leaning toward taking your hand
Chapter 1
Ain't It Great, How We Met Each Other?
(Uploaded on May 9, 2023)
Summary: In which the Phantom Thieves—and their extra Wild Card—run into yet more unexpected guests at the theater.
First Hikari and Nagi, then the Velvet Room siblings—and now, a literal reaper (no, not that one) and his ever-hungry partner. Where are all of these people coming from?
Notes: This two-shot is set during the events of Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, in an AU where both Persona 3 protagonists are siblings and co-leaders of S.E.E.S. All relevant cast members retain their memory of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth—with the exception of Minako, who was too sick to participate.
This fic also assumes that Minato was the primary leader over Yu (though events from both routes of Q did happen), and that Ren lived in Inaba prior to being arrested. Major endgame spoilers for Persona Q are featured, so reader discretion is advised.
For a more specific timeframe, this chapter is set not long after the Phantom Thieves rescue Minako, but before they reach Kamoshida Square for the first time.
Kamoshidaman
Third Avenue
"Y'know," Minako sighed, "I'm beginning to think I should've gone with Minato to Tartarus last week after all."
Ren blinked. "Tartarus, huh? Anything like Mementos is for us?"
"If you mean that it's a crawling nest of Shadows, then sure, probably." She frowned. "I was out sick because of a typhoon, so my brother—our co-leader, by the way—took over training duties that night. But ever since they came back, they've been acting… different.
"Not a bad kind of different, mind you," she quickly clarified—"but different nevertheless."
"I dunno, that still kind of sounds concerning to me," Ryuji said, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, if something happened with my friends, I'd want to know what's up. How different is different, really?"
"Well…" The auburn-haired girl put a finger to her cheek. "Mitsuru-senpai's a lot more social all of a sudden, Yukari-chan's actually hanging out with her, Ken-kun seems a lot happier—and Shinjiro-senpai too, come to think of it… Oh!"
Her finger moved to pointing straight up.
"And everyone except Shinjiro-senpai and Koro-chan had whole new Personas, too!"
Morgana spluttered. "What!? All of them!?"
"Wait, wait, wait—by 'whole new Personas'," Ann interjected, "you mean… like half of us before we got here? Me with Hecate, Skull with Seiten Taisei, Fox with Kamu Susano-o—that kind of thing?"
"I, uh… I assume? I don't really know what means for you guys."
The frizzy-haired boy took in a breath.
She… doesn't know? She hasn't seen a Second Awakening for herself?
That's…
He was beginning to see where Ryuji was coming from.
He'd seen his party members' own personal journey; been with them every step of the way. Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto—it'd been a long road for each of them, but in the end, they'd found the courage and drive to rise above the hardships of the world. And in turn, they helped show him one more piece of a world worth fighting for, in spite of all that had happened.
It wasn't something that could be done in a day.
And yet, for Minako… it seemed like that was somehow the case.
"How fascinating," Yusuke remarked. "So many Persona-users at once, all undergoing a resolution powerful enough to cause their Personas to take on a new form… I only wish I could've seen such majesty for myself! Whatever the cause was, it must've truly been profound."
Minako looked at him weirdly.
"That's Inari for you—always obsessed with anything that's 'artistic'," Futaba chimed in, a scoff coming from her holographic image. "You get used to it, don't worry."
"…this can't be a coincidence."
Everyone turned to look at Akechi.
"That one attendant, in the Velvet Room; she said that nothing in there occurs by chance," he began to elaborate. "After seeing what we have, I'm inclined to believe it—so I started considering some things. One particular observation I made is that she didn't seem too surprised by our whole predicament—her and Theodore. That could be chalked up to their idiosyncrasies, true, but if she really is a friend of your brother… then I find it highly unlikely that she wasn't involved, in some way, with the incident you mentioned."
Surprise creeped into their eyes.
"Hey, hold up—you can't be saying—!?" Ryuji said.
"—you think that S.E.E.S. was in a labyrinthine theater, just like we are right now?" Ren finished, brows furrowing.
"Perhaps not exactly the same, but yes," the detective replied. "I do believe that. With Minako-san being from 2009 and us being from 2016—"
—a factoid that hadn't taken long to pop up, given Minako's complete and inexplicable lack of knowledge of the Phantom Thieves, who had become infamous across the nation—
"—we know that time doesn't flow correctly in here. What may have been only a few hours in the real world could have translated into days, if not weeks for them."
"Weeks…?" Minako repeated, quietly. "They might've been in there… for weeks… without me?"
She sounded a little despondent at the thought—which didn't surprise Ren.
After all, he'd hate it if he couldn't take part in a heist for whatever reason.
"That… That would explain it, wouldn't it? They've all become so much stronger; it makes me feel like I'm being left behind. My brother and I were equal before, but now he's got a Persona that can resist almost every element. I can't compete against that—I don't even know where I'd start."
Well…
"You can start here, with us," Ren replied, instinctively. "They've probably been brought down to an equal level, if what happened to us is any indication—so you'll definitely get the chance to grow by their side again."
"Yeah! You don't have to worry!" Morgana confidently stated. "And until that happens, us Phantom Thieves will be right by your side!"
A small smile came to her face.
"I know," she said. "I just—I just wish there was a way I could see for myself what they went through. I want to know what could give them that new resolve. Because… they're my team, too."
"Yeah. I get it."
And that was all that needed to be said between them.
With that heartfelt consolation, the party returned to mapping out the city's boundaries.
Mysterious Cinema
Lobby
So, let's recap.
Ren Amamiya and Minako Arisato had seen a lot of things.
It came with the territory of being a Wild Card. Colossally tall towers, eldritchly shifting in architecture; elaborately sprawling locales, born from the distortions of one's heart… they were the norm at this point; expected quantities that they could and would plan around.
But life always had a few curveballs to throw at them—
—and this time, that took the form of a labyrinth dressed up like a movie about how 'absolute authority is fine, actually', inside a mysterious theater that they had no idea how they got to and couldn't exit at all.
…yeah, it was something, alright.
And as they were about to see…
…that was far from being today's last surprise.
Coming out of the auditorium doors with everyone else, Ren's mind was running a mile a minute.
Let's see… with that Daring Gigas we beat, Theodore should have enough material to be able to make some Fitted Chainmail, which should serve us all well for the upcoming mission. After that, I think I can afford to buy some new weapons for Ryuji and Yusuke, and then it's off to the Velvet Room for some fusion.
We're so close now. Kamoshidaman is within our sights.
Makoto… Haru… Just hold out a little bit longer…
"Wow! You guys are new! Zen, Zen, look! We can make more friends in this Labyrinth!"
"Yes, Rei, I see that."
…
…
…
…wha?
"H-Hey, is it just me," Ryuji stammered, "or—or did even more people we've never seen before suddenly show up!?"
"H-H-H-H-H-H-Huh!?" Futaba squeaked. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Where did they come from!? I didn't sense them appearing at all! And they're definitely not of the Blue Brigade!"
"Again!?" Morgana yowled. "How!?"
"Is something wrong, everyone? What's all the commotion…?" Nagi asked, trailing behind alongside Hikari.
Then, she caught sight of the scene ahead. "…oh. That's…"
"New strangers…" Hikari murmured.
A rather odd pair stood in front of the crew of eight (nine, if you included Hikari peeking out from behind them): a blonde-haired girl in a yellow sweater, plus plenty of flower-shaped hairclips in her flowing locks—and a brown-haired boy with a dark complexion, a decorated yellow collar, and a tattered cape flowing behind him. The former was beaming brighter than Ren had ever seen from anyone; meanwhile, the latter might as well have been a statue for all the emotion he was giving off… or lack thereof.
The crazy thing about them, though, was…
"Hey, I recognize those uniforms," Ren said.
"Wait, you do?" Ann asked him. "From where?"
"Yasogami High. It's my old school, out in the countryside. It's small enough that you tend to recognize everyone there—but these two…"
He trailed off.
It was pretty clear what he meant to say.
"Yasogami? In Inaba? I visited there this last summer!" Minako exclaimed. "I was with the volleyball team; we had this exchange program going on. What a small world…"
The new girl looked a little surprised—and delighted.
"Oh! Both of you went to Yasogami High? Does that mean you know Yu-kun and the others? Or—Or—Or even Minato-kun and S.E.E.S.!?"
And then Minako's eyes went large and wide.
"Minato-kun!?" She ran on up to the blonde, hands desperately balled into fists. "You know my brother!? Wh-When was this!? Don't tell me… was this last week!?"
"U-Um…! I, err—I guess so…?" The girl nervously leaned away from the S.E.E.S. field leader, who was radiating some very intense energy at the moment. "Ah… Can I, uh… ask you to, uhhhhh…"
"Please step back a little," the quiet boy intoned. "You're too loud, and you're scaring Rei."
"S-Sorry!" Minako shuffled back. "It's just that—I've been worried sick about my team, and I really want to know what's been going on with them…"
"…I see," he replied. "You must be Minato's sister. He mentioned you a few times. Him and his friends."
"They did?"
She smiled.
"That's… a relief, actually. At least they never forgot me, wherever it is they went…"
"As fascinating as I'm sure this discussion is," Akechi interrupted them, "I do believe we have some more pressing matters at the moment. Tell me: who exactly are you two, and how did you get into this theater? Because, if I'm not incorrect… I don't think you came into this 'trapped' the same way we are."
The flowery girl tilted her head.
"Whoa… You sound just like Naoto-chan!" Ignoring how wide the detective's own eyes got, she cheerfully continued, "Well, if it'll help us all become better friends, then… okay!"
She pulled a corn dog from seemingly out of thin air and raised it up high.
"I'm Rei, and this is Zen! We came here because Zen noticed that there was a bunch of new Labyrinths all of a sudden, and all our friends had gotten stuck in them—so I wanted to help! And since Zen's this really strong god and he's done this whole thing before… we got in in no time at all!"
Zen nodded. "It is as she says. We are very familiar with what these Labyrinths entail. After all, I was the one who created the previous set, and the world around them."
…
…
…
"…for real?" Ryuji gaped.
A strange look of consternation fell upon Nagi's face—
—though, I definitely can't blame her for it. Things just keep getting wilder and wilder.
"That's… quite the bold declaration," she finally stated. "I think, perhaps, it would be best if you clarified what you mean by some of that."
"Indeed," Yusuke interposed. "I would love to be able to capture your experiences in an art form—so spare no expense on the details! Please, bare it all to me! Your emotion, your passion! The wonderful world of your soul!"
…
"…does talking about food count as a passion?" Rei asked. "I like food."
Eccentric questions beget eccentric answers, I suppose…
Zen and Rei's story was… pretty heavy, to say the least.
Ghosts struggling to move on after a life spent in the hospital—
Reapers who held dominion over time, carrying souls into the afterlife—
A world where they locked away their own memories, to stow away in blissful ignorance—
—and the Persona-users who taught them both how to live, despite all they had suffered.
Minako's head was sent spinning.
"Wow… Minato actually did all of that…?" she said, amazed. "I didn't think he had it in him, even after how much he's grown…"
Ren snorted. "Do you really have so little faith in him?" he teased.
"Hey, he used to have the emotional range of a teaspoon—not to mention how lazy he still is!Excuse me for a being a little dubious!"
"Abandoning one's duties to care for one lone girl… I suppose it was admirable, if misguided," Nagi mused.
Hikari had been silent almost the whole way through. She had shrunken into herself, clutching her megaphone as tightly as she could, comforted only by the curator's presence beside her.
"Live your life to the fullest…" she murmured. "Is that really…?"
She brought her head low. "I… I wish I could understand…"
"Hikari-san…" Minako frowned.
Futaba looked a little thoughtful.
"You know, a lot of that story reminds me of where I used to be," she said—"minus the cheerfulness and the amnesia. Heck, the Labyrinths might as well have been a Palace in disguise, complete with Treasures at the end of each one. And her Shadow…"
"…uh-huh. Tell me about it," Ryuji agreed, noticeably quiet for once. "Finding out you're dead and that nothing you did mattered…? That's effin' depressing, man." To Rei, he asked, "You're… okay now, right? Like, in a happier place or whatever it is they say?"
Rei nodded enthusiastically.
"Mm-hm! So long as I'm with Zen, I'm happy! And so long as I can eat wherever we go, I'm doubly happy!" She started munching on her corn dog. "I can't wait… nom… to see what… nom… kind of food's… nom… over here! And movies! Nom~ I've never gotten to see a movie before!"
"So far, we've mostly just had popcorn, fries, and soda," Ann admitted. "And there's only one movie, which… sucks, to put it bluntly. We could probably find restaurants inside, but… I think we'd be arrested the moment we tried to enter one."
"Which is a shame," Yusuke cut in. "I'm parched for a bowl of hot pot myself…"
The hungry blonde halted her eating.
"Just for wanting to eat food!? That's terrible!" she gasped. She pumped her fists. "I'm not gonna let that stop me, though!"
"If anyone tries to arrest Rei, I'll take care of them," Zen declared, brandishing his crossbow.
"Yipes!" Ryuji jolted. "Th-That isn't real, is it!?"
"Why wouldn't it be? It's to protect Rei."
"Jeez… Remind me not to piss you off, then…"
"He takes his job very seriously, I see…" Akechi sweatdropped.
"It comes with the territory, especially when you're surrounded by Shadows," Minako shrugged. "I get it."
Ren hummed.
"Well, if you two are really experienced as you say," he said, "your help would be greatly appreciated. We're gonna need all the extra firepower we can get, if we're gonna rescue Makoto and Haru."
"Rescue…?" Rei repeated. "Are your friends in trouble?"
"Yeah." A scowl came onto the Wild Card's lips. "It's a long story, but they've been captured by this fake superhero. He's got this whole city hung on to his stupid sense of 'justice': anything goes, so long as he can make them safe… even if that means executing people whose only crime is just being in the way."
"It's up to us to take him down and free our teammates from his clutches," Morgana followed up. "We'll and bring everyone to their senses and change the ending of this movie—Phantom Thieves style! Are you in?"
"A false hero? Interesting…" Zen said. "The worlds of our Labyrinths were never so animated, nor were their guardians this proactive. Nevertheless… I do believe it is a challenge we can overcome. While coming to this world has temporarily locked away some of my powers, I will be able to make do for now."
"Just point us where we need to go!" Rei chimed. "I'll provide the buffs, and Zen can hit 'em with the attacks! We won't let you down—I promise!"
"Then it's settled." Ren held out his hand. "Welcome aboard the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, you two. Hope you don't mind the F.O.E.s wandering around; there's still a lot of them in here, too."
And dear god, I hope we won't be seeing the Reaper as one of them.
The Reaper as an F.O.E., stalking us around… never in my life have I ever a more terrifying combination of words.
"Hooray!" The excited spirit proceeded to latch on and shake it—and him—rather violently. "Thank you so much! This adventure is gonna be fun!"
"Agh! Calm down, calm down!"
The cartoony cat sniggered. "Hehe… Not so nice being on the other end of the 'button mashing' now, is it, Ren?"
"Alright, alright! I'm sorry about that, Morgana! Get her off me, please!"
Watching as the mascot went to help Ren, who was being manhandled by a girl a full head beneath him in height, Minako couldn't help but smile.
"She's cute," she commented. "She really is. I can see why Minato and everyone else fought so hard to save her. Maybe I'm a bit late to the party, but now that I have the chance…
"I… I can't wait to become friends with her, too. Her and Zen."
This chapter's title is derived from the lyrics to Maze of Life, the main theme of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.
So. Persona Q2.
I didn't really give this game its fair due, back when it first came out. On the one hand, exploring the new dungeons were a blast, especially with the added story elements; plus, all the character interactions were to die for. But on the other hand, I was still majorly burnt out from how bad the original Persona Q's battle system was—and feeling plenty spiteful toward Atlus expecting us to level twenty-five party members, separately, without any kind of leaked experience.
The Speed Gloves being paid DLC did not help matters.
So yeah, I basically just played the same way I did the first game: with a fixed party, and with my Sub-Personas increasingly reliant on Physical skills and nothing else.
But it's been a few years now, and my temper's cooled a bit since then. And after making a work skin for various Persona Q2 UI elements last week… I decided to pick up the game again and give it a more 'serious' playthrough.
I hasn't been all that bad, I must admit. You have a lot of options at your disposal, and they're all really interesting; Link moves especially—and you can actually use all of them, thanks to magic being a little less hideously expensive. The lack of a dub does hurt the experience a little, in my opinion—what can I say, I like hearing the language that I speak—but if the first three Etrian Odyssey games can get a re-release on Switch and PC… then Q2's got a chance, however small it may be.
We're not here to hear me ramble about those aspects, though.
We're here for the Q duology's OCs.
Zen, Rei, and Hikari are criminally underrated characters. Rei, I especially like: her backstory is heartbreaking, and every interaction with her is both comic gold and cute in all the best ways. Hikari… takes some time to get going, owing to her initially subdued nature—but toward the end, she really gets a chance to shine. Sadly, we're probably not ever going to see them again, and that sucks—moreso with Hikari than the first two. I mean, she even shows up in the ending, with the Phantom Thieves, in their time!
And that got me thinking: what would it be like if the three got to interact?
There's a shortage of fics featuring the three of them anyway; if no one else wants to write them, then I might as well.
…next chapter, anyway. I wanted to write everyone's reactions to Zen and Rei just popping out of thin air first. Why not? The Phantom Thieves never got to meet them, after all. (Or Minako, for that matter.) Consider it making up for lost time! No Velvet Room attendants, though; this chapter was crowded enough as it was.
Also, I know that the subject of time travel doesn't come up between the party until midway through the second dungeon, but for the purposes of this fic, pretend that they were a little faster on the uptake this time. 'Sides, I feel like that would be one of the first things they'd pick up on, given that I'm having the events of the explicitly-dated typhoon be relevant to this fic.
Well, that's all for now – tune in next time for the actual fun interactions, starting with Rei and Hikari!