Welcome back to the second chapter of Persona: Outsiders!

I'll be honest, guys. I didn't expect this story to get attention, especially since there's little to no Persona/Multi-anime crossovers.

Well… there's one, but it was not very good.

Still, I'm glad to write something like this. With how popular P5 Royal and now Reload are, I'm hoping more people will be inspired to write their own Persona stories. There's a lot of lore to use in such stories and the Personas could be limitless. Let me know if you guys write a Persona story.

To recap: After experiencing a tragedy back home, Kinji Tohyama is forced to move to Shibuya to leave with a family friend for a year. Upon meeting Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and his mom Anzu, Kinji thought he would finally have a peaceful life. However, he soon found himself in a place called the Velvet Room, where a strange man named Igor warned him of something terrible that would come. Passing off the Velvet Room as a dream, Kinji and Kotetsu went to the former's new high school, Daiki High School, to receive his uniform and class I.D.

What kind of experience will Kinji experience on his first day of school? And would he ever see Igor again? Let's find out…

'Shibuya, Evening'

Nightlife in Shibuya was rather crowded.

People were strolling the streets.

Businesses that were usually closed in the daytime were booming.

Overall, Shibuya was as lively as ever.

Inside one of these tall buildings, a board meeting was currently underway.

"... And with this quarter's projections, we may be looking at a boom in profits." A young man explained to his fellow colleagues, pointing to a powerpoint that showed the quarterly projections.

"I see. Thank you, Amamiya." Sitting at the end of the table was a much older man, who seemed to be the CEO of the company. "Is there anything more we need to discuss?" No one seemed to have anything else to add. "Then the meeting adjourned. We'll continue this tomorrow. Good night, everyone." With that, the rest of the board members began to stand up and exit the room, with only the CEO and his assistant lagging behind.

"Kurosaki-san? Are you feeling alright?" The assistant asked in concern, noticing the CEO taking off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes.

"I'm alright, Sango-chan." Kurosaki replied with a smile. "Old age hasn't been kind to me."

*Vroom*Vroom*

Kurosaki felt a vibration in his pocket. Taking out his phone, he frowned as he saw the caller ID before hanging up.

"You should go home, Sango-chan. I know you mentioned your daughter's 12th birthday." Kurosaki told her as he stood up.

"Are you sure nothing is wrong, sir? That call seemed to anger you." Sango couldn't help but ask with a frown, noticing the strange behavior from her boss.

"Just something personal. Please don't concern yourself with it." Kurosaki waved off her doubt as he walked over to the large window, looking out at the night sky. "One more day…"

However, just as he said this, a feeling of pain suddenly coursed through his chest, causing him to gasp. "Guah!"

"Kurosaki-san?" Sango widened her eyes as she saw Kurosaki clutch his chest. "Kurosaki-san, what's wrong?!"

"No… why… what's…" Kurosaki suddenly began to cough heavily, though rather than blood, some kind of black liquid escaped his mouth and eyes. "Who's doing this?!"

"Yes, hello! I need a doctor!" Sango began calling for help as more black liquid seeped out of her boss. "He's… I don't know what's wrong! Please, hurry!"

"San… go… chan…" Kurosaki managed to say as he looked at her. "Tab… let… don't… Let… take…" Before she could reach, Kurosaki suddenly began banging against the window, each strike cracking through it.

"Kurosaki-san! Don't do it!" Sango began to shed tears as two security guards and a doctor rushed into the room.

"Sir, step away from the window!" One of the guards urged, seeing how close the window was to shattering.

"I… can't…" Was all he was able to say before he slammed against the window one more time, causing it to shatter completely. Sango screamed in horror as the security guards rushed over to try and rescue Kurosaki.

Unfortunately, they were too late as he practically jumped out the window, falling towards the ground.

The last thing Eijiro Kurosaki saw was the pavement closing in on him.

And then… nothing.

'4/11, Cafe Midnight'

Kinji stood in front of a full length mirror, checking out his new school uniform. It consisted of a white button down shirt under a brown blazer with the Daiki High insignia over the left breast, dark pants, a red tie and a pair of black shoes.

"Not bad." Kinji muttered to himself, admiring the school uniform. He had to admit, it was a solid uniform to wear. Not too tight, but not too loose. Plus, he didn't feel all that hot or cold while wearing it.

Much to his relief, when he went to sleep the other night, he didn't have that weird dream about Igor or the Velvet Room. Which meant that it was most likely just a bad dream. Probably due to stress.

"Here's hoping." As interesting a dream as that was, Kinji knew he had to focus on getting to school on time. Taking out his phone, he saw that it was 7:24, which meant he had a little over an hour to get to Daiki High. Grabbing his book back, Kinji did one last check up on his appearance before he went downstairs.

"Morning, kid." Sitting at the bar was Kotetsu, who lowered his crossword puzzle and smirked at Kinji. "Looking good. A lot better than how I looked when I was your age."

"Are you going to school, Kinji-kun?" Anzu asked rhetorically before she scooped up some curry and put it on a plate. "Have a seat. I'll feed you."

"That's okay, Kaburagi-san. I wouldn't want to impose." Kinji politely told her, only to shake her head.

"It wouldn't feel right to let you go to school on an empty stomach." Anzu reassured him while setting the plate. "How do you like your coffee?"

"Coffee with curry?" Kinji raised a brow, but he answered regardless. "I like it black with some cream." Anzu smiled and began brewing the coffee. Kinji took a seat and began eating his curry, once again enjoying the mixture of flavors from the meal.

"And in other news, tragedy struck Kurosaki Group as its CEO, Eijiro Kurosaki, passed away last night." A news reporter on the TV said, catching Kinji's attention. "Eyewitness reports claim mister Kurosaki experienced a Psychotic Break, smashing the window in his office and falling to his death."

"Psychotic Break?" Kinji muttered in confusion, something Kotetsu heard.

"Yeah. It's kinda been happening for a while now." Kotetsu started to explain with a frown. "Apparently, people have been losing their minds lately. Some even leak out some weird black sludge or something."

"What makes it worse is that some have even claimed their own lives." Anzu added on with a sad tone. "I remember hearing about a car accident last year that took the life of a young high schooler. He was barely starting his first year there. Poor dear."

"Yeah… that's why some people are worried they might be next. If that happened to Kaede…" Kotetsu suddenly tightened his grip on his crossword puzzle, to which Kinji noticed.

'Kaede? His mom mentioned her the night before. I wonder who she is?' As curious as Kinji was, judging from Kotetsu's expression, it was someone close to him. Which meant now might not be a good time to ask.

"And last week, a train operator was affected and accidentally crashed into another train. It was truly horrible." Anzu finished pouring the cream onto Kinji's coffee before placing it in front of him. "Make sure to be careful, okay Kinji-kun?"

"Right. I will." Kinji picked up his cup and drank his coffee, only to gasp in shock. "This is delicious! And it doesn't affect the flavor of the curry."

"Mom's pretty amazing, huh?" Kotetsu's smile returned to his face as he nudged Kinji. "You know, since you're living here, maybe she can give you some pointers."

"Only if you want, Kinji-kun. I could certainly use the help." Anzu offered with a kind tone. Kinji said nothing as he continued to eat his breakfast. While he knew he didn't need to pay rent, it might be nice to help out every once in a while to repay Anzu and Kotetsu for their hospitality.

After finishing his breakfast, Kinji put his hands together. "Thank you for the meal." He said with a grateful tone before he stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Have a good day at school, kid. And make sure you say hi to Chiba-chan when you see her~" Kotetsu said with a teasing tone, making Kinji groan a bit. He made the unfortunate mistake of telling Kotetsu about his quick encounter with one Erika Chiba. After telling him that she was a girl, Kotetsu began to tease him nonstop, and only ceased because Anzu intervened. Giving a small farewell, Kinji left the cafe as Kotetsu's smile softened. "You think he'll be alright?"

"I'm sure of it." Anzu reassured her son before she giggled a bit. "You took a liking to him."

"He seems like a good kid. I just can't see him causing trouble." Kotetsu put the paper down as he fixed his hat. "I gotta head to work. See you later, mom."

"Goodbye, dear." Anzu waved her son goodbye as he also left.

She just hoped that everything would be alright for the two.

'Aoyama-Itchome'

Remembering the route Kotetsu had told him, Kinji was able to take the Ginza Line towards the Aoyama-Itchome district, which seemed to be the closest to Daiki High. However, one thing he noticed was how packed the train ride was. Even this early in the morning, there were still so many people who needed to take the train to their destination.

'Unlike back home, it felt like we were sardines packed in a can.' Kinji thought to himself in slight annoyance before he exited the train station, the sunlight hitting his skin. He rolled his neck as he saw several students walking past him, some wearing the Daiki High uniform. Taking out his phone, he noticed that he still had a good twenty-so minutes before the first period. "Better get going." Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kinji began to make his way towards his new school.

However, as he was walking, he heard a strange commotion going on behind him. Along with what sounded like someone screaming.

"... UT! LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT!" Turning his head, Kinji's eyes widened as he saw a blur rushing towards him.

*SMACK*

*CRASH*

"AHHH!" Before he could act, the blur suddenly bumped into him, causing Kinji to fall on his butt. Doing his best to ignore the pain, Kinji stood up and dusted himself off. "Hey, watch where your-"

"Ummmm… a little help here?!" However, as he was about to give his assailant a piece of his mind, Kinji realized that the person who bumped into him accidentally crashed into a nearby trash can, his upper body stuck inside while his legs flailed around. His bicycle was also present, lying on its side as the wheel turned.

Kinji stared at the strange person stuck in the can with a sweatdrop, hearing some off handed comments from those passing by. Seeing as no one was going to help, Kinji let out a sigh before he went over and wrapped his arms around the person's waist.

"I'm gonna pull you out. You try to push on three." Kinji informed him. "One… Two… Three!" Kinji pulled as hard as he could, feeling the person in the can pushing back as well. Fortunately, he was able to free the person inside, getting a better look at him.

"FREEDOM!" The person that crashed into Kinji was another teenager, though he seemed to be half a foot shorter than him. He had green eyes and messy ash blonde hair with bangs in front of his forehead, as well as a single strand protruding upwards from the center of his head. He also has a black headband with a red colored four-pointed star with three stitches on the back of it.

What caught Kinji's attention was his attire, which was the Daiki High uniform, though the front of the blazer was unbuttoned, showing off his white shirt. He also had some strange black shoes with a white tip.

Rolling his arms, the teenager finally noticed Kinji before giving him a grin. "Thanks for the help, man! I thought I was gonna be stuck in there forever."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Kinji said with a sweatdrop before noticing some trash on the teen's hair. "Ummm, you still got a bit of…"

"Huh?" The teen touched his head and felt the trash, brushing it off before smelling his head. "Ugh. That stinks. And I just washed my hair…" Frowning in disappointment, the teen suddenly had an idea as he reached into his bookbag(which was strangely identical to Kinji's, minus a small keychain of some anime character). "I know I packed it in here… a-ha!" He proudly took out a can of what appeared to be body spray.

"I don't think you should use-" Kinji's warning went unheard as the teen began spraying the top of his head… a little too much as a comedic cloud of body spray covered them. It was too much as the two began to cough.

"There… I think that's *cough*cough* good enough!" The teen proudly said as he stopped spraying, putting the can away. Once the smell died down, the teen looked at Kinji with a curious expression. "Hang on… I don't think I saw you last semester. Are you new?"

"Yeah. I just transferred to Daiki." Kinji answered while fixing his bangs a little. "And I'm guessing you're a student too."

"Yup! I'm a second year!" The teen answered before his eyes widened. "Oh yeah! The first period's gonna start soon! We should get going!" Grabbing his bike, the teen looked around before noticing an alleyway. "Here's a shortcut! Come on!" With that, he began to run towards the alleyway. Deciding to trust the strange teen, Kinji quickly ran to catch up to him. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Tohyama. Kinji Tohyama. I'm also a second year." Kinji decided to introduce himself, making the other teen grin at him.

"That's a cool name." The teen then jabbed a thumb towards himself. "The name's Asta Staria, but you can call me Asta. Can I call you Kinji?"

"Ummm… sure?" Kinji didn't think Asta was a bad guy. A little odd, yes, but overall, he seemed like a decent guy.

Hell, maybe they could be friends. After all, he had weirder friends back in Kyoto.

Soon, the two arrived in the pathway leading up to Daiki High, with a few students passing by.

"Huh. It really was a shortcut." Kinji confessed with a slightly surprised tone.

"Told ya! I found it back in November. Man, all the times I was almost late, this shortcut saved my bacon." Asta explained with a sigh before he straightened up. "Anyways, we should get going before the first bell. I think we have a morning assembly for the new students, like you." He then turned towards Kinji. "Do you know where the auditorium is?"

"Not really. I didn't get the chance to tour the school yesterday." Kinji admitted while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, no need to worry, Kinji! I'll show you where it is!" Asta declared while pounding his chest. "After school, I can show you around if you want. Hey, how cool would it be if we were in the same class? I know I'm in class 2-D. What about you?"

"I'm not too sure. I have to meet my homeroom teacher." Kinji answered before rubbing his chin. "I know it's a guy. Mister… Kun… Kou…"

"Oh! You mean mister Kunikida-sensei?" Asta cut in, causing Kinji to widen his eyes as he nodded. "He's a bit strict, but he's not a bad teacher. I had him for summer school last year." Then, Asta's expression turned a bit dark as his smile lost a bit of emotion. "He made sure I knew all my equations by heart. I can still see them in my dreams."

Kinji couldn't help but sweatdrop at Asta's reaction. 'Here's hoping that's just an over exaggeration.' He thought as the two reached the front of the school.

"Hmmm? Is that you, Staria?" The two teens stopped when a larger figure stood in front of them. It was a man who stood at least a foot above Kinji, with pale skin, hard black eyes, short light brown hair and a noticeable scar over his right eyebrow. He wore what looked like a security guard outfit: a light blue button down shirt with a black vest, dark pants, matching color shoes and a cap.

"O-Oh. Hi, Sato-san." Asta greeted the older man, Kinji noticing a slight flinch in his tone.

"Running late again, are you?" The man known as Sato asked. "It's barely the start of the new semester. You shouldn't make coming to school late a habit." He then noticed Kinji and narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"

"I'm a new student here." Kinji answered, giving the man a look. For some reason, there was an air of hostility Sato was emitting, which confused Kinji.

Sato stared at him for a few seconds before he started to walk past them. "Just get inside before the first bell. I don't wanna write you up for being tardy." With that, he left.

"Who the hell was that?" Kinji asked Asta. "And why was he giving me the death glare?"

"That's Sato-san. He's the school's security guard." Asta told him with a sigh as he started to wheel his bike towards the bike rack. "He's been working here since before I came along, and he's kind of a scary guy."

"Yeah. I can tell that much. Do you two have some kind of history?" Kinji questioned as Asta parked his bike.

"Well… kinda. He busted me for coming late a few times last year, and he's a real hardass." Asta explained as he locked his bike in. "I don't know why he's like that, and I even see him being hard on other people. He treats the school like a prison and he's the warden or something. But I don't know what any of us did to make him so mean!" As Asta continued, Kinji took in every word, not noticing the sound of a ping coming from his phone. "Look, I say try not to do anything to piss him off."

"Noted." Kinji sighed, not wanting to cross the security guard again after their first encounter.

Just as he took his first step towards the school…

*Thump*Thump*

"Ahhh…" Kinji suddenly felt a wave of vertigo hit him as he held his head in pain. And it seemed like he wasn't the only one as Asta also stumbled a bit.

"Owwww… What the hell? Did I hit my head harder than I thought?" Asta groaned as he tried to get over the migraine. Fortunately for the two, the migraine didn't last long, allowing them to get their bearings.

'What was that? Am I coming down with something?' Kinji thought as he rubbed his forehead a bit before he opened his eyes.

However, the moment he did, he found something that he never thought he would see.

"... What the hell?"

"What's up, Kinji? Butterflies… in… your…" As Asta spoke, he turned towards the school…

Or at least, where Daiki High SHOULD be.

Instead of the large, familiar school the two had just seen just a moment ago, the two saw what could only be described as a large maximum security prison. It easily towered over the buildings of Shibuya, with large spotlights flashing around the strangely red skies. There were also large gates with barbed wires near the top.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL IS GOING ON?!" Asta shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets as he looked at the new building. "WHERE'S THE SCHOOL?! AND WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!"

"This has to be some kind of prank or something." Kinji theorized, his shock being a lot more tame compared to Asta's. "Maybe your body spray's messing with our minds?"

"No way would that happen! I sprayed my face before and none of it made me go crazy!" Asta told him while showing off the body spray, though this made Kinji sweatdrop a bit. "In any case, I know the way to school like the back of my hand, and I'm telling you THIS is the right way! But…" He looked around and saw the school's sign on the wall. "It says this is our school, so maybe we should go in."

"I don't know. It doesn't look sa-what are you doing?!" Kinji watched as Asta went over to the large wooden doors in the front of the building and pulled it open before entering. Letting out a groan, Kinji quickly went after him.

Once they entered the building, they realized that it looked just as bizarre as it did outside. The interior looked very much like what a prison would look like, including several metal detectors and even several spotlights near the ceiling.

"What the hell?! It looks even more weird inside than outside! Did the drama club have a show or something?!" Asta shouted, even more confused by the strange interior.

"Maybe we did take a wrong turn somewhere." Kinji suggested.

"Let me check." Asta took out his phone and turned it on, only to frown. "Hey. There's no service!" He then tried pressing the map app, yet much to his shock, it didn't open. "And I can't even use my freaking apps!"

"HALT!" The two jumped when a loud, distorted voice called out to them. Running towards them were a group of prison guards, or at least, what looked like prison guards. Their attire looked like something from a prison, yet their bodies were completely dark, and they had strange masks over their faces, concealing their identities. "Why are the two of you out at this time? You know yard time isn't until the afternoon!"

"Yard time? And what's with the costumes?" Asta asked with a head tilt as he walked up to one of the guards. "Wait… is this a prank? Are we being punked?"

"Asta, I don't think it's a prank." Kinji warned him, getting a bad feeling from the masked men.

"Look, we still gotta get to the assembly." Asta explained as he prepared to walk through the guards. "So if you guys can-"

*WHACK*

"AHHHH!" Asta gasped in pain as one of the masked men suddenly took out a baton and jabbed it hard into his stomach, causing him to kneel down.

"AST-AHHH!" Kinji couldn't finish as he was struck in the back of his legs, causing him to fall forward.

"QUIET, MAGGOTS! NO TALKING BACK!" The guard behind Kinji shouted, spinning his baton.

"All prisoners know to stay in their cells. Otherwise, you'll face severe punishment." Another guard explained in a serious tone.

"Owww… seriously… What the hell kind of prank is this?!" Asta groaned as he looked up and glared at the guards. Maybe they WEREN'T the drama club after all, if that gutshot was any indication.

"What's going on here?" A distorted, yet oddly familiar voice called out. Almost immediately, the guards all lined up in a straight line while giving a salute to someone walking towards them. Asta and Kinji looked at who was coming… only to gasp in shock.

"SATO-SAN?!" Asta yelled as he stared at the newcomer.

It was indeed Sato the security guard, yet his attire was completely different.

He wore an olive green military outfit with a long cape, matching colored pants, black military boots, a dark belt with a gold belt buckle, black gloves, several medals stitched over the left side of his chest, and a green cap with a red belt on it. What made things even stranger was the fact that his dark eyes were changed to a glowing gold-like color.

"WARDEN, SIR!" The guards all greeted him out of respect.

"Why are you all causing a commotion at this time?" 'Sato' ordered in an annoyed tone before he finally noticed Asta and Kinji, causing him to raise a brow. "Oh? It seems we have some escapees in our midst."

"Hold on! Why are you here?! And why are you dressed like t-OOOF!" Asta began to question, only for one of the guards to kick him in the head.

"SILENCE! You talk when the warden WANTS you to talk, maggot!" The guard warned as the others stared at the downed teen.

"Tch. So it had to be the idiot, huh?" Sato scoffed while giving Asta a look of disgust. "Take them to a cell. I'll sort out their punishment soon."

"Hold on! You can't do this!" Kinji shouted while giving Sato a glare.

"Yes I can. And you know why?" Sato started before giving a grin. "Because I'm the warden."

*Smack*

Kinji was struck hard in the back of his head, causing him to gasp as he started to lose consciousness and fall forward.

"KIN-"

*Thud*

'Sometime later'

"... Hey…"

"... HEY…"

"WAKE UP, KINJI!"

Hearing his name being called, Kinji slowly began to wake up as he opened his eyes, only to see Asta kneeled down next to him with a concerned look on his face.

"Ahhhh… A-Asta?" Kinji groggily muttered as his vision slowly became more clear.

"Phew. I was worried they hit you too hard." Asta sighed in relief as Kinji pushed himself up from the strange bed he was lying on. Doing so caused Kinji to hold his head in pain. "Hey, you okay?"

"My head hurts… what happened?" Kinji rubbed his forehead a bit before he finally took in his surroundings.

Instead of the lobby, the two were now inside what looked like a prison cell. Complete with chains on the wall, tall bars, two metal beds, a dirty sink, and of all things, a bucket in the corner.

"Did… did anyone…" Kinji stared at the bucket in disgust.

"Huh? Oh no. That bucket was empty when I woke up." Asta reassured him.

"How long was I out for?" Kinji asked as he rubbed the back of his head, only to flinch as it still hurt from the surprise attack.

"No idea. I just woke up a few minutes ago too. Those jerks knocked me out after they hit you." Asta answered while frowned in anger. "I mean what the heck? First the school changes and now Sato-san's some kind of warden? IT MAKES NO SENSE!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kinji and Asta jumped as they heard a scream from somewhere.

"There's other people in here?!" Asta quickly ran to the bars and tried to look through them, but they were too tight. "Hey! Is anyone there?!"

"Shhhhh! Don't go screaming too much!" Kinji quickly shushed Asta. "If those guards or whatever are still here, we have to be careful."

"Yeah, but…" As much as it frustrated Asta that he couldn't help whoever was here, he knew that Kinji was right. Taking a deep breath, he gave Kinji an apologetic look. "Okay. Sorry."

Kinji gave him an understanding nod. "First, we need to find a way out of here. Then, we can try finding whoever was screaming. And after we get outside, we can tell the police what Sato's been up to."

"Right. Great plan!" Asta nodded eagerly before he grabbed the bars and began trying to pull them open. "I… think… I can… pull… them… open… just… A LITTLE!" Kinji sweatdropped as he saw how hard it was for Asta to try and pry the bars open.

"I'll… try to find a way out for us. You just take a break." Kinji said before he began examining his surroundings, hoping to find some flaw in the design. 'It's almost like that room I was in with Igor. No. There's no time to think about that.' Shaking his head, Kinji began weighing his options. 'Obviously, we can use those chains on the wall, and we definitely can't use them to break down the wall. There's no window for us to climb through and even if there was, how would we cut through those bars?' He kneeled down and looked under the bed, only to frown. 'Nope. No secret tunnel underneath. There has to be something we can do.' Standing back up, Kinji decided to try and use his phone to try and see if he had a better signal.

However, as he turned on his phone, he found that the only thing that was open was that weird app that refused to be deleted.

'Seriously? Why is THAT the only thing that works?' Kinji thought as he saw the app pulse like a heart. 'Maybe-'

"Kinji." Asta suddenly whispered in a serious tone, snapping Kinji out of his thoughts as he looked at his friend. "I hear someone coming." The two stepped away from the bars as the sound of multiple footsteps echoed closer.

Soon, a group of guards arrived at their cell. "Be grateful your punishment has been decided, inmates." One of the guards informed them. "For attempted escape and disrespect towards authority, the warden has sentenced you to death."

This caused Kinji and Asta to gasp in horror. ""WHAT?!" Asta shouted in anger. "THAT'S NOT RIGHT! YOU CAN'T JUST KILL ANYONE!"

"Oh, but I can." The guards stepped aside as Sato walked up to the cell, an arrogant smirk on his face. "You thought you could do as you pleased in my prison."

"But this isn't a prison! What did you do to change the school?!" Asta questioned, only for one of the guards to smack the cell to scare him away.

"It seems you still don't know how to speak to a superior." Sato said before looking at one of the guards. "Execute them!" Nodding, the guard went over and began unlocking the cell.

"Hey… don't do it!" Asta urged, only to be ignored as the cell was unlocked, allowing the guards to enter and block their only way out. The guards then began to surround Asta, with one looking over Kinji. Clenching his fist, Asta gave a determined glare. "I WON'T LET YOU!" Without warning, Asta quickly rushed in and tackled one of the guards, knocking him on his back. "Kinji, let's go!"

"You little!" One of the other guards rushed in and smacked Asta in the head with his baton, causing him to stagger to the ground.

"Stop!" Kinji tried to move in to help, only for the guard watching over him to kick him into the bed.

"Trying to fight for a comrade. I almost respect that." Sato confessed as two of his guards picked up Asta by his arms. "Too bad it's a wasted effort, especially for a runt like him." Walking up to the shorter teen, Sato took out a crop stick from his waist before smacking Asta in the face. "Disrespectful brat!" He smacked Asta once again, leaving a red mark on his right cheek. "Idiotic trash!" Using his free hand, Sato punched Asta in the stomach, causing him to fall over and spit out saliva. "You had so much energy before, runt. Where is it?"

"Y-You… bas… tard…" Asta tried to push himself up, only for one of the guards to grab him by the hair and toss him against the wall.

"Hmmm. How disappointing. I was actually hoping for more of a fight." Sato said while spitting on the floor. "Kill him. We need as much room as possible for the next prisoners."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kinji got back on his feet, something Sato noticed. "You don't have any right to kill anyone!"

"Another disrespectful inmate." Sato marched over to Kinji, glaring into his brown eyes. Rather than flinch, Kinji stood his ground. "Tch. How annoying!" Grabbing him by the collar, Sato roughly tossed Kinji to the other wall. "Keep him down. He needs to see his little friend die before it's his turn." Two guards used their batons to keep Kinji in place, pressing them against his throat.

"I'm… I'm not…" Asta gritted his teeth as he tried to stand up, only for the pain to keep him down. "I'm not… d-dying here…"

Sato merely grinned in joy as he nodded towards another of the guards… who ended up taking out a handgun.

"Time to put this little bug out of his misery."

Kinji just couldn't believe this was actually happening.

He had lost his parents, his brother, and his life back in Kyoto.

He came to Shibuya to try and start a new life, with new people.

But now? Now he was about to be executed by the school's security guard, in a prison that looked like something straight out of a manga.

And the worst part about it? He couldn't do anything to help save Asta or himself from this fate.

'No… No…. not…. Not again…' Kinji thought as sweat ran down his head.

This was all too familiar to him…

"Kinji, I need you to stay here." A male, a bit older than Kinji himself, ordered, kneeling down in front of his brother as a large fire engulfed the building in front of them.

"But… what about you?" Kinji asked, a very worrying feeling in his stomach as his brother looked back at the flames.

"There are people still inside, and the fire department isn't here yet." Kinichi replied with a serious tone, making Kinji widen his eyes. "Someone has to go help them."

"But you can't!" Kinji begged while grabbing his brother's sleeve. "If you go, you'll end up dying too! Let me go with you!"

"No." Kinichi removed Kinji's hand from his sleeve, giving him a soft smile. "I wouldn't be much of a big brother if I let you die." He stood up and gave Kinji a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I'll be back." With that, he rushed inside the burning building. Kinji waited, clenching his hand in fear as he waited for Kinichi to come back.

But… he couldn't just let him do it alone. If he did, then he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Hardening his resolve, Kinji stood up and rushed towards the building…

*Boom*

However, before he could even reach it, an explosion erupted from inside the building, sending him flying back and rendering Kinji unconscious.

'I hesitated before, and my brother died because of it. Now someone else is going to die and I can't do anything?! Why does this happen?!' Kinji felt so frustrated. In the situation they were in. In the number of guards that were blocking their way.

But above all else, he was frustrated at how pathetic he was.

"This is truly an unjust world. Your chances of survival are almost none." A female voice called out to Kinji as the same butterfly from before flew in front of him, though no one seemed to notice.

"But if my voice is reaching you, there may still be a possibility open to you…"

"What's the matter, boy? Are you simply going to watch him die? Repeat the same tragedy that befell you once before?"

A new voice, this one being male, called out to Kinji, who looked around to find him. Yet, he couldn't find the source of the voice.

"No… No, I don't want that…" Kinji muttered, flashes of what happened before appearing in his eyes. One of the guards lifted Asta's head up as the other aimed the gun at his forehead.

"Good. I hear your resolve."

*Thump*Thump*

Kinji's eyes widened as he felt a surge of pain in the back of his head.

"So many criminals pollute this world, molding it into their very own playground. Treating others as nothing more than stepping stools. That cannot continue. There must be one who will stand up for them and reveal the true nature of these degenerates!"

The pain continued to grow as Kinji flailed around, his hands punching the wall behind him in an attempt to make it stop.

"I am thou, thou art I…"

"Thou who will solve the world's greatest mysteries, facing its most dangerous criminals! Call upon my name and we will solve it together!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kinji screamed at the top of his lungs, finally catching the attention of Asta and Sato.

"Tch. It seems someone is too afraid to die." Sato mockingly said before his smirk returned. "Fine then. You will be the first to die."

"NO!" Asta called out as he tried to move, only for the guard to pull him back. The guard with the gun went over and aimed it at Kinji, whose head suddenly slouched.

"DO IT! BREAK THROUGH AND SHOW THESE FOOLS YOUR TRUE SELF!"

"Yes… do it…" Kinji whispered, finally accepting the disembodied voice's offer.

Just as the guard was about to pull the trigger, a burst of wind suddenly shot out of Kinji, pushing away the guards. Sato and Asta gasped in shock as Kinji stood on his feet, his bangs shadowing his expression.

Kinji then raised his head, only to have what looked to be a mask on his face. It was completely black and covered his eyes, with a red outline around the eye holes and jagged edges.

'Wait… this is… a mask?' Kinji thought as he reached out to touch it, feeling the porcelain material along his fingers. However, there was only one thing on his mind.

Ripping this damn mask off!

Grabbing the mask with both hands, Kinji began to pull on it. However, much to his surprise, it felt like the mask itself was glued into his skin. Normally, that would signal red flags in Kinji's head, but he was so desperate to remove the damn thing that he began to pull on it.

'Harder! PULL… IT… OFF!' With a scream, Kinji tore the mask clean off, tearing off his skin as blood gushed in the air. Everyone stared at Kinji as he looked at them with a malicious grin, as if the pain of ripping off the mask didn't affect him.

*BOOM*

*Insert Persona 5 - Will Power*

To make things even crazier, blue flames suddenly engulfed Kinji's body, followed by the sound of dark laughter in the air.

"What… What is going on?!" Sato questioned as the flames suddenly began to take form, hovering over Kinji.

"K-Kinji…" Asta muttered, seeing Kinji's normally brown eyes glowing gold through the flames, as if he was transforming in some action anime.

Soon, the flames around Kinji started to disappear, revealing a brand new attire. Rather than the school uniform, Kinji now donned a rather dark attire: a long black trench coat with several golden buttons on both side, black pants with a red line on each side, a dark gray colored shirt underneath his coat, a pair of combat boots with dark red laces, dark blue gloves with metal squares on his knuckles and a hood over his head.

Standing proudly above Kinji, with chains swirling around in the air, was a tall human-like creature. Its skin was completely made out of fog, with the exception of its mouth and eyes, which were an eerie red and a mask identical to Kinji's was worn on its face. It wore a large tan checker trench coat with a dark blue vest, a brown detective cap, white shirt underneath, tan pants, black heeled shoes, a crimson scarf around its neck, a lit pipe in its left hand and a long cane in its right hand.

The strange creature pulled its cane back before swinging it, the strength from said swing was enough to send all the guards and Sato flying into the wall.

"I am the world's greatest detective, Holmes." The creature announced as he took a puff from his pipe, blowing out smoke in the air.

"Wha… wha… what?" Asta muttered, completely at awe of what had just happened.

"I am your hardened resolve manifested. Should you desire it, I shall give you the power needed to survive this encounter." Holmes continued, looking down at Kinji.

"Let's do it. Give me your power, Holmes!" Kinji practically ordered with a determined expression, causing Holmes to laugh.

"Good! Then let us show these criminals our resolve!" Holmes pointed his cane towards Sato, who finally stood up while glaring at Kinji.

"I don't know what this is, but none of you are escaping!" Sato shouted as his guards managed to stand up, protecting their 'warden' from the strange being. "Kill them!"

Suddenly, the masks on the guards burst out, causing their bodies to turn into black ooze. Soon, the ooze took form and became strange floating creatures that resembled jack-o-lanterns, complete with a witch's hat, a small robe and a lantern in its only hand.

"Remember, boy. My power is your power. Kill them however you please. None will stand in our way!" Holmes said as Kinji got in a stance. He didn't know why, but he knew what kind of powers Holmes possessed.

"Kouha!" Kinji ordered as Holmes' pipe transformed into a ball of light. With a flick of his wrist, he launched the ball at one of the jack-o-lanterns, causing it to fly into the cell bars. The other one took the initiative and charged towards Kinji, pulling back its lantern.

"Dodge it, and use your knife!"

'My knife?' Kinji thought as he jumped back to dodge the attack. Reaching into his pocket, Kinji was surprised when he pulled out what looked like a butterfly knife with a white handle. 'When did I get-no. Now's not the time to ask questions. I have to fight!' Taking out the red blade with finesse he didn't know he had, Kinji rushed in and slashed the jack-o-lantern twice, doing some impressive damage. However, this allowed the jack-o-lantern from before to launch a fireball, striking the teen as he was pushed back a little. Much to his relief, aside from some pain, he wasn't set on fire or sustained any burns.

"Good, good! Now you're learning!" Holmes complimented before his demonic grin grew. "What say we end this?"

"Slash them, Holmes!" Holmes grabbed his cane with both hands before pulling it apart, revealing a hidden sword within. Rushing forward, Holmes swung the blade at both jack-o-lanterns twice, causing them to dissolve. A faint light began to float towards Kinji, allowing him to grab it. Looking at his hand, Kinji was surprised to see that it was a few Yen coins and a 100 Yen bill. "Money?" Holmes began to glow before he disappeared, the mask Kinji tore off before returning to his face.

"Holy shit, dude…" Asta muttered as he finally found his voice, standing back up. "How… what… where did that all come from?! And what happened to your clothes?!"

"My clothes?" It finally dawned on Kinji that he was dressed in all new clothes. "The hell?! What am I wearing?!"

"You damn inmates!" Sato called out, clearly angry at what just happened. "How dare you-"

"RRRAAAAAHHHHH!" Asta suddenly rushed in and tackled Sato, causing him to crash into the wall. Kinji looked down and saw a key ring that Sato dropped, prompting him to quickly pick it up.

"Let's go!" Kinji told him as the two rushed out of the cell, closing the door behind them. Using the key ring, Kinji was able to find the right one and quickly locked the door.

"Good thinking, man! Now he won't be able to get out!" Asta complemented his friend. "Now, about your clothes-"

Just as Asta said this, blue flames quickly flashed around Kinji, with his costume being replaced by his school clothes.

"Huh. How did it-"

*BANG*

The two jumped as Sato rushed over and slammed his fists into the bars. "LET ME OUT, YOU MAGGOTS!" Sato shouted in anger.

"This is way too crazy." Asta muttered before an idea popped in his mind. "Let's get out of here! I'll follow you" Kinji nodded before the two quickly ran away, ignoring Sato's angry rant. As the two ran, they noticed that they were in a cell block, with multiple prisoners inside and even a few bloody chains hung from the ceiling.

'It looks just like a horror movie set. Where did this all come from?' Kinji thought as he and Asta turned the corner, only to see two guards were looking around with flashlights. "Back, back, back!" The two quickly ran the other way, finding a door that didn't have anyone guarding it, as well as a sign above that said 'exit.' "The exit's this way." However, as they ran towards the door, Kinji began to slow down, panting a bit.

"Kinji?" Asta quickly stopped and rushed over to Kinji's side. "What's wrong?!"

"Tired… so tired." Kinji told him, wiping away some sweat as Asta put his arm around his shoulders. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You saved us back there." Asta replied with a smile. "When we get out of this, let's get a beef bowl on me. Okay?"

"Sure. Whatever you say." Despite the situation they were in, Kinji couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Maybe Asta was just that positive of a guy, even after getting the crap beaten out of him. Reaching the door, Kinji gave Asta the key ring, which he began to use in order to unlock it…

Only for the door to open on its own.

"What the?" Much to their horror, two new guards walked through the door, noticing them. "INMATES!"

"Shit!" Asta quickly turned Kinji around and began to walk as fast as he could, only for one of the guards to quickly block their way. Soon, they found themselves surrounded, the guards slowly closing in. "Kinji? Think you can call that Holmes guy again?"

"I don't know how to." Kinji confessed in frustration. If only he wasn't so damn exhausted!

"No one escapes!" One of the guards prepared to strike them, unaware of the sound of footsteps behind them. Before they could strike..

*Slash*

Something slashed through the guard, causing them to dissolve. A figure leaped from the darkness and landed in front of the other guard, protecting Kinji and Asta.

"Stand back." The person who jumped in to help was a young girl that looked to be around their age, with auburn hair, two locks of hair extending down on her chest. Her attire consisted of a seemingly red-and-black, European-styled dress layered above a white, frilled dress, both reaching down to her thighs, as well as fur brown boots, brown gloves, a red bow around her neck, a shoulder guard over her right shoulder, and a broadsword in hand, with a scabbard on her left hip.

However, the strangest things about the girl were the two tanuki-like ears on her head and bushy tail on her rear.

"Who are you?!" The guard questioned angrily. "Helping an inmate is punishable by death!" He attempted to hit the girl, only for her to sidestep and stab him through the chest with her chest.

"How about YOU disappear?" She whispered before pulling her sword back, causing the guard to dissolve. Letting out a sigh of relief, the girl swung her sword before putting it back in its scabbard. Once the danger was gone, she turned towards Kinji and Asta, allowing them to see her pinkish red eyes behind a black masquerade mask with a feathery outline on her face. "Are you two okay?"

"... Who the hell are you?!" Asta blurted out in complete confusion.

Just like that, things got a lot more weird.

Phew! Second chapter is done!

Yes, I know that this chapter felt more like a copy of Persona 5, but it was the easier point of reference for a first palace. But I will try to make it as original as possible. As for the palace rulers, they will all be original characters. Sorry if you guys wanted anime villains from other series, but this is the best course of action at the moment.

I'm sure you guys are wondering what Holmes is based on. Well… it's literally Sherlock Holmes, the world's best detective. Some of you might wonder why I decided to use him as Kinji's first Persona.

Well… a bit of a spoiler for those who haven't seen Aria the Scarlet Ammo, but Kinji's partner in the show, Aria, is actually the descendant of Sherlock Holmes. In the manga, he even appears as an antagonist, so I thought using him as a Persona would be a nice reference.

Plus, one of my friends loves Sherlock Holmes, so this is for you, TheExcadrillComics!

Now, it's time I discussed Holmes' affinities for everyone! And just a quick note for everyone: I will be using the affinities from both Royal and Reload, so you will see Nuke and Strike damage here.

Strike: Resistant

Slash: Neutral

Gun: Neutral

Fire: Resistant

Ice: Weak

Wind: Neutral

Lightning: Neutral

Nuke: Neutral

Psychic: Immune

Light: Neutral

Dark: Weak

If you guys have any original Persona you wanna see in this story, please let me know. As well as any anime characters who could represent certain Arcana. They don't need to be main members of the Outsiders, but their skills could help.

Next time: Horns of rebellion!