Raging Onna-Musha & Guardian King

Ryuko didn't have much experience with family life- or rather, family of her own blood. Growing up, it was just her and her dad, a popular ripperdoc from the big Apple itself. She had fond memories of him, but it was mostly when she was young.

That was before he sent her away to boarding school. Petty bullies were commonplace, so she learned to fight and stand her ground against any gonk who'd try to mess with her. She got good at it, good enough that most punks steered clear of her. She liked winning any bout she got in, and built her image on that. She liked competition, and proving she was the best; she lost a lot of sports and games, but was satisfied with playing drums, guitar, wrestling and… sewing.

One of the guys she knew made fun of her for the last one… she broke his nose.

It wasn't the best time in her life, but it was good. Her father was distant, so she kept occupied with clubs, school and street fights. That changed less than a year ago, when her father called her back to him and they moved to Night City. She punched him in the face… but then hugged him, just glad to have him around in person. That would be the first of many surprises for her.

The second was that he apparently married, leading to her gaining a Stepmother and step sister. Okay, not what she was expecting and not a problem she could punch, so she'd try to get to know them. Get along with them, for her dad.

She did not get along with either of them; her new sister's attitude pissed her off something fierce and they fought every time they met, either with words or blades. She lost all her matches with the latter, but still fought like hell to beat her; scratching up her face was a satisfying memory.

The mother… never uttered a word to her. She just smiled at her. It wasn't a friendly, maternal smile, it was more like the creepy, obsessive look a stalker probably would have for their target of choice. Ryuko was glad she barely spoke with her in private.

She hadn't seen her dad since they spoke, but Ryuko didn't make things easier by fighting with her new… sister. The last real conversation they had was before they came to NC… after that, the last time they met… was when her dad came in, bloodied, bruised and on the brink of death.

Running from those bitches, scavenging for food on the streets, dealing with gangs and grunts all alone… she's never admitted it, but those weeks were the most terrifying times of her life. Night City offered little to orphans or runaways. By some fortune she got in touch with a friend of her dad's: Victor Vector. Best Ripperdoc in the City of Dreams. That led her to meeting the choom that would mean way more to her than her remaining biological family.

He was loud, and abrasive, and annoyed her at first. But he was tuff, honest and willing to back her up, be it in a street brawl or just… talk and rant. He went from being the unwanted roommate to being her second best choom.

She already had a best friend, but Eijiro Kirishima was still someone she'd gladly have by his side.

And he was about to die. The superpowered double of Freed was about to kill him and it was all her fucking fault.

'Are you satisfied with that? To give up on a friend you hold most dear…'

'And now I'm hearing a voice in my head. Perfect.' Ryuko pushed herself up from the ground. Across from her, she could make out Freed - rather the thing that looked and acted like him - attack and torture David. He seemed to be using some sort of psychic attack, Shown as lines and figures of yellow, Cyan and magenta. Whatever it was, David was screaming from it.

'Just another good guy who's gonna die because of me…'

'Is that what you desire? For your Stubborn Heart to cause their demise?'

"No, Hell NO!" Ryuko cried out. "I'm not sure about David, but Eijiro deserves better… a better life than this, a better chooms than this… better than me…"

"Your Stubborn Nature led you here, but also your fear; twice you fled an ally out of fear of what could happen. What would your past self say of that?"

"What do you expect me to say, HUH?!" She slammed her fist into the concrete. "Edge's dead cause of me, and David's gonna join him soon enough. All because I was a damn coward…"

'No, Eijiro still lives, but not for much longer. You cannot change who you are… only the actions you take. If you do not like the outcome, channel your passion, your heart, your stubborn grit, until you come to a result you desire. Question is… will you give up or show your stubborn grit?'

Ryuko got up and glared at Freed, her decision made. No… there was always only one choice for him. Push forward. Be Stubborn. Look Fear in the eye… and rage against it.

She let out a yell as she charged at the Shadow. Freed wasn't paying attention to her, having too much fun screwing with this pissant in his way. He did notice when Ryuko jumped on his back and clawed at his face. "Hey, get off me! You shitty girls should wait your turn-" Ryuko just shut him up with a headbut. When that failed, she did again. And again. She kept doing it until it worked.

"Enough of this SHIT!" Freed grabbed Ryuko by her collar and threw her into the air as hard as he could. As Ryuko was sent flying, blue sparks started to form around her. Those sparks became flames, and then… everything around her burst into flames.

"Ryuko!" David called out; he tried to get up, but was kicked in the gut by Freed, knocking him back down.

"There, now I can punish the shitty heretic, the way God intended. With you screaming for-" As Freed rambled, the flaming body he threw up came back down faster than before. Ryuko crashed back down, hitting Freed hard, and knocking him back.

Her outfit had changed, her shorts, shirt and jacket were replaced with a full body suit, mostly in black with red lines going down her arms, legs and abdomen. Wing shaped crests jut out from both her shoulders. Most of her face was covered by a black oni mask, with yellow eyes, the right eye having a scar over it.

Her mantis blades sprung forth, before morphing, moving from her arms to her hands. They transformed from curved gray blades to the long crimson blades, the kind that combined formed a large pair of scissors. She charged at him, mantis blade aimed right for his face. Freed narrowly deflected the blade, and fought back.

The two of them exchanged blows, Ryuko's twin stingers clashing with Freed's longsword. Freed held her back with his sword. Iron clashing with Iron. Ryuko glared at him, blades alight in slight Azure sparks and wisps of flame. She wanted nothing more than to kill the damn psycho.

"War against armies, Gozen!" As Ryuko cried out, azure flames gathered behind her. They grew in size before dispersing, revealing a figure. It was a tall woman with white hair, red eyes and black horns with burning red tips to them. She wore crimson Japanese armor reminiscent of a samurai, and wielded a crimson sword and spear. Red and blue flames surged from her horns and eyes, showing her passion and rage.

By that point David had recovered and lept into action. He caught Ryuko's hand before she fell off. He then swung them around, until they landed back on the building. They shared a glance, - no words were spoken, just the understanding. They were going to take this fucker down.

"Alright fine, bring It you devilish little shits-" Freed was cut off when dozens of wires wrapped around him. Lubbock was on his feet, binding him.

Freed glared at the verdette, while Lubbock gave a feral grin as Freed fell into his trap. "He's bound! Finish him off now!"

Ryuko's eyes hardened as she landed. She crossed both blades together and roared out. She charged at him, while David joined her, leveling his spear. 'Wind and curse was out, so we'll beat him in melee combat.'

David pierced the mad priest in the stomach, while Ryuko struck in his arm and shoulder. Then, in a coordinated effort, tore him apart, tearing off one of his arms and sending him flying off the roof.

Ryuko landed next to David, standing on shaking legs. With the adrenaline wearing off, she fell to her knees and let out a breath. 'Freed's gone, either dead or not.'

David sighed as he sat down, exhausted from the fight. "Ryuko, you good?"

Ryuko groaned. "No, but I'm alive." Even tired, she didn't forget. "Where's Edge? He was bleeding out wasn't he?"

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Lubbock added in. "Just so you know, faking my death hurts. A lot."

David nodded at that. "Good to hear you're alright, but we got another problem…" He pointed to the pile of rubble where Eijiro was trapped. He could faintly make out Eijiro's hand sticking out from under it all.

David stood up and rushed to the corner of the rooftop where Eijiro was trapped and started pulling debris away. Lubbock used his wires to pull away, getting the rubble off him piece by piece. They kept up until Kirishima was clear. Ryuko forced herself up and joined him in checking her friend.

Eijiro was still breathing. He was out of it, and the chest wound didn't look good. "He needs some meds."

Ryuko pulled out some meds she got from Vic. She was going to use them on herself at some point during the fight but this took precedent. Eijiro's wounds started to heal. She didn't care how it was happening- despite it defying laws of physics or plain common sense- she was just glad it was.

Kirishima groaned as he regained consciousness. He stood up, frantic. "Ryuko, Freed he-" he looked around; instead of the psychotic edgerunner, he saw David, Ryuko and Lubbock. All of them alive, if a bit ruffed up.

"Relax man." Lubbock reassured him. "We beat up Shadow Freed, so he won't be bothering you anymore."

"We?" Ryuko raised an eyebrow at that. "David and I were the ones who beat him up."

"Yeah, but I was the one who pinned him down, giving you guys the chance to finish him off." Lubbock countered.

"Wait a minute. Hang on a sec." Kirishima cut in, he was so confused and the argument wasn't going to clear that up anytime soon. "'Shadow Freed?' The heck does that mean? And what's with Ryuko's outfit?"

Ryuko blinked, looked herself over - now noticing the change in attire - and stammered. "Grk- wha - what the hell?"

David just chucked at that. "You just noticed your new threads now?"

Threads was an understatement. Ryuko's outfit resembled a full body suit she was in. It made her look like some sort of music idol, but with a heavy metal aspect to it.

"Uh…" Ryuko groaned. "I look like some damn runway model."

"Your look could be worse…" Lubbock commented in a carefree tone.

Ryuko's eye twitched at that. "How?"

"Well…" Lubbock thought about what her outfit would look if designed by a pervert. He got his answer and snapped his fingers. "It could be where your chest is barely covered at all. You know the kind that makes people think you're a freaky voyeur."

Ryuko was kneeling at Kirishima's side, but stood up and pulled Eijiro up with her. She then cracked her knuckles and narrowed her eyes at him. "...Just for that image, I'm gonna punch you. I'm going to punch you until I'm satisfied. Kiri, grab him."

"Kay!" Kirishima did as asked. Lubbock argued against it.

"Hey man, not cool!"

"You heard her. You had this coming."

"This violates the bro code!"

"No it doesn't, cause Ryuko's my bro!"

"That is not how bro codes work!"

"Enough!" David cut in, literally with his spear, separating Ryuko from Lubbock. "As fun as this sounds, I wager you guys want legit answers about what the hell's going on."

Kirishama let go of Lubbock, who scrambled to hide behind David. "I would like that."

Ryuko frowned at that but nodded. "Yeah, I'd like some fucking answers!"

David sighed. 'Here we go again…'

_One explanation later_

"So, we're in some meta reality, based on tarot card soul logic?" Ryuko crossed her arms. The four of them moved to another apartment building across from where they were, sitting around a small fire. David explained how he got dragged into the metaverse and started working for Igor, and how Lubbock got dragged into it as well.

"Yeaaah." Lubbock looked a bit sheepish. "I didn't believe him either at first, but I got over it."

Kirishima scratched his head, then looked right at David. "... no wonder you were so vague and sketchy. If you'd mentioned any of this before, I'd have dragged you to Vic's office by force to get your head checked."

David chuckled at that. It sounded exactly like him. "Yeah, I don't doubt that. I wasn't sure how to say it straight without sounding insane."

"And you have a demon patron who wants your soul." Ryuko callously said. "Yeah, that just screams trustworthy right there."

David rolled his eyes at the jab. "Igor's my patron, yes, but he's honestly been nicer to me than most folks in NC. The only things I know for certain is that he ain't human and that he genuinely wants to help me. No clue why but he does."

Ryuko mumbled something about magical bullshit mentors. Kirishima turned to Lubbock across from him. "You managed to get the same power as David and Ryuko right?"

Lubbock nodded, looking a bit smug. "Yeah, no biggy. It came naturally to me when I did some soul searching."

Kirishima was tapping his foot, looking anxious. "...So, Persona is the power you used to fight Freed's shadow, and the power Ryuko summoned during the fight right?"

"Yuup." David had an idea of what was bugging him. "You're wondering if you could gain a persona too, right?"

Kirishima nodded. "I tried to fight Freed, same as Ryuko. I gave my all, and it wasn't enough. Why didn't my Persona manifest like her persona?"

David mulled it over. If fighting a shadow were how to unlock one's persona, he could have done the same when he first entered Avernus. "It's not about the shadows, it's about yourself."

Kirishima blinked. "What?"

David held his forehead for a second before explaining. "Getting a Persona is some kind of… test of the soul. You face some part of you that you hide away, and it manifests as your shadow. By confronting your shadow, it becomes your Persona."

Kirishima scratched his head. "So… I have to beat myself up?"

David facepalmed. "No."

Lubbock got their attention with a wave. "Let's look at how Ryuko and I got ours for reference; might help clear things up." He summoned the Byzantine general to his side.

"I got this guy after I had a heart to heart with my Shadow. Basically, he said mean shit about me, exaggerating some bits to be mean, like how I'm a worthless pervert and a sycophantic suck up. I spoke with him, agreeing with some parts but correcting others. I then agreed that he was a part of me, and he became the badass behind me." Belisarius nodded in agreement before disappearing in blue fire.

"Okay…" Ejiro glanced at Ryuko. "What about you Ryuko? What was going through your head before you summoned Gozen?"

"Uh…" Ryuko thought about it… and what they'd believe. "...I thought about kicking Freed in the nuts, and thought a Persona would help."

Ejiro pouted. "But I was thinking the same thing! More or less." He mumbled the last bit to himself. It was less he wanted to take Freed down, and more he wanted to keep the creep away from her.

"Bullshit." David cut in looking at Ryuko. "Freed's an asshole who's begging for a beating whenever he talks. You had to have had a more concrete revelation or conclusion or something that led to you gaining your Persona."

Ryuko sighed. "Fine, fine. I was thinking… back to when me and Ejiro met, after I left my home. It was after…" Ryuko fidgeted, feeling nervous. "How much do I have to say? Ejiro knows most of my story but…" she trailed off.

David nodded. "Share what you're comfortable with, no more than that. Be vague if you want, but be honest."

"Okay… okay, I can work with that." Ryuko let out a breath at that. "When I left home, I was looking for work and got in contact with a friend of my Dad's. You already know, he and my dad were tight. Vic got me into the ring as a boxer, and paired me with Ejiro who was also looking for work. I didn't like him at first, but he won me over and now we're friends. It felt like… my stubbornness got us into trouble, that you had talked me out of a lot of dumb shit."

"Hang on." Ejiro held up a hand. "You led Freed away from Vic. you had no choice-"

"Yeah, but neither of us could stop Freed, in the real world or the metaverse." she gestured to David and Lubbock. "We beat him because of these two. Then I thought I saw you die, and it hurt to see that. I heard my Persona in my head and she challenged me on my faults and I reacted."

"After that I just… accepted that my stubborn attitude could be crap at times and cause issues… but resolved to work on it and be stubborn to stand against Freed and save you, even if It killed me, because that's a stubbornness that I can live with."

"You mean that, Ryuko?" Ejiro asked.

She nodded. "We're chooms we- no, at this point, you're practically my brother in all but blood. I wanted to stand up and protect you like you've done for me."

"Wow, I… I don't know what to say." Ejiro said, astounded. He didn't think she'd feel that strongly.

David just clapped him on the shoulder. "Never had siblings, but I gotta agree with Ryuko. If I were her, I'd say the same thing."

Lubbock nodded along. "I do have older siblings… too many to be honest. Though I haven't spoken to them in a while. They've all got busy careers elsewhere."

Ryuko just looked at him, briefly wondering what that was like. 'Siblings that don't want me dead… Novel.' "...Can you find Eijiro's Shadow?"

"Yeah, I think I can track it with the App." Lubbock took Ejiro aside and started explaining how the app worked, mostly to reassure him that he could gain a persona of his own. Meanwhile, Ryuko glanced at David.

"Um, David." Ryuko looked nervous as she spoke. "Mind if I talk to ya real quick… alone?"

David nodded, walking to the side while Lubbock started his search.

Ryuko mulled over her thoughts for a minute, before letting out a sigh. "...I didn't know what to expect from you, or Edge when he mentioned calling you for help."

"Yeah, I get it." David could see a lot of gonks act just like her. Trust was rare, cause most folks would break it either for or any other reason you could think of, greed, ambition, hate or just plain indifference.

Ryuko huffed. "You proved me wrong, and got me and Eijiro out of a dangerous situation… and stood with us even when things got harder. I…I won't forget that."

David chuckled. "Tell ya what… we're gonna get Eijiro a Persona and Metaverse gear so he can join us. After that, the four of us pillage a certain castle and take its main treasure. We split the earnings 4 ways between all of us." He held out his hand. "After that, if you wanna quit, and go back to a normal life, feel free. Deal?"

Ryuko scratched her head and sighed, before grinning as he took his hand. "Hell yeah. I was gonna help anyways after you saved me from Freed. Also, Normal…?" Ryuko shook her head and scoffed at the notion.

"This is NC! Normal's for the average gonks, but not guys like you or me. So yeah, I'll join your Hell Raiding crew. Might even be fun." And just as before, he heard the aria that signified the formation of a new bond.

'I am Thou… Thou art I… Thou hast established a new Bond.'

'Let your soul be lifted up to your destination, making a Heaven of any Hell you know.'

'Now rise up, Empowered with the Chariot Arcana. May your bonds lead you to your Salvation.'

David smiled at that, grateful for the help. Ryuko blinked, unsure of what she just felt. Before she could ask, Lubbock called out to them.

"I've got a lock on Kirishima's Shadow." Lubbock said as he overlooked the streets below. "Signals coming due east of us, about 5 blocks away."

David nodded as he and Ryuko joined them. He stood over Eijiro, who was quietly sitting on some debris, deep in thought. "Edge, it's best we help you face your shadow sooner rather than later. You ready for it, or do you need more time?"

Ejiro shook his head and stood up quickly. "No, I'm good to go now. I think I know how to face him when we meet." David nodded to that, and the group headed off.

The four of them went down to the main street. David and Ryuko used their spells and magic to scale down from the outside, while Lubbock and Eijiro took the stairs. Safer for Eijiro till he awoke to his Persona.

The trek there was done in silence, save for the eerie calls of Demons and David explaining more things about the Metaverse. Igor had explained a bit more about how their Personas worked and their relation to tarot arcanas.

They arrived at the very gym that David met Ryuko and Eijiro at, only in the metaverse. They stepped inside the derelict building. It looked like it used to be a training gym, with equipment and

In the middle stood the only ring in working condition. On the far side of the ring was Eijiro's Shadow.

Ryuko patted Kirishima's back. "You got this Edge, you can win this fight!"

"It's not a fight, it's a dialogue." David corrected her. "He needs to confront that shadow, and accept it as a part of him. Got it?"

Eijiro nodded. "I gotcha. I know how to do this."

The red head walked forward and got into the ring. Across from him, his shadow stood, leaning against the ropes of the wrestling ring.

Eijiro snuck under the ropes and entered the ring. He and his shadow squared off in silence for a few seconds before "The Boy's finally here. I was beginning to think you'd be to much of a coward to face me-"

"RAAAAAHH!" Eijiro charged at his shadow counterpart.

'What is he doing!' David thought as he tried to go and grab him, but was held back by Ryuko. "What are you-"

"Let Kiri handle it." Ryuko's words were calm but confident. "He's got this."

David glanced between her and Kiri, and decided to let it play out… for now.

Shadow Kirishima seemed surprised at the interruption, and got tackled to the ground. He tried to break free, but to no avail. "What are you doing you child?! Let go of me! You just can't accept your-"

"I know myself best." Kirishima cut him off. "I know I don't have the strength to stand my ground when it damn well matters."

Kirishima was knocked back by his shadow, ending the grapple. The shadow went at him with a barrage of punches and Kiri held his arms up to block them.

"Back at the academy, I tried to be strong, all the time everyday. Tuff it out through the pain and keep pushing. I kept that up for a while until a friend of mine talked some sense into me. Thanks to him, a lot of my friends could survive the training regiment of the academy!"

From the side, David raised an eyebrow at that. He turned to Lubbock. "Was he at Arasaka Academy?"

Lubbock shook his head. "Noope. I wager he was at Militech academy… though from context I think he's dropped out, same as us."

Headless of their talk, the two red heads kept up at their fight. Kiri punched his shadow only for the shadow to catch it. Kiri caught his fist in turn. Each of them tried to overpower the other.

"I grew to rely on them, and I could stay strong because I had them on my side. One guy could only do so much, but one guy standing with a dozen guys trained and bonded with him… that's something else entirely!"

Kiri pulled back, pulling his shadow with him and sending him flying. When the shadow landed, he rushed him. He threw as many punches as he could, so many that his knuckles started to bleed.

"Since then, I've fallen back into bad habits. I try to stay strong on my own. I stayed quiet, kept a brave face with Ryuko because that's what she needed at the time. I kept things in, but now, I'm letting it all out!" He slugged his shadow hard enough to knock him back to the ground.

"And ff you don't like that… then get screwed."

Shadow Kirishima got up and stared at his real world counterpart. Their gazes met, and they spoke no words. Nothing more needed to be said between them. Until finally, the Shadow grinned. "That's all I wanted to hear."

He then rushed the real Kirishima, but not as an attack. His form was fading away just as Azure fire lit up and surrounded Eijiro. Rather than seem scared, Kirishima just grinned as the flames surrounded him, swirling around him like a hurricane of heat.

When the flames finally dispersed, Kirishima stood proud in his metaverse gear. He had red gear shaped shoulder pads and black, armored vambraces that covered his arms ending in red claws. His chest was mostly bare, except for the cape wrapped around his neck and flowing down his back. He wore black baggy pants with a ripped half cape around his waist, along with brown wrap Sandals around his feet.

His face was covered with a wire guard mask, vaguely in the shape of a lion with its jagged edges and light blue lenses. Kirishima held up his fists high in the air and screamed out in triumph. "YEAAAAAAAAAHH!"

And then he fell backwards, now resting on the floor. He groaned as the exhaustion finally hit him "Is it supposed to feel so damn draining the first time?"

David nodded. "Yup. it'll pass."

David helped the red head up to his feet. Ryuko and Lubbock were keeping a lookout from outside the building.

"So…" Kirishima started off. "Ryuko agreed to join you, right?"

David nodded. "She did. And you're welcome as well."

"All according to plan right?" Kirishima stood up. "You drag us here, set us against our shadows, help us, then ask for our help?"

David sputtered. "Not like that, man. I mean-"

"Relax, man, I'm just messin with you." Kiri waved him off. He then extended "I know you'd have my back like I'd have yours. Can't call myself a friend if I don't do that much."

David shook his hand. He vaguely noticed the blue butterfly once again, and heard the aria that cemented a new bond.

'I am Thou… Thou art I… Thou hast established a new Bond.'

'Let your soul be lifted up to your destination, making a Heaven of any Hell you know.'

'Now rise up, Empowered with the Tower Arcana. May your bonds lead you to your Salvation.'

"..." Kirishima just kept blinking, feeling that he was missing something. "Uh…"

David just chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll explain later." he started walking up out of the pit, with Eijiro right after him.

Lubbock and Ryuko walked with them, the former relaxing with his hands behind his head. "Where to, boss?"

David grinned; he had a crew, now they could get to their first gig in the metaverse. "Now, we do the job." The sun burned bright as the four raiders made their way to the marble Palace.

Now we got a full team, ready for their first Palace run. Next up, we get the rematch with Burning Breath.

For Ryuko's outfit, I based it on her Kamui but with a full body suit, like the pilot suits from Evangelion. She's a pretty cool character, though I cannot approve of the original Kamui Design. You know why… Ratings matter dangit.

For her Persona, I based it on FGO's Tomoe Gozen appearance wise. It's common for historic figures to have different portrayals, leading to contradicting versions of the character.

For the stats and summaries…

Gozen [Chariot Arcana] Lvl: 5

Summary: An Onna Musha from the late Heian Period of Japan, Tomoe Gozen fought under the banner of Minamoto no Yoshinaka. Her victory at the Genpei War and other battles afterwards led to the rise of the first Shogunate. She was said to have the blood of Oni Demons, causing her to gain a violent rage at times, but tempered by her own code and passion. During the battle of Awazu, she decapitated the enemy commander with her cursed blade, and presented the severed head to Yoshinaka as a proof of victory.

Strength-6 Agility-6 Endurance-5 Magic-4 Luck-3

Melee(- -) Fire(Res) Electric(- -) Wind(- -) Frost(- -)

Ranged(- -) Nuclear(Nul) Psychic(Wk) Radiant(- -) Curse(- -)

Skills

Frei(Nu) = Light Nuclear attack against one target. 20 % chance of Radiation.

Blade Cross(Mel) = Medium Melee attack against one target. 45 % chance of critical hit.

Lower Defense(En) = Lower defense of one target by 45 % for one minute.

Improve Attack(En) = Increase attack of one target ally by 50 % for one minute.

Eijiro's outfit was easier, it being a modded version of his red Riot hero outfit. He's a solid bro in any story that takes his best canon self - or 'fanon' in this case - to its best course.

I'll post stats for his persona next time. Till then… Peace.