- April 11th -

Thursday arrived and there was movement outside already, the students leaving the dorms and Tetsuya just waking up to the sun entering through the curtains.

¨Hey, you should wake up¨ A white-furred tail was brushing the Fool's nose, prompting him to open his eyes and push the animal away ¨Are you feeling alright?¨ Tetsuya was rubbing his shoulder and trying to move his arm, he then looked at Letho and nodded ¨Good, because your artifact has been making weird things some minutes ago¨

The student turned to see that it was his phone and the rabbit was right, there were some messages from the chat group.

¨What did your friends say?¨

¨They told me to go directly to school, that they are going to do something before class¨

¨Aren't you all going to check on that shop you found yesterday¨

¨Yeah but that is after class¨ Tetsuya said and put the phone on the desk as he went to grab his uniform from the closet ¨Any progress on remembering your name?¨

¨Sadly no, I haven't left your room the entire night¨ Letho looked at the window while the Persona-user was changing clothes, she saw all the students wearing the same uniform ¨Do you think I'll be able to attend your school once I get a proper body?¨

¨Don't know, if we are being technical you don't appear in any record so validating your existence would be a bit complicated¨ Tetsuya finished fixing his tie and looked himself at the small mirror in the bathroom ¨Is there anything you remember about your past?¨

¨I… not really, other than remembering Clan Oda¨

¨So there is a chance that you met the Nobunaga?¨ He tilted his head, looking at the rabbit from around the corner.

¨Perhaps, maybe the labyrinth will have answers…¨ She paused ¨Do you think there are other people like you and the others? With those powers I mean¨ In his head a voice could be heard, a memory from his arrival at the city, it was that long nosed man.

¨This is a path you will not walk alone, there will be others who will aid you in this quest but there will be others who will try to stop you¨

¨Maybe¨ When he was done with the uniform he grabbed his bag and Letho immediately jumped from the bed to the desk and then to Tetsuya's shoulder just so she could then hide inside of the bag ¨If you are going with me then you should remain silent and out of anyone's sight¨

¨Don't worry, I know how to remain invisible¨

…

It was a quiet day, with no plans on going to the labyrinth for now the party remained in contact through the group chat.

¨Does anyone have the answer to this exercise?¨ The teacher had the chalk in her hand and pointed at the blackboard. Tetsuya was about to raise his hand but someone else did it faster ¨Ah, Minako was it? Please take the stage¨ She said with a little of humor in her voice.

The Fool looked at this girl, she looked very tidy, her uniform didn't have a single wrinkle in it, she had a small silver button near the lapel of the jacket with the emblem of the school; a golden blonde beauty mixed with blue eyes, she would definitely attract the attention of everyone in the room. Tetsuya looked at the girl's desk and was impressed how clean and organized it was, perhaps she was some honor student.

¨Let's see¨ The teacher looked at the whole procedure and then the result ¨Correct, as expected of one of our best students!¨ She said happily and took the chalk from Minako's hand who then returned to her seat in silence, writing down some things in her notebook.

¨Best student?¨ Letho's voice was muffled inside of the bag which was to the side of Tetsuya ¨Maybe you should stick with her and you'll learn new things¨

As the teacher was writing she stopped and looked at the students ¨Did anyone say something?¨ But there was no response, instead of that Tetsuya lightly kicked his bag, warning the rabbit to remain quiet ¨If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask!¨

…

Once the classes were over, Tetsuya went to the school's entrance and found himself with Hitomo who waved at him as he got closer.

¨Where's Roka?¨

¨Senpai said he had something to do¨

¨So it's the two of us?¨ Tetsuya felt some movement in his bag ¨Well, three¨

She giggled ¨So it seems, oh by the way¨ From inside of her bag she pulled some money and gave it to the team leader ¨The reason why senpai and I weren't in the morning is because he walked me to one of the shops I work at, they couldn't give me the money last time so I went to get my paycheck¨

¨Are you sure? I mean it's your money¨

¨And I want you to have it, senpai. We can't go further into that place with no gear so I trust you that task¨

¨Great, let's go then¨

The two of them walked around the city, Letho came from inside of the bag and was looking at everything surrounding her, she was on that part of the district during the night and seeing it while the sun still shone over their heads was pleasant.

¨So what do you remember of your life, Letho-chan?¨ Hitomo looked at the rabbit

¨I asked her already but she said she doesn't remember anything¨

¨And the labyrinth might solve that?¨

¨Maybe¨ He shrugged ¨There are still things that we don't know about the place¨

¨So how did you two meet?¨

¨Roka fell by me at the start of the week and I held his umbrella¨

¨Is that true?¨ Letho turned to the girl.

¨I told senpai not to run on the rain that day and well, he fell. Maybe it was destiny that we all met that day?¨

¨Given how Roka has been acting ever since we met I doubt it would be the first time he fell¨

¨What are you implying?¨ But Tetsuya just looked away and whistled, earning a slight push from Hitomo ¨Come on! He's not that stupid¨

¨You're not denying a slight chance of it¨ The leader then looked forward and saw the weapon shop, the lights inside were on ¨Hey, let's get in there¨

The door was locked but with a doorbell to the side, Tetsuya pressed it and they could hear a ringing inside which led to another one by the front door, unlocking it.

Once inside they noticed that it was like an armory, full of weapons, protective gear and the likes all around them and locked behind cages. From behind the counter was the same man that was the previous day on the supermarket.

¨Welcome to The Soldier's Specialty! Uh… aren't you a bit young to be in this type of store?¨ The old man turned to Tetsuya ¨Wait I remember your face, you showed up at the supermarket yesterday night¨

¨Y-yeah… that was me¨ The leader walked to the counter ¨I'm here to buy weapons¨

¨Now hold on, by the look on your faces and your uniforms I believe you are students at one of the schools around here. So why people of your age want weapons?¨ He frowned ¨You are not planning to do anything evil with them, right?¨

Tetsuya was going to say something but he didn't have the courage to do it, instead it was Hitomo who stepped forward ¨We need the weapons to help a friend who is in trouble, we fear she might be in danger¨

¨So you are acting as some kind of… vigilantes?¨ The owner shook his head and sighed ¨Frankly after what happened in Tokyo with those… uh… thieves or something, everyone is getting interested in being the allies of justice or whatever. Well, I'm not going to be digging much but don't expect me to give you some of the good hardware, yes? That being said, what do you need?¨

It took them a bit of time to get everything they needed but eventually the left the shop. Hitomo was looking at her arms and trying to move them, with a smile on her face she nodded.

¨There we go, it's a little uncomfortable but the armor fits under the uniform, and the stuff we got should be enough to fight against those Shadows¨ She says and looks at Tetsuya ¨Are you alright, senpai?¨ Hitomo turned her head in the same direction her friend was looking at but it was the wall of another shop ¨Senpai?¨

The Fool snapped back and looked back at her teammate ¨Yes?¨

¨I was asking if you are alright, something got your attention?¨

¨No… not really, I was thinking about the labyrinth¨

¨Well I suppose we are ready to go again, maybe we can arrange tomorrow to investigate it¨ The girl was already excited about going back there but before she could say any other word she looked at her phone and gasped ¨Oh! I need to leave now, my shift begins shortly. I'll leave you to give Roka senpai the last of the gear¨

¨I will, don't worry¨ Tetsuya waved at Hitomo who was going to a different part of the city.

However, Tetsuya was not only thinking about the labyrinth but he saw something when they left the shop. It was a strange blue door, almost transparent, as he got closer the student could hear the sound of music, a familiar tune from a place outside of the realm of reality. The wooden door had a lot of gold-tinted glass and he could see a lot of people inside. Before he tried to open it he felt something cold and small in his hand, it was the key that the assistant gave him the other day.

With no more doubts about what he was going to do he placed the key inside of the empty keyhole and turned it, unlocking the door and then proceeded to go inside.

Everything felt different yet familiar. The sounds of the city streets were replaced by the tune he heard before; the same bar with the same inhabitants only this time some of the shadows of the place were revealed. Hitomo was by the pool table playing with Roka and there was also Letho who was moving around the counter and stopping by another shadow who was petting her.

¨It seems you found your way back into the Velvet Room on your own¨ Igor said and gestured Tetsuya to sit on the chair in front of him ¨I see you are also spending your time well, forming bonds with other people who share the same power as you¨ He looked at the already revealed figures in the bar ¨But as you can see, there are still more yet without a contract¨

¨Do not take the words of the master as an insult, you are progressing on your path towards redemption¨ Silvia was cleaning some glasses, looking at Tetsuya as he was sitting on the empty chair in front of Igor.

¨To celebrate this moment allow me to teach you something that will help you in this path of yours¨ The mysterious man waved his hand in front of him and two Personas appeared, although they had the size of a whiskey shot. It was Theseus and Jack O' Lantern ¨As you have figured already you have the ability to possess multiple Personas, with that, training will not only make you stronger but so will the manifestation of this power¨

¨Improving the bonds with the people around you is also a good way to strengthen your Personas, but there is also another way, it's call mixing¨

¨Mixing?¨ Tetsuya asked as he saw that the two Personas in front of him were now trapped inside of fancy alcohol bottles. Theseus' had a fancy design with stripes all around the sides and the cap resembled a jester's hat; on the other hand, Jack O' Lantern was inside of a bottle with a simple design with a seal that had the infinite symbol and the cap was pointy, almost like a wizard's hat.

¨Mixing is the process of fusing two Personas and turn them into one, it will manifest into a new and more powerful being¨ The entities inside of the bottles turned into liquid and a cocktail shaker appeared in between them; the top opened and the cap from the bottles did as well, pouring the liquid into the shaker. As it closed the shaker floated to Silvia's hands and she worked with it.

It felt like a moment of tension as Silvia opened the shaker and poured the content into a glass that floated back to the table. Magically the glass turned into a bottle it had a chain around the neck with a lantern attached to it, the entire design resembled like a robe and the only way to open it was to pull the lantern up. Inside there was a dark horse with a white mane and two green horns.

¨As you can see, mixing can provide you with different and more powerful Personas, of course this was a demonstration, do not be afraid for the ones used are still with you¨ Igor waved his hand once again and the bicorn disappeared while both Theseus and Jack O' Lantern appeared once again.

¨The Compendium will keep track of all the Personas you encountered in your way, as well as the ones you decide to mix¨ Silvia grabbed the blue book from underneath the counter.

¨Progress in your path and more services in the Velvet Room will open for you. But for now let us forge a contract between the two of us¨

I am thou, thou art I… Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall open a path and break the chains from the past.

With the birth of the Judgment Persona, you acquired new power that will lead to redemption.

¨Now before you go, any questions?¨ But Tetsuya shook his head ¨Very well, good luck in your path, Fool¨

Tetsuya blinked and felt a strange feeling that he couldn't describe at first until it finally hit him, it was pain, something was biting his ear.

¨Boss!¨ Letho was yelling at his right ear while biting him to put him out of that trance ¨What are you doing?¨

¨Eh?¨ He looked around and noticed the extra weight on his right shoulder ¨What?¨ He was back in the street, leaning near the door, apparently his body moved to the side while he was inside of the Velvet Room ¨I'm back¨

¨You're back? Where did you go? You just walked to that wall then stood here for some time¨ Letho paused, looking back at where the door is but she couldn't see anything ¨Are you alright, boss?¨

¨Yeah… it's just… my mind is thinking on that labyrinth, I… I want to imagine there's a way to close it¨ Tetsuya tried to make some conversation, even if he had a talking rabbit on his shoulder and the whole events that happened she (or anyone) would believe about the Velvet Room at all.

¨Well, there might be a way, but for now you should make preparations for tomorrow, give the gear to Roka and get some good sleep¨

Tetsuya nodded and Letho jumped inside of the bag then the two of them returned to the dorms. They would have a long day ahead.

A new bond and now the party has weapons, needless to say enxt chapter there will be some fighting. This is like the beginning in most Persona games where schedule is very strict on what to do so it will take a bit more chapters before Tetsuya will be able to have some free time to meet more people or increase the bonds he already has.

MrFiretank: Alright not going to lie, Letho is even more adorable in this than I thought at first. Can't wait to read the next Chapter, especially with the first big showdown to get hyped up~!

Thanks for that, though the Letho in this story is not too different from the one in the RP, of course their story is different. And yes, the first big showdown is coming soon, although it is not revealed who it is yet.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I will now focus on my other story since I got something written already but I'll try to keep a good schedule with this one, no promises though!

If you want to send a message I'll always read the PMs and reviews, if not you can find me on my Discord server: discorddotgg / 7ZUptrJ (of course the dot should be replaced with a . )

This was Tourvelix to remind you to stay safe in these quarantien times wherever you are. Until then hope you have a great weekend and as always:

See you in the next chapter ;)