Chapter 1: Arrival
On top of a mountain, a lone figure is watching over Inaba with disinterest within his heart. "Such a little pointless town. It is the perfect place to set up our plan in motion," the man said as 7 seven armored people knelt behind him.
"The tower formations are in place. The experiment can begin," a young man said as the older man smiles at this.
"Good. We have no time to lose. The Chaos is coming here and we need to contain it at all costs," the man looks down at the rural town with no empathy for it and its people. "They will be needed to save everything from oblivion and the souls here will be useful" the older man said as he and seven beings disappear into the shadows.
A few months have passed since Rise and Yu tied the knot and lived together in Rise's family home in Inaba. Rise finally quit her job in singing to fully take over her family tofu business along with her husband Yu helping her.
Both are sleeping soundly in their room with Rise getting comfortable in her husband's naked chest. "Oh my, this feels wonderful," she said rubbing her face into his warm torso acting as her heated pillow.
"Well morning sunshine," Yu said as Rise shows off a bright smile.
"Morning baby," Rise said as she greets me with a kiss to get out of bed. "Well, we better get ready for the day," she said as she spread out her limbs only wearing a pair of white bra and panties showing off her lush curves.
"That is a full moon right there," Yu said slapping her on the rear to make her jump but she deeply enjoys the attention she is getting.
"Such a bad boy, like you were last night," Rise said in a flirty tone pressing her little finger on his nose in a playful manner.
"Can you blame me," Yu said as Rise giggles at this.
"Of course not, I am your pretty pearl. You can caress my smoothness anytime, come on. We need to clean and set up the place downstairs for the customers," she said as she goes into the bathroom to prepare for the day of labor.
Yu gets a phone call on his smartphone to see if it's their sensei Adi. "Morning Sensei," he said.
"Morning big guy, guys seem to be awake now," Adi said.
"Yeah, slept like a log," Yu said.
"It's pretty cute moving in back to Inaba within Rise's family home," Adi said as she can remember their little traditional wedding which she thought was the cutest thing.
"Yeah, it's pretty good being back here with the others. Nanako is going back to our old high school being a first year," Yu said.
"Indeed, that girl is getting big fast and quite lovely to boot. I bet the boys are licking their lips at her," Adi said.
"They better not," Yu said as he noticed all the young boys staring at Nanako with lewd eyes. He always has to sweep them away from her.
"Oh, being the big bro as usual. Hey, did you have my package yet?" she asked.
"Yeah you mean those gems?" he asked as he pulled out the drawer to see two gemstones which each of their Personas are inside.
"Yes, they will be very useful. Something is coming here," Adi said.
"What are you talking about? Nothing has happened in the last two years since the Phantom Thieves did their thing," Yu said.
"Well keep it on you just in case," Adi said.
"Yes Sensei," Yu said as he places them on the bed for him to go grab his things with Rise cleaned up and ready to go with her hair down in a ponytail. She is sporting a green blouse, blue jeans, and white sneakers.
"Who was that Yu?" she asked.
"That was Adi, she wants us to keep those gems with our Personas on us," Yu said.
"Seriously, nothing bad happened recently. Everything is so quiet around here," Rise said.
"Well, she wants to be sure about us. Besides she is noticing some odd people around here," Yu said as he heads into the bathroom to get changed.
"Oh right, Naoto said something about seeking out some odd people with Okina City. Well, we need to keep an eye out," Rise goes downstairs to be within the restaurant section to get on her apron and rag over her hair. "Okay time to set this place up," Rise said as she is turning on the lights to begin getting ready for the morning rush.
Yu gets into his causal clothing to grab the gem to head downstairs with Rise getting ready for work. "Baby, grab your apron. We got customers to serve," Rise said with a playful wink as they open up the tofu shop.
The day flows on with people coming in to order their food with the married couple serving them their orders. "Here you go, Teriyaki Tofu served up hot," Yu said as a young man takes his order.
"Thanks, man. Here you go," the teenager hands him his money for Rise to take her dish to one of the customers.
"Thank Miss Rise. I am so happy you are taking over from your Grandmother," an older lady said.
"Yes, heaven bless her kind soul. I am very happy that I and my husband are keeping good care of my childhood home," Rise said.
"You are quite the sweet young lady. You are worthy of this," the older lady said as Rise is glowing in the face to feel humble about her kind words.
"Thanks, madam, I hope you enjoy the food," Rise said with a smile.
The couple is cooking the dishes with the people coming into the dining area to take their seats. Townsfolk enjoy their time inside the tofu shop with Yu swiftly serving the customers.
Rise is cooking up the curry with Yu slicing up a tomato to make a sauce. Rise makes a curry filled with tofu to mix into a bowl for a customer as Yu comes in to bring it to an elder woman.
"Hey, you go, madam," Yu said as the female mole looks delighted to see the meal coming to her nice and warm.
"Thank you, young man," the mole said as Yu grabs a dish filled with a Sesame Garlic Tofu meal. He speeds towards the young male human who ordered it.
"Enjoy kid," Yu said as he looks down to lick his lips at the delicious dish.
"Thanks, mister. Your girl knows how to cook," he said.
"I am one lucky guy, she wasn't always this good," Yu said looking back at his beautiful girlfriend as Rise gives him a playful look.
"Yes, he is and I heard that mister" Rise said as she places a dish of Tofu Stir Fry on the counter. "Nice and hot, right off the oven," Rise said as Yu places the order on the table.
"Here you go, sir," Yu said as the middle-aged female.
"Thanks, you are pretty cute," the female is hitting on Yu.
"Sorry, I am taken," Yu said showing her the wedding band on his ring finger.
"Oh, what a shame," the woman said as Rise made another dish which is Fried Agedashi Tofu.
"Babe, I got another one," Rise said placing it on the counter with Yu taking it to another plate to place at a table.
"Here you go, Yu. I got some Fried Tofu dumplings here," Rise said as Yu sets them down at a table to see a local woman enjoying her meal.
"It's so nice to see Rise learning from the trade and taking over the family business," she said.
"Of course, all those lessons buy off," Rise said.
"At least she is not burning the kitchen down," Yu said as Rise is pouting at the bad memories of lots of crying and burned pizza.
"I wanted to make pizza crescents, not my fault I overcooked it slightly," Rise said with a goofy smile.
"You mean overcook the kitchen with burns everywhere," Yu said as Rise laughs nervously.
"Oh, that is in the past. I am way better now honey. You should be proud of me," Rise said.
"Yep I do, I don't have to worry about seeing the house burn down," he laughs as Rise pouts again.
"Stop teasing me," she said with a glow on her awkward face.
"Why it's fun," Yu still teases her as she sighs.
"Oh honey," she said as they continue passing out food. "Did you hear about Yosuke and his new girlfriend?" Rise asked.
"Oh yeah, he is dating this foreign girl. Alice is a half-black/half-Japanese lady who moved from the States to here," Yu said.
"Yeah, she is so cute. Her hair is so wavy and her chocolate skin is so smooth and silky. Those plump lips of hers are killer," Rise said.
"Yeah Yosuke is a lucky guy," Yu said.
"Do my lips look nice?" she said.
"Of course, they are small, lush, and pink," he said as Yu kisses her on her perfect lips.
"Oh, thank you, sweetheart. I will treat you later for being so sweet," Rise said as they noticed someone coming into the shop.
"Good afternoon," a man walks in walking dark clothing along with a young girl walking beside him.
"Hey there," Rise said to greet the new customer. "Hello to my humble little shop, may I take your order?" she asked.
"Yes I will like your special please," the man said.
"And for the little lady?" she asked.
"I will have miso soup with tofu please," she said.
"Coming right up," Rise said with a cute wink to go to the kitchen to cook something up. "Okay it's nice and hot," she said to pass their orders.
"Thank you, it looks pretty good. My name is Kai and this is Rei, my little sister," Kai said.
"Thank you for the food," she said as she let out a soft cough.
"No problem honey. I am Rise and this is my husband Yu. We run this shop together," Rise said.
"Pretty nice set up you here, I recall an old woman running this place," Kai said.
"That was my grandmother, she passed away recently," Rise said as she looks over to see a vase filled with her grandmother's ashes still watching her and her husband.
"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know," Kai said as Rise nodded her head.
"It's okay, I passed that. I am happy to continue the family business," Rise said.
"Indeed, it's good to keep the family nice and happy," Kai said as he was getting his meal.
Rei drinks up the soup with the warmth of it breathing life within her lungs. "This is so yummy," she said as she was coughing.
"Oh sweetie, are you okay?" Rise asked.
"Yeah, I got a cold. The soup makes it feel better with my throat," she said.
"I hope you feel better sweetheart. Here is a little treat for you," Rise passes her a rice cake as a snack.
"Oh, thank you, madam," the little girl said.
"Thank you," Kai said.
"No problem," Rise said as the duo finished their meal.
"Thanks for the meal, it was pretty good," Kai said.
"Always willing to give out good service," Rise said.
"Bye," the duo waved goodbye to leave the shop.
"Oh, that girl is so cute. I wish we can get kids soon," Rise said as Yu kisses her on the cheeks.
"We will, when we will be ready," Yu said.
"Okay I know, it just got me thinking you know. Oh right, baby. We got an order, I need you to take it over to the lady," Rise said handing him a bag filled with goods.
"Alright, I will be back," Yu said as he goes outside to get onto his scooter to drive up the road to hand the delivery.
"Oh boy, girls and boys around us. That would be so wonderful," she said daydreaming about her future.
The day ends as she is cleaning the dishes with people settling in their seats to enjoy their meals. Rise sees the door open to see Yu strangely come back. "Oh baby, that was fast. Why are you wearing that outfit, cosplaying as a Super Sentai character?" Rise questioned as Yu has a weird smile.
"Seems like you are pretty here as well," Yu said as Rise feels uneasy despite him being here now.
"What are you talking about?" she questioned for Yu is acting strange.
"To save this world, I need to take you out, faker," Yu said as he punches Rise in the head to knock her through a wall. Some people rush out of the shop thinking an explosion happened as Yu shows energy pouring through his eyes ready to fight Rise within her own house.
"Faker, what is he talking about?" Rise wondered as she took a bit of damage for her Persona activated empowering her body to take the damage. "What is happening, how can I use my Persona in the real world?" she wondered but there is no time to think about this. "Before I kick your ass, I need to know something?" she asked.
"What?" Yu demanded to summon his sword.
"What is your favorite thing about me?" she asked.
"It's your legs," Yu said as Rise's eyes narrowed to know this is a lie and this isn't her husband despite him having the same face and voice. She makes her Persona Kouzeon go into Combat Mode
"You are not my husband and I want him back," Rise summons her microphone to have her Persona empowering her voice turning it into a sonic weapon and knocking the Other Yu through a window to knock him onto the streets.
"Damn it, that Persona is in the third stage. Very powerful," Other Yu said as Rise makes her cast water spells trying to hold him down.
"Where is he?" she questioned as she screams to let out a sonic boom to knock Other Yu away. He quickly gets back up with Kouzeon flying in to blast the Other Yu with water bubbles acting like bombs.
Other Yu is using his katana to deflect them to the side as he rushes in to clash with Rise's Persona. Other Yu is unleashing powerful slashes with Kouzeon blocking them with light shields. She breaks the shield causing an explosion to knock Other Yu backward.
"Aqua Laser," Kouzeon charges up energy into her palms to unleash a big high-pressure beam of water to target the Other Yu.
"Deflection Slash," Other Yu blocked the spell and sent it right back with twice the power and speed. Kouzeon puts up a light barrier but the empowered spell breaks and sends her flying through a building. Outer Yu got up to several light slashes into Rise's body and shoves a punch into Rise's gut to send her skirting across the ground.
"Holy Crap, this Yu is stronger than my husband," Rise said as Kouzeon gets summoned in front of her.
"Rise, this man is different. His energy is dark and overwhelming," Kouzeon said.
"Yes it does feel different," Rise said as the Other Yu looks deadly serious.
"Okay, time to go off. The Chaos is coming and I need to clear the way for the plan to work," Other Yu said.
"What are you talking about, where is my husband?" she demanded.
"Oh, he is being taken care of by one of the demons," Other Yu said as he is covered in a dark aura summoning one of his Persona fused with dark power. "Time to step it up, Ishtar," Other Yu said as he and Dark Ishtar go on the full assault.
"Oh crap," both Kouzeon and Rise said at the same time to be overwhelmed by the fighting.
Elsewhere Yu is going to a location in the middle of the woods nearby the town to see an abandoned house there. "No one is here," Yu said as he noticed a huge tower looming over the area. "What is that?" he wondered as he was getting a call from Adi.
"Yu, get out of there. Rise is getting attacked by them," Adi said as she goes to aid Rise.
"Who are they and what is happening?" Yu asked to be confused by this.
"Keep that gem close, you are going to need it," Adi said as Yu felt cold all of a sudden. A streak of frost hits the area around him as Yu took damage to see his Persona is now active allowing him to take the damage which would have killed him.
"How is this possible," Yu said as a large demon called Cerberus appears with three big dog heads staring down the human.
"So, this is the other version of you huh, I am not impressed," Cerberus said as Yu looks confused by this.
"Other version?" Yu is confused by this as the big dog goes on the attack. Cerberus unleashes bolts of ice from its three mouths. He rolls away as he summons his prime Persona Izanagi wielding his sword to clash with the big beast.
"Yes, don't think you are the hero within this story. Your actions will bring about the end of this world hence World Ender," Cerberus said as Yu is bothered by this.
"World Ender, what are you talking about?" he questioned as he is dodging and weaved incoming attacks with him using his katana to work with his Persona to strike at the huge beast. Yu jumps off a tree to dodge incoming ice bolts to get on top of its head to stab into its left skull.
"On your knees beast, Thunderous Rend," Izanagi engulfs his blade with lightning to slash into the Cerberus but the attack doesn't do any damage.
"Oh, that tickle," Cerberus said as it unleashes a blast of ice around it to blow away the duo. It fires a big beam of ice at Izanagi to score a hit doing major damage to him. Cerberus swings its paws to create spears of ice coming out of the ground cutting into Yu to collapse onto the ground.
"Damn it, this Demon is much stronger than a Shadow," Yu said as he is bleeding from his wounds. "I need more power," Yu remembers about the gem Adi gave him. "Power of Persona and Human together in sync in one body," he recalled her words.
"Prepare to die," Cerberus said.
"Izanagi, let's merge as one," Yu said as his Persona nodded his head.
"As you wish," Izanagi goes into his body beginning to merge with his body. Yu is feeling insane pain coursing through his veins as he is screaming in pain.
"Die!" Cerberus fires a beam of ice to strike Yu to be engulfed in a bright light. "What is happening here?" the demon dog questioned as suddenly one of its exploded with gore for the left head was vaporized by a lightning bolt.
The light disappears to see Yu look quite different donning the outfit of his Persona and wielding a powerful-looking katana blade. "We fight as one," Yu has a booming voice as he strikes like lightning using his sword to crave into the hide leaving behind trails of blood on the ground.
"Damn it, don't be cocky. I will not die so easily like a Shadow," the two heads begin to increase their bloodlust to unleash tons of waves of icy wind blowing back at Yu. He used his new Lightning and Curse powers to begin unleashing bolts of lightning and darkness to pound away at the tough hide of the demon.
"It's my turn now," Yu is moving so fast he looks like lightning to dodge incoming ice attacks and spells. "Thunderous Rend," he cloaks his blade with lightning to close in and sever the right head. The beast roars in agony as Yu has a big smirk on his face. "Does that tickle?" Yu joked as the beast is roaring at him with its last head.
"Don't mock me, I am going to chill to your bones," Cerberus begins to bring down the temperature in the area causing snow to fall.
"Gee I need to end this before I freeze to death," Yu thought as he is dodging incoming attacks with the cold slowly draining his life.
"I will do whatever it takes to stop the world from dying again. I will bury you and save this world," Cerberus said as it rushed to try to bite Yu's head off.
"Suck on this," Yu supercharges his blade to come in and slash the beast in half with gore flying across the forest.
"No matter, it will be worth it in the end. This town must die for the sake of the lives of billions," the beast shortly dies after it speaks.
Yu is confused by all this. "Why is it sounding like I am the bad guy? I need to think about it later, I need to save Rise and the town," he said as he used his speed to run back to the town.
Rise and her Persona are fighting Other Yu and Dark Ishtar with her unable to keep up with the increasing pressure. The shopping area has turned into a battlefield. Lightning bolts and dark energy is blasting away Kouzeon who is protecting her human self Rise.
"Give up, this town isn't worth saving," Other Yu said.
"This is where my family and my roots are. Hell no," Rise said as she makes another sound wave but Other Yu deflects it back slamming into Rise hurting her ears and damaging her body.
"Let out of your emotional ties to this place, you are only making things worse," Yu said as Kouzeon uses a light spell to let down arrows of bright orbs to pepper the area holding them back briefly.
"How is that, I am doing the right thing," Rise said as Other Yu thinks this version of Rise is stupid and naïve.
"If you know what I know, you will sound very dumb right now," Other Yu said as Ishtar uses a lightning bolt to stun Kouzeon. Other Yu uses his blade to cut into the Persona to do some major damage. He swiftly heads towards Rise as she tries to stop him with a sonic boom of her voice.
He slides under this to cut into her legs to make her buckle onto the ground and Other Yu kicks her in the head to knock her down onto the ground.
"I will protect this place. My friends, my family, and my husband," Rise said as she gets back up to spit up blood onto the ground.
"Pointless, you are not the hero of this story," Other Yu is about to stab her through the head to get kicked by someone sending him flying across the street.
"Rise, are you okay?" Chie appears in her police uniform with her Persona going in to block Ishtar from attacking them.
"Yes, I am shaken but I am okay," Rise said.
"Okay, Rise gets the gem now," Adi said as Other Yu looks over to see a familiar face which enrages him.
"The bitch has come back, traitor," Other Yu said as Chie and Rise are confused by this.
"Traitor, you know him?" Chie asked.
"No time to explain, Rise gets the gem now," Adi said as Rise nods her head to head back into her house. Adi and Chie fight off the Other Yu and Dark Ishtar.
Rise and her Persona go into her room to grab the gem. "Kouzeon, give me strength," she said as she thrusts the gem in front of her to begin merging with her Persona.
"As you wish, let's combine to show them real pain," Kouzeon said as she is on her knees overcome with pain for light is engulfing her body.
Chie is getting pushed by Other Yu to cut up her legs and shove his fist into her head. "Just piss off already," she said as she is delivering rapid kicks with Other Yu blocking her hits with his sword.
"Do you ever shut the fuck up?" Other Yu uses the sword hilt to strike Chie's gut to knock her down and let Ishtar fire bolts of lightning to strike her launching her across the street.
Adi is calling the power of her Persona Cancer to set up gravity orbs trying to pin him down. "Do you trust this woman?" Other Yu asked.
"Of course, I do. She is our friend," Chie goes in to kick him but Other Yu grabs her leg then twist her to the side slamming her onto the pavement.
"Then you are a meathead. All brawn and no brains, no wonder you can't get a guy," Other Yu is poking fun at her as this gets under her skin.
"Shut it," Chie said as she and her Persona is trying to hit him but he is dodging all their moves.
"That is my line," Other Yu said as he unleashes pulses of demonic power to knock away the duo. He stabs into Tomoe to blast her with dark energy sending her flying into a building. "Ishtar, Thunder Arrows," he ordered as the dark Persona unleashes arcs of lightning to strike Chie causing her great pain. This move sends her into a light pole bending it on impact.
"Damn it, he is a monster," Chie and Tomoe are barely able to fight back even when working together. "Oh, my back," Chie said as she strained her back in the fight.
"Damn it Chie, man up and keep going," Adi said as she is jumping and flipped away from the spells. "Taste this, Gravity Well," Adi ordered as Cancer opens her mouth to lob a dark sphere to clash with Dark Ishtar entrapping her within a dome of high gravity pinning her to the ground. "Collapse," she snaps her fingers for the gravity dome imploding instantly killing the dark Persona.
"Shit," Other Yu said as they see the light coming from Rise's bathroom.
Rise teleports beside Other Yu to fire a beam of light to send him across the area. "We are one now," Rise and Kouzeon are now combined with Rise donning her Persona's outfit.
"Wow, loving the bodysuit/ crop jacket combo," Adi said.
"Thanks, let's stop this guy," Rise said as she summons a ton of bubbles to seek out their target. Other Yu tried to deflect but the bubbles were too many to act like grenades. They all explode doing a lot of damage.
"So, you stole the prototypes from the floating city?" Other Yu asked.
"Yes to these guys having a fighting chance," Adi said.
"Only delaying the inevitable," Other Yu said as she hits him with a gravity Well to force him down.
"Now Rise," Adi said as Rise uses her mic like a wand to cast a spell.
"Photo Geyser," a pillar of light emerges under Other Yu to cause him great pain to make him collapse.
"Damn it, those prototypes are no joke," Other Yu said as he looks at Rise quite differently. "You are stronger than I thought. I will make sure not to underestimate you again. Adi the project is underway and you can't stop it. This town will be used to protect against the Chaos," Other Yu goes into a dark portal to go away.
Rise is on her knees to deactivate her Fusion form to split from her Persona. Chie walks over to be amazed by Rise's combat performance. "Gee, that was crazy. You were great," Chie said.
"Thanks, such a crazy amount of power flowing through it. Feels empowering," Rise said as they noticed Yu coming in to check on Rise.
"Thank goodness, you are okay," Yu said as Rise wants to make sure this isn't a trap.
"What is your thing about me?" she asked.
"Easy, it's your bright loving voice. It melts my heart every time you sing," he said as Rise gives him a big hug and kisses him on the lips.
"Oh, thank goodness, baby. Are you okay," Rise said.
"Me too, Sensei. What is happening around here?" Yu asked.
"I will explain, everything is happening at once. I need you to call the others to my house," Adi said as everyone leaves before the cops show up.
Elsewhere Kai and Rei are in their house hearing about the weird explosions within the shopping district. "So it begins with those bloody towers," Kai said as he noticed the large tower in the distance but no one else can.
"Brother, I don't feel so good," Rei said as she was coughing up blood in her hands.
"Come on, let's go put you to bed," Kai grabs onto her to put her to bed in her room. "The Chaos is the key to everything here within this small town. She needs help and I need to seek the truth of the Chaos to save her," Kai said as multiple groups within Inaba tried to deal with the Chaos in their way.