A Choice, a persona series fanfic

As soon as she saw him, she felt a strong impulse. An impulse to run right over to him. An impulse to affectionately greet him with a big hug, a sweet gesture to let him know how much she missed him. She craved the feeling of his strong arms holding her close to him, the possibility of his soft lips meeting hers or a gentle peck on the cheek making her feel giddy. But she couldn't. Not here. It hurt a little not being able to do it, but this was just how it had to be… right?

…

Rise was more than happy to flirt openly with him in front of everyone. In fact, she enjoyed flirting with him in front of everyone. She always wanted to let him know how much she adored him, and she wanted the whole world to know how much she adored him as well. But there were no strings attached to that. She could flirt with him all she liked and from everyone else's perspective she was just a girl who had a big crush. It never interfered with the image or brand of Risette; never had any consequences.

But this did. Cuddling up next to him as they sat together on the bench at the hill overlooking Inaba did. Giving him soft kisses on his cheek as she tried her hardest to make him lose his composure and blush did. His arm around her shoulder bringing her closer to him did. Finally being in an official relationship with Yu Narukami changed everything, and she wasn't sure what to do.

"My agency won't be too happy about this" she said.

"Who cares what they think?" he told her.

"I've heard of idols getting fired for dating" she frowned.

"Are you having second thoughts about us?" he asked flat out.

"No, of course not! I'm really happy with you. I just wanna keep this between us for now. Just until I figure everything out" she explained before giving him another kiss on the cheek.

"I can keep a secret" he smiled reassuringly. She knows he can, it's one of the reasons she trusts him so much.

She was never quite sure whether things would end up like this. It felt like a pipe dream that he would feel anything towards her until a few days ago. He was the only person who saw her as the person she was, and as amazing as that was, it was also scary at times. Being seen past the veil of a talented, famous and pretty idol meant to him she was a person with flaws and problems and negative traits that made her less attractive. But despite all that he was still there by her side. He still liked her. He still wanted to be with her.

They looked down at the quiet town of Inaba, watching as the sun crept its way closer and closer to the horizon in front of them. She was happy here with him. She felt like she belonged here at his side. She felt so safe and that she could be completely herself without worrying about anything else. She dreamt of going on cute dates with him, holding onto him as they explored new places together, being able to proudly introduce him as her boyfriend.

But the weight of her career in the idol industry was still on her shoulders. A shadow looming over them that threatened to block the light and stop their relationship from blossoming, forcing them to keep everything under wraps so the world would never find out. As much as she loved her job it made her personal life difficult, and that was the one thing she absolutely hated.

"Yu… what do you think I should do?" she asked.

"About what?"

"About us?"

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy" he said. He was a man of few words, but those words held a lot of weight, especially to her.

…

As soon as she got home, she dialled up her manager's number for a call. She knew that while he always looked out for her best interests in the industry, he would be completely honest with her too.

"Oh, hi there, Rise-chan!"

"Hi, Inoue-san."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"Yeah, there is actually. I have some questions."

"Go ahead."

"I just wanted to ask about my contract status with the agency" she said.

"You're technically not under contract with them right now, but if you want to negotiate a contract right now I'd be more than happy to…"

"So I can date if I want to, right?" she asked. She was met with a long pause on the other end of the line that made her feel a bit tense.

"Yes… I suppose, but once you were under contract you would most likely have a no-dating clause."

"Could I take that out of the contract?"

"You want to date that boy, don't you?" he asked, finally catching on to what was going on.

"How would that affect my career as an idol, Inoue-san?"

He let out a long sigh.

"Rise-chan… idols are less appealing to fans if they aren't single. There's a reason there's a clause about dating. You're already popular and talented and extremely valuable to the agency, so I know you'll still have a career, but your contract would be worth less money, you'd have less fans and you'd never reach the top of the industry like I know you can" he explained.

There was a long pause.

"If this is what you want, I can probably negotiate the clause out, but you'll get less money from it in return. I will do everything I can as your manager to support you, but just keep in mind what I just said before you make up your mind, ok?"

"Thank you, Inoue-san."

She just lay motionless in her bed after she hung up. She processed what Inoue-san had just told her. The idea of damaging her career as an idol was a bit frightening. Whenever she got up on stage she felt a great rush of energy and excitement flow through her. She loved interacting with fans and making a positive impact on the lives of so many. She really did love being an idol, and she never wanted to do anything that could jeopardize that for her. But Yu's words still lingered.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy."

It was so simple and so obvious, yet it was having a profound impact on her. He made her happy. He was the only person who saw her for her real self and truly appreciated it. He was the boy who made her heart race every time she was alone with him. He was who she loved. She could live with herself making a little less money or not quite being the number one idol in the industry, but she would live with a million regrets if she left him for the industry.

And in that one moment, she made a choice that would change her future forever.

…

The next day she was talking with her friends before school. It was difficult to focus on what they were saying because he was still on her mind. She had something she wanted to tell him.

"Senpai!" she called out. She ran over to him as he turned to face her just in time for her to dive right into his arms. He caught her as she tightly hugged him.

"Morning Yu" she giggled.

"Morning" he smiled as he hugged her too.

"I'm assuming you've made up your mind, then?" he asked.

"It was easy. I want to be with you senpai, and I won't let anything get in the way of that" she said.

"I want to be with you too, Rise" he declared, reaffirming his statement with a slow and tender kiss, the intimate gesture sending her into a state of pure bliss.

And that moment is when she knew she'd made the right decision. This was perfect. This was what made her feel happy and complete. Nothing else in the world could compare to the feeling of being so close to him. Being able to be and do what she wanted with him was everything to her, and she felt so happy she could finally be this way with him.