place was the dark vacuum of space, illuminated by a seemingly endless number of stars.

While the sight was breathtaking, he hadn't even the slightest idea of where he stood, let alone how he'd arrived in the first place.

"Where am I…?" Yu wondered aloud.

"You, my dear Fool, are inside the Sea of Souls."

The eerie and twisted nature of the voice was easily recognizable to Yu at this point. He pivoted, taking a defensive stance and readying for a fight, only to stare curiously at what he ultimately saw.

He saw a floating sphere, barely larger than a baseball, that radiated a dark fog. It possessed no limbs and seemed to have only one singular red eye at its center.

"For both of our sakes, don't bother trying to strike at me. Although virtually powerless in this form, you'll find me quite immune to—"

With a deadpanned expression plastered ear-to-ear, Yu swatted his hand across the circular frame of the Shadow. It passed through its body as if it was swatting a pillar of steam.

"Satisfied?"

He brought his hand back, this time using the back of his hand to get much the same result. Yu proceeded to replicate the same motion, back and forth, several times until the Shadow was properly annoyed.

"Would you stop doing that?"

"Start explaining and I'll consider it," Yu replied. Letting his hand at his side, much to the shade's relief, he asked, "So what is this place? You called it the Sea of Souls?"

"Yes, and from the Sea of Souls all souls are birthed and one day, inevitably, return to it. Everything, be it human or Shadow, God or Devil… they all come from here. Even I, too, was created from within this endless sea."

"Then these stars, they're…"

"Indeed," the Shadow answered evenly. "These are the souls of countless individuals, bound together by the collective unconscious of humanity."

That was all well and good, but on Yu's part, he could frankly care less given that he didn't understand the significance of the trip in the first place. It benefited him very little to understand only where he was, and as such he proceeded to ask the obvious.

"Why bring me here?" Yu inquired.

Though the Shadow hadn't a face to speak of, it gave off a feeling of twisted satisfaction. Its eye shifted, drawing the teen's attention to something that he'd miraculously failed to see upon arrival.

A short distance away was a massive, brightly-colored gate, coated in runes and letters from a language and culture that Yu couldn't hope to recognize. As odd as those characteristics were, the most eye-catching thing about it was at its center.

Sprawling across the door from top to bottom was a statue of what appeared to be a stone statue of a young man. Its arms and legs were bound to the top corners and the bottom of the gateway as if it was nailed to it. Weirdly, it felt human in nature even in spite of its appearance.

The sight of it stirred something deep within the confines of Yu's soul. It was an indescribable feeling and beyond frustrating to experience. It was as if he hadn't the slightest clue as to the significance of what he was looking at, and yet at the same time he did.

"That is why I brought you here," said the Shadow, its voice holding a sadistic pleasure to it. "Do you know who that is? Do you know what he was?"

"No, though it's clear to me that you're about to explain," Yu replied. The agitation was clear in his tone and his eyes which were now fixed in a glare. "How about you stop wasting time and cut to the chase?"

It was beyond clear that the red-eyed creature took great pleasure in teasing Yu with the information. It was also beyond clear that it would gain even more pleasure, somehow, by explaining it to him.

However, its arrogant aura abruptly vanished. It appeared to become somewhat panicked, if only for a second, until without warning it faded away entirely in a black mist.

'What the hell…?' Yu wondered confusedly.

It hadn't seemed like the Shadow's original intent, so the lawyer-to-be was stuck wondering why on earth it would suddenly run away like it had. He would get his answer a moment later as he heard the light tapping of footsteps a short distance behind.

The Wild Card's was greeted by the sight of an approaching woman. She had platinum-blonde hair, golden eyes, and was garbed in a deep-blue dress reminiscent of a stewardess's outfit. Her hands were covered by a pair of blue gloves, and she held a rather large book at her side.

Yu's eyes went wide, for a moment even believing the woman to be Margaret. However, the shorter hair and different outfit immediately did away with that possibility. Even if those didn't disqualify her enough, her general aura was far too laid back.

The young woman seemed to perk up, finally taking notice of the gray-eyed teen.

"Oh my," she spoke abruptly, her tone and voice shockingly whimsical. "This is quite a surprise."

"Are you… a Velvet Room attendant?" Yu guessed, sounding somewhat unsure.

"Yes, indeed I am!" she replied cheerfully, flashing a brilliant smile from ear to ear. "And am I to assume you're a wielder of the Wild Card? Whatever could you be doing here?"

"To be honest, that's something I'd like to know myself," Yu thought aloud.

"Then are you stranded? Well, that just won't do! Here, let me help you!" She exclaimed. "Ah, and my apologies, but I've a personal matter to attend to, otherwise I would be most happy to see you back personally."

The woman placed a hand on his shoulder, and though Yu knew exactly what was bound to happen, he would end up being powerless to stop it.

"Wait, no, I wasn't—"

In a flash, Yu was standing right back in the center of the coffee shop—in the real world, this time, as opposed to the Metaverse. He was surrounded by the still-unconscious bodies of the patrons that had passed out what felt like quite some time ago.

He sighed, tiredly, and rubbed the back of his head in a frustrated manner. To say he left the experience with an incredible number of unanswered questions was an understatement to say the least.

Thankfully, Yu knew the answer to at least one of those questions right off the top of his head. He recalled Margaret mentioning on a few rare occasions that she had a younger sister, and one which, in her words, 'marched to the beat of her own drum'.

'So, then that was Elizabeth, huh?' Yu thought. 'How she can be related to Margaret in any way is kind of mind-blowing…'

Though the appearance of the Velvet Room attendant was shocking to say the least, it remained the case that what Elizabeth had been doing in the Sea of Souls was the least of his concerns.

He still didn't even know the red-eyed Shadows name, let alone its purpose for doing what it did.

The silver-haired teen suddenly received a call from the real world amidst his deep thoughts on recent events. It came in the form of Sae, who started to groan, a clear sign that she was starting to wake up.

It went without saying that he immediately went to her side.

Present Time

Yu laid in his bed, still dressed in his suit from head to toe. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, his expression blank as his mind continued to wander. He'd long lost track of time; it had been one of those rare moments where he'd felt removed from reality itself.

The truth was that he simply couldn't stop picturing the seal he found within the Sea of Souls. It was the only time he'd ever laid eyes on it, and yet that same image of the boy crucified on the door would likely haunt him for the rest of his days.

"Makoto…"

A/N So a little longer a wait for this chapter with the break on the week of New Year's Eve, but this chapter was pretty long and a shitload happened, so hopefully that makes up for it xD

Ahead of time I will say that yes Sae will be a serious romantic interest when it comes to Yu. I'm unsure of how people will feel about that, but as to why I'm having it play out this way, please see the below Explanation's section as per usual.

Next chapter will be posted next Friday, so the story will be back to its usual schedule.

Explanations

Character Ages: Character ages as of the start of this story (last few are just FYI in case people were curious):

1) Futaba – 15/16

2) Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke – 17/18

3) Haru & Makoto – Old 18 or young 19

4) Rise, Naoto & Kanji – 21

5) Yu, Yukiko, Chie, & Yosuke – 22

6) Sae – 24

7) P3 Folks, i.e. Yukari & classmates' age – 24

8) P3 Folks, i.e. Mitsuru & Akihiko – And old 24 or a young 25

9 Aigis - Toasters don't age (yes I'm meme-ing)

10) Kawkamai: 26/27

11) Tae Takemi: 27/28

12) Chihaya: 23

Sae's Age: Honestly, I don't know how much debate there is on how old she actually is, I just know it's never been fully revealed. We know she isn't an incredible amount older than Makoto, but how I arrived at this number is as follows: There's some dialogue in Persona 5 Strikers when the team is at a festival where Makoto mentions a time she went to a festival when she was really young. She was being watched by her sister, and she was basically being a dumb kid and caused Sae to drop a candy apple, which then caused her to cry and she states that's the only time she's ever seen Sae cry. I imagine at the time Makoto was 5/6 aka young enough to need to be watched but still be a total moron and Sae would have to be old enough to be trusted to watch her and also young enough to cry over literally losing a candy apple. So I went with the 4/5 years older since that'd put Sae at 9-10, which I can believably see a 9/10 year-old crying over a candy apple. I cannot see a teenager doing that, hence why I don't think she's incredibly older than Makoto. I could be wrong, but it seems like a weird detail to put in otherwise.

Thoughts on Joker x Older Women: I don't have an issue with it in game as far as best girl goes, and my best-girl ranking does include one of the older women in the top 5. That is my opinion on best girl and not who I would ship Joker with because that's a whole different ball-game. I get the fantasy aspect of it, but the age difference of that level is creepy as fuck xD. Rule of thumb is unless you're both over like 30 something years old, anything over 4 years apart is kinda creepy IMO. And keep in mind, the dude is a high-schooler… so yeah, maaaajor issues with Joker x Older Women, hence why you won't see any of it in this story. Again, fine if you like them, but shipping is different than best girl when it comes to these pairings, just keep that in mind.

Sae x Yu: I like Sae as a character and wanted to do more with her than what we got in the game, so when I was drafting the story outline for this I wondered if she'd work in any pairing because it felt almost like a waste not to. The problem is there's literally no one I could think of that would actually work at all in the games outside of Yu for obvious reasons. Sae x Yu is basically Sae x Joker's full potential without any of the creepy factor or power dynamic differences. That, and it avoids the whole Makoto being in love with Joker would throw a real wrench in everything and create needless drama between the two sisters for the sake of it. That being said, I think Yu works well with, in particular, Sae's type, and that's all there is to it. I just found it easy to write, it seemed interesting to me, and so I'm rollin' with it.

Rise's Reaction: I felt maybe I risked making her come across as a bit too bratty/jealous, but put yourself in her shoes: Sae Nijima is going to be her rival (still only potentially in her mind) when it comes to romancing Yu. Sae has no weaknesses, and has a strong argument for being the hottest female in all of the Persona series. That'd make a girl whose head over heels for someone feel a certain way, that's all I'm saying.

Akashi Nijima: Obviously Sae's dad has never been named, and I picked this one because Akashi (朱) means 'vermillion/crimson' which is a reference to the color of his eyes, and it can also mean 'proof/evidence, vindication' when used as 証, which is a reference to his position as a detective/officer of the law. His appearance is based off of Sae's in large part with his hair and eye-color.

Sae and Her Father's Relationship: I wanted to make it seem very apparent that Sae takes after her father quite a bit (as said above, his appearance is even based off of hers). She acts a bit coldly towards him here because he's literally never around and that bothers her. Makoto by her own admission was never that close to her father, hence why his death seemed to affect her a good bit less while it literally drove Sae to create a Palace.

The Shade/Black Shadow: Not named for a reason, and of course he will be relevant again in the future. Who/what is it? Not telling.

Izanagi no Okami: This is the first The World Persona used in the story so far, and I wanted to make it perfectly clear as to why it cannot be used to solve everything. Satanael = Izanagi no Okami in terms of destructive power for reference. Here, we saw InO powered up to the fullest extent possible, and at that level, it's a walking thermo-nuke. The thing cannot be used around anything you want to be alive after it attacks. Yes, I understand that is somewhat limiting, but that's how nukes work irl. Powerful, yes, but a last resort for a good god damn reason, and even then never when you've got allies in the blast zone.

Sae's Shadow: There is a story/character-related reason it's not fully gone. So, having said that, Shadow Sae will be with us for the near future sporadically.

Elizabeth: Yes, she will be in this story. It'll be quite a while before she shows up again, so I admit this is a bit of a tease, but how her first meeting with Yu went is just something I can totally see happening and I don't regret writing it that way whatsoever xD

Yu's Experience in the Sea of Souls: Rise clearly knows something's up or has bothered or is bothering Yu down to his very core but doesn't quite know what. What that is, specifically, links very closely to what he saw in the Sea of Souls and will be a major part of his backstory in the events leading up to the start of this story. I'm sure some people can probably guess the plotline, but I'm not here to spoil anything.

Persona 3 Cast, aka the Fat-ass Elephant in the Room: I'd like to start by saying that they will obviously be in this story—not all of them, of course, but those that are will have a presence. When will that be? Honestly, not for quite some time (sort of). I realize this is a bit of a tease as well, but nevertheless it's what

Random Easter Eggs:

1) Sae/Yu's first meeting – Yes, I made the comparison mostly for comedic purposes, but it is a reference to the P4 Anime, and for the purposes of this story, that specific aspect of Rise and Yu first meting is canon

2) Yu Catching the Stalker's Knife – A reference to Bleach, actually. Jonny Yong Bosch voices both Yu Narukami and Ichigo Kurosaki, which is why I used the reference. As for what it actually is, there's a scene in Bleach at the start of what's called the Fullbringer arc in the anime where Ichigo catches a knife from a thug in the same fashion