Catch-22: The Players

By: M14Mouse

Summary: Finally, Yu met some of the players on the board….kind of.

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

There is a lure in power. It can get into a man's blood just as gambling and lust for money have been known to do.― Harry Truman

He didn't look at Akechi. He refused too. Instead he picked up a card off the ground, he flipped over for a moment.

His luck has seemed to change.

"I don't think so," He said as he dropped the Ziodyne card onto the ground.

The sky above them opened up with a bolt of lightning. The bolt of lightning slammed in-between them. The noise was deafening. He felt the electricity brush against his skin. He watched as Akechi jumped out of the way. He could use this chance to put some distance between him and Akechi.

If he kept putting distance between him and Akechi, he will always be on the defense.

He was never one to stay on the sidelines for long.

He took his dice from his pocket and rolled them toward Akechi and dashed away. Few moments later, they exploded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Akechi jump away from the blast.

Finally, he came to stop and draw his cane close to him.

Wait for it.

So, he did.

Over the years, he learned about fighting from his time in the tv world and Izanagi. The tv world was ruthless. There was no hiding in the shadows. Sometimes, he would get lucky to sneak behind them and attack. He learned to attack ruthlessly. It was a skill that helped him survive. Of course, in the real world, that drive could get him in trouble like with the fencing club and at work.

Then came the arena.

Now.

He felt a breeze against his cheek. He lifted his cane and turned around to block Akechi's sword. He watched Akechi's eyes widen for a moment before twisted around and rammed his elbow into Akechi's stomach. He watched as he stumbled back.

"I thought that you wanted to talk."

"I thought that you wanted to kill me."

Akechi rose to his feet and started to laugh. He could see the chains started to form. He was going to use Robin Hood.

And once upon a time, he would attack without thought.

His persona has caused him to step back and wait….to watch and start thinking three steps ahead instead of now.

Boy is going to use one of his fancy light attacks.

He is trying to find our weakness. He figured light attacks would be the best since the little incident at the casino.

Ha. Weakness?! Hah. We are like the crazy girl. We have no weaknesses. He thought that was impressive! That was nothing! Wait until we get some more experience!

In the middle of a battle, he shouldn't be this amused but he was. It didn't help that his persona was doing a little dance in his head. High Pixie and Leanan Sidhe started to giggle. Tam Lin rolled her eyes at the pair.

Finally, Robin Hood appeared behind Akechi. He saw the light building in Robin Hood's hands

.

What are you thinking?

Sneak attack with a mudo card.

Excellent! Ready to go under?

Ready when you are.

He only had a moment to act when Robin Hood let out his light spell. He slammed his cane and called him to the surface. He felt the ground underneath him shake and his shadow expand under his feet. Suddenly, giant tree roots popped and snapped to the surface. They circled around his body to form a cocoon.

He was in complete darkness then he felt himself drop.

Others nearly had a panic attack when he first did this in battle. Honestly, they didn't flip out with Oracle's persona but with his persona? At least, he gave them some warning. Oracle just decided to pick them up.

Suddenly, he felt himself rush to the surface like a bullet and popped out of the shadow of a nearby building. It took him a moment to gain a sense of awareness. He realized that he was behind Goro now. He dropped his mudo card on the ground. He watched as the darkness poured into them.

He frowned when the attack deflected off.

"Is that the best you have, Gambler?" Goro said with a snarl.

He ignored Goro for a moment. He heard the others mumbling in his soul. Something wasn't right. The attack should have some effect on him. Goro's Robin Hood wasn't one he saw and he was weak to dark attacks and Goro wasn't wearing any dark-resistance accessory in the casino. Except between the time that they split until now, he equipped one.

Or….

Hmmm…ah.

"So, how many personas do you have?"

Akechi's snarl turned into one of shock.

Jackpot

-P4P5P4-

The others would like to say that the first time that they met was Mementos.

Technically, that was true.

Officially, they met elsewhere but they just don't remember it until he told them. He does remember them quite well because well…they were kind of loud and nearly killed him.

Silence wasn't their forte at all. Tam Lin and Rakasa pointed out to him that they could wake up a bear in the middle of winter.

They were probably right.

It was something that he had to work on with them when he joined the group.

He met Ryuji first or rather heard Ryuji first.

He was walking past the arcade when he saw Ryuji arguing with someone about a game.

"Come on! That is cheating!"

"It isn't cheating if you know the secret!"

"But no one knows the secret!"

The pair argued for a couple minutes before someone shouted for them to break up.

When he asked what game, Ryuji scratched his head and said that he couldn't remember.

Much like Ryuji, he didn't really meet Yusuke but he definitely saw him. He was standing on top of a trash can, framing a picture with his hands. It wouldn't be so memorable if the trash collector wasn't trying to get him off the trash can. It took him a bit of time to remember where he met Makoto. After seeing her persona, he remembered. She was the one that nearly ran him over with her bike. She spent a good five minutes saying how sorry she was. He waved it off.

Because she never saw Yosuke ride a bike.

Now, Ann….

He sighed.

She ruined one of his good shirts with one of her pasties. She ran right into him and…

"I am so so sorry!"

"It's okay."

"No…No! It isn't. Oh, let me!"

She rubbed the chocolate filling into his shirt with a napkin.

There goes his nice shirt.

"Oh, I made it worse. Let me buy you a new one!"

"It's fine. It happens."

"I will be right back! I promise!"

Ann rushed into a nearby shop. At least, that is where he thought she went. He was busy trying to get the chocolate out of his shirt. It felt like a moment when she came back and pressed a brand-new shirt in his hands.

The shirt was…..well.. Uhh….yup…

He did thank her shirt. He did have his manners. It made a great story to tell his friends and a wonderful gift for Kanji.

Ann was horrified when he told them the story.

And then she wanted to buy him another shirt.

Then came Haru's turn, who by this time, turned bright red. She looked like that she was about to get up.

He was about to open his mouth to ask what was wrong.

"I am very sorry, sensei. I didn't mean to hit you with a cart and drop the bag of soil on your foot. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I…I am so sorry!" Haru said in a hurry.

"A cart and the bags! Those damn bags are heavy! You dropped it on sensei's foot. Ouch! You were out for the kill." Ryuji said.

"I said that I was sorry!"

"Give her a break, Ryuji. You have done worse!"

"Sure, but not to sensei!"

Futuba took out her lollipop and turned to him as the conversation dissolved into fighting between Ryuji and Ann.

"So, how did you meet Ren?" She asked.

He turned from her to Ren, who turned to Morgana.

Morgana sighed.

"I hate both of you."

End of the Players

Next Chapter: The Star

A/N: Read and review if you wish. Thank you again for feedback, kudos, and reviews. You guys rock!