Persona Series 1. Prologue: Get Ready!

_Dear Persona User,_

_ You have been cordially invited to the first ever Grand Arcana fighting tournament, exclusive to those who have made contact with the Other Side. Participants range from Demon to Demon Summoner, and only the most powerful individuals have been selected. The prize is access to the most powerful Persona in existence, which will be granted to the victor. Below is the location of the tournament, and a detailed description of the rules. Should you choose to attend, arrive at the assigned location at midnight one week from today._

_Sincerely, Elizabeth of the Velvet Room_

"This is a trap."

Seto Kirijo nervously adjusted his glasses as he paced back and forth behind his wife's seat at her desk.

"Yes, Seto." Mitsuru responded, in the annoyed tone of someone being told the obvious. She continued reading Elizabeth's letter, absentmindedly twirling a lock of her red hair.

"I mean, nobody would give away something like that if they actually had control of it. The ultimate persona? It's just bait!"

"_Yes_, Seto." Mitsuru had already considered this fact. The letter promised access to the ultimate Persona, not control of it. It was clear to her that whoever this Elizabeth was did not have the strength to obtain it herself, though why she would offer others the opportunity was still a mystery.

"So you can't go. I mean you'd be walking right into a trap!"

"Yes, Seto! Listen. You don't know what you're talking about. And I'm not angry, but you do need to shut up right now."

Her husband's mouth snapped shut. He looked down at his shoes and began fiddling with the buttons on his blue dress shirt, just as he always did when dismissed so casually by his wife. After a moment's pause, he left the room. Mitsuru did not even notice. She was busy studying the rules of the tournament. Combatants were to fight using whatever means available to them until their opponents were eliminated, whether they surrendered or were no longer capable of utilizing their supernatural abilities. Each was allowed to form a team of up to two additional combatants of their choice, though fights would still only take place between single combatants.

She sat back and took a long breath, reclining into deep thought. Although five years had passed since she had fought Shadows as a member of SEES, she had never stopped honing her skills or training the abilities of her Persona. She wanted to always be prepared in case there was once again a supernatural threat to mankind. And she had never become fully convinced that the Shadows were completely gone, even though there'd been no sign of them in ten years. Regardless of the dubious nature of the invitation, there was no way she could pass up an opportunity to obtain the ultimate Persona, the ultimate protection. In a way, she felt as though she had been preparing for just this occasion for all of that time.

But where would she find one person, much less two people, as prepared as herself?

* * *

"Yuka-chan! Someone's coming!"

Yukari stopped mid-punch, her fist inches from landing on the training dummy set up in the center of the clearing. Panting, she instructed her friend to conceal herself while she turned to face the path leading back out of the forest. She wondered who would come out this far into the woods; she knew it must be someone looking for her, but had no idea who that could be. To her surprise, Mitsuru emerged from behind the branches hiding the clearing from the main path.

"S-Senpai!"

"Aha, I think we can do away with that formality now. It's good to see you again, Yukari."

"I…yes of course. I can't believe it's you!"

Mitsuru looked her up and down. The pink tank-top and bike shorts she was wearing displayed the muscled arms and legs of a trained athlete, considerably different from how she had looked ten years ago, when they'd last seen each other. And Mitsuru detected a spark inside her old friend unlike anything she'd ever displayed before. She smiled to herself; clearly she was right in assuming Yukari wouldn't simply return to a normal life.

"So…My roommate must've told you that I train up here behind the old shrine. I'm guessing you didn't come all the way out into the woods just for a friendly chat. It's something important, right?"

"Yes, Yukari. It appears as though our strength is needed once again." Mitsuru handed Yukari the letter. "Someone is claiming to have access to the ultimate Persona. They're inviting Persona Users from all over to fight for it."

Yukari's eyes danced over the letter. "And we're going to go after it too?" She frowned. "I don't know, Mitsuru. This seems pretty suspicious. What is the ultimate Persona, and why would this Elizabeth know about it? And what the heck is the 'Velvet Room'?"

"All questions I intend to obtain the answers to. And I could certainly use your help, particularly if those answers are going to have to be gathered the hard way."

The two young women met eyes, and exchanged looks filled with fire. Yukari cracked her knuckles.

"Well, if it's a fight we're looking for…"

She spun around, aiming a kick in the direction of the training dummy. Though she was standing several meters away from it, a sudden windstorm burst forward from her kick and sent it flying apart. She grinned at the shocked Mitsuru.

"After Minato…left, I made a promise to myself. I was going to become strong enough that nobody I cared about would ever have to sacrifice themselves for me again." She aimed a punch at another training dummy, and a miniature gale swept it up into the air. "So I started training. As soon as I got to college. I signed up for martial arts training. Practiced every day. And when I got good enough…" A backhand chop send a wave of wind slicing through the branches above them, bringing down a rain of leaves. "I started combining it with my powers. I made my own fighting style, party physical and part magical." Yukari flexed her arms, clearly pleased with Mitsuru's stunned silence. "So just point me in the direction of whoever needs their face smashed in. I've been looking forward to an opportunity to fight something other than dummies."

Mitsuru's mouth hung open in stunned disbelief. "Well, Yukari, you certainly have changed." She chuckled. "I'm glad to have you on my side. But we still need a third team member."

Yukari smiled. "I may have an idea about that. Felicity! It's okay to come out!"

At Yukari's call, some nearby bushes began rustling and a girl in what looked to be her twenties with white cat ears and bluish-white hair over most of her body emerged from behind them. She was completely naked, and sharp claws on her hands and feet were clearly visible. The cat-girl swished its three tails and smiled at Mitsuru, showing off a pair of sharp fangs.

"Hiya! I'm Felicity, pleased ta meetcha'!"

"Felicity's a Bakeneko, a demon from the Other World." Yukari explained, throwing an arm around the catgirl. "She sensed my Persona one day while I was training and was curious. She's curious about a lot of things, actually. Sometimes it gets her into trouble. So..."

Yukari suddenly gripped the catgirl and flung her around, summoning a strong wind to throw her into the nearest tree. The catgirl flipped in the air and planted both her feet on the trunk, pushed off it and jumped back over Yukari's head, grabbing her as she landed and placing her claws across her throat. "So I've learned tah take care of myself". She grinned, releasing Yukari, who continued as though nothing had happened.

"Felicity came to our world some years ago, and has been living in the shrine at the start of the trail. She originally just wanted to learn more about humans, but discovered that not all demons are quite so, uh, cordial. So she started fighting them whenever they posed a threat to innocent people."

"I see…" Mitsuru was having trouble keeping her composure. "I had suspected the existence of some world parallel to our own, where the beings that became Personas originated from, but I had never thought it might be home to sentient beings. Or that they would have such interest in us".

"Your race is so _funny_!" The demon laughed, brushing her hair back. "I wasn't about tah let any meanies start pickin' on ya for no reason. So I been watchin' over you guys, yah know, whenever I could."

"Watching over, right. The day we met she helped me save two school kids from an Oni. Literally kicked its teeth in." Yukari patted her on the back. "I know she doesn't look it, but Felicity is one of the toughest fighters I've ever met. We could use her on our team."

Mitsuru was uneasy about teaming up with a demon, but the light in Yukari's eyes was inspiring. "If she has your recommendation, then that's all I need to hear." She extended her hand to Felicity, who shook it enthusiastically with her paw-like hand. "Welcome to ATTA, Felicity."

"Um, ATTA?"

"Arcana Tournament Termination Alliance. I thought I'd make us a new team in the same spirit as SEES." Mitsuru looked questioningly at the girls. "Um, the name is alright, isn't it?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure. It's great! Right Felicity?" Yukari nudged her friend.

"Um, yah, most definitely." The catgirl grinned sheepishly.

"Alright then. We only have a few days before the tournament, so we'll need to leave soon. I've already arranged travel plans; a fist-class flight on the Kirijo group's private jet is ready whenever we are."

Felicity jumped into the air. "Woohoo! I'm finally gonna get tah leave these woods! Keeping out of sight is too hard to travel too far. I can't believe I'm gonna even get to ride on an airplane!"

"Eheh, hey, don't get too excited. The whole reason we're leaving is for a fighting tournament, remember? It'll be dangerous!"

"Oh that's right, the tournament! Hey, Demons are going tah be in it too right? D'yah think there'll be any cute boys there? Oh man, I'll bet there'll be some like, super ripped badass hotties! Y'know, the type that's all rough on the outside but totally a teddy bear on the inside?"

"I can't believe that's seriously what you're thinking about..." Yukari threw up her hands, sighing.

Mitsuru smiled, and was suddenly reminded of the days when her and her friends were in SEES, laughing and joking together even as the fate of the world rested on their shoulders. But now they were fighting for even more than that; if Demons were entering the tournament as well, then that meant that the power of this ultimate Persona could fall into malicious from the Other Side. This time the fate of two worlds, not one, rested on their shoulders.

Her hand fell on the handle of her rapier and gently caressed it. She wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. Chapter 1: Round One, Start!

"Ah, Mrs. Kirijo. We have been expecting you." Mitsuru scowled at the kimono-wearing young lady with blue hair when she addressed her title. "You will find the arena just straight down this hallway. The first match is already underway. Your team is scheduled to participate in the third match. May I please have the names of your team members so they may be announced correctly?"

"Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, and Felicity."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kirijo. I shall inform the announcer. Please proceed to the ring once the second match has finished: there is a fifteen minute interval between each fight."

Mitsuru nodded and signaled for the others to follow her into the arena. Once they were out of earshot from the girl and the imposing minotaur which stood beside her, she asked in a casual tone, "So, how is that arranged marriage working out?"

"Ugh." Mitsuru shook her head. "He's well-mannered, and he follows orders, so I suppose I can't complain. But he's so incredibly slow-witted, and barely knows how to do anything for himself."

"Ha. You sound more like you're describing a pet dog than a husband." Felicity giggled.

Mitsuru chuckled in response. "Funny you should say that, I was thinking how easily that description could fit many members of our generation who were born into money."

Yukari sighed. "It's too bad how you got forced into that. Marriage is supposed to be about love, not convenience! I guess at least it happened before you really found anyone you might be in love with. It would've hurt even more to have lost a tangible opportunity."

Mitsuru missed a step, but quickly recovered. "Yes, I suppose that's true." She fell into silence, and Yukari was about to ask if she had spoken out of turn when an airy voice began booming over loudspeakers.

"And that's it, the fight is over! Match one goes to: the Wonderland Club! Let's hear a round of applause for these adorable little fighters!"

"Wow, I hope he doesn't sound that condescending when _we_ win our first match." Felicity growled, though once they were in view of the arena they realized the reason for the announcer's tone. Standing in the center of the ring was a young girl, possibly not even twelve years old, along with a white rabbit and a small black housecat. As she exited the arena, the girl picked the cat up in her arms and cradled it like a baby while the rabbit hopped up onto her head, riding on her cropped strawberry-blond hair.

"Well…that's not something ya see every day. I wonder who she beat?" Felicity wondered aloud. Mitsuru began surveying the arena. The ring itself was a simple raised platform made of tiled stone in the center of the small stadium. Several meters of dirt separated the ring from the first row of seats, which were raised up above the ring like in a sports stadium. The seats were sparsely populated; Mitsuru presumed that the audience was made up exclusively of participants in the tournament. The trio had emerged into a gab in the center row of seats, with a decent view of the entire arena. Mitsuru studied the area in between the ring and the barricade separating the audience for any sign of the losing team, but saw only a young man in blue-colored bellhop attire holding a microphone. He had pale blond hair and bright blue eyes, and gave her a strange, ethereal vibe.

"There will now be a fifteen minute break before the next match. Would Team Inferno and Three Man Army please report to the ringside as soon as possible. That's fifteen minutes until the next fight."

The girls noticed several armored, extremely muscular men with red skin rise from their seats and head towards another hallway leading away from the seating area. Headed down a separate hallway was another group comprised two figures in gray hooded cloaks and a white-haired man in a long leather coat and dark sunglasses who looked startlingly familiar.

"Mitsuru, is that…Akihiko?"

"It…it certainly looked like him." The group had already disappeared down the hallway. "I'm going to assume we're prohibited from interacting with other combatants during match preparations, so we'll try to get in contact with him after the next match." Mitsuru noticed Felicity sniffing the air, her ears perked up. "Is there something that's caught your attention, Felicity?"

"Yeah…I don't sense the presence of that chick who wrote the letter anywhere near her. You'd think she'd wanna watch the fights, given what she's gone through to set this up, but she ain't here. It's suspicious."

"This Elizabeth character is suspicious enough without that too, if you ask me" Yukari replied, folding her arms. "I've got more than a few questions for her."

"As do I." Mitsuru agreed. "Felicity, your tracking abilities are much better than either of ours, as are your stealth skills. Would you see if you can locate Elizabeth so that we might discuss a few matters with her later? And if you happen to see the opportunity to learn anything about her, that would of course be much appreciated. "Mitsuru winked.

"Sure thing! You can count on me." Felicity saluted. "But I'm comin' back before the next match starts. There might be some hunks in the next round and I don't wanna miss seein' em show their stuff!"

Felicity bounded away while Yukari blushed, embarrassed on her behalf. "I can't believe how obsessed she is over that stuff."

"Well, she is a young woman. It's not unnatural to be thinking about finding a mate at her age…or what I presume to be her age." Mitsuru tilted her head towards Yukari. "Do you not ever consider it?"

"Oh, uh, my? Um, well…" Yukari looked at the ground. "I haven't really been…I mean there are some guys in my martial arts class that are pretty good looking, I guess…but I don't know. I'm way stronger than them, you know."

"Hmm, I see. You know Yukari, there is more than one kind of strength in the world. Strength of the body isn't the only thing that matters."

"I know, of course. But still…" Yukari took a deep breath. "When we lost Minato…I mean, you remember what that was like. You must've felt the same way. It was terrible. And I don't…" She hesitated, and Mitsuru finished her thought.

"You don't ever want to go through that again. So you've been keeping yourself from becoming attached to anyone who might not be strong enough to resist being…taken away."

Yukari nodded. "I guess it's not right, to hang onto the past like that, but Minato was…I mean what he did for us…"

The two girls sat in silence for some time. Then Yukari spoke up again. "If this ultimate Persona really exists, we have to get it. We have to have that kind of power on our side. If there's a chance that we might be able to stop anything like the Dark Hour from ever happening again, we must take it. No matter what."

Mitsuru nodded her assent, and the two fell into deep through while they waited for the return of Felicity. Just after the announcer gave a two-minute warning for the start of the next fight, she returned, a sly grin across her face.

"So, I found Elizabeth's private office. And I managed to hear what sounded like a pretty important convo between her and some other chick too. Not too shabby for a tabby, huh Yukari-chan?"

"You're not ever gonna let that go are you…Well what was it that you found out?"

"Hold on, I'll fill ya in on all the details after the fight. It's gonna start soon, and I don't want to miss a second! I mean, look at those guys!"

The three muscular men from earlier had taken their positions at ringside. One was a blond young man in chainmail with bright red skin, holding a buckler and a broadsword. Another had dark red skin, short brown hair, and leather armor, with a shortsword at his side. The third was fully armored, had lighter red skin, long red hair, and a long spear.

Across from them, the two cloaked figures were about to remove their robes, but the young man with short white hair stopped them. Over the low murmur of other crowd members, his voice was easily audible to the girls sitting near the front row, and Mitsuru and Yukari recognized it at once.

"No. Don't reveal yourselves until it's necessary. I'll take these three myself."

"Hey, it is Akihiko!" Yukari got up to wave to him, but Mitsuru pulled her back down.

"Wait until after the fight. If we make ourselves known now, it might break his concentration. We're sitting behind him anyways, it's better to not distract him right now."

Yukari nodded. "You think he'll be okay? It looks like he's going up against those guys without any weapons. He's only wearing leather gloves, and he doesn't even have any protective gear!"

"Yeah, he's not even wearing a shirt, ahaha!" Felicity giggled. "You girls know him? Because I would absolutely _love_ to be introduced to those abs personally".

"Eheh, we'll see about that after the fight." Yukari chuckled nervously.

"Your attention please. The second match is about to being. Team Inferno versus Three Man Army. Team Leader Akihiko Sanada shall enter first, against First Alternate Beowulf".

The short-haired man stepped up to the ring, pointing his sword at Akihiko. "You really gonna fight me without any weapons? What, you wanna die or somethin'?"

"Hmph. If you already can't see what I'm equipped with, then you've already lost." Akihiko drew one fist back and placed his other hand forward, palm open. Both began glowing with purple light. "Go ahead and give up. You don't' stand a chance."

"Why you little…I'll cut you in half!"

Beowulf charged Akihiko, his sword drawn high in the air. As he brought it down, the champion boxer caught it with his open hand and stopped it mid-swing. He then smashed his right hand into his opponent's face in an explosion of purple and black flames, sending him flying backwards with such force that he left Akihiko still holding his sword. When he landed outside the ring, the announcer ran forward to check whether he was conscious.

"Beowulf is out cold! First fall goes to Team Inferno as the result of a one-hit knockout!"

"Alright, who's next?" Akihiko tossed the sword aside and assumed the same stance as before, grinning smugly.

"You may have been underestimated by our comrade, human, but I will make no such mistake!" The blond man jumped forward onto the ring and brought his sword crashing down in front of him, where it summoned a wave of lightning that swept forward across the arena, bursting on the ground with a huge explosion of light.

"Oh no!" Yukari leapt out of her seat again, but Mitsuru pulled her back down.

"Wait. Look carefully, behind him."

Somehow, Akihiko had moved behind his foe and was holding his evoker under his chin, the trigger already pulled. His Persona, Caesar, was poised above the knight and bringing a gigantic fist down on top of him even as he was turning around. On impact he was smashed into the ground with such force that he seemed to sink into the stone.

Akihiko returned his evoker into his coat and walked up to the fallen warrior, picking him up by the throat with one hand. "I told you. You should've surrendered when you had the chance." He tossed him out of the arena, where he tumbled like a rag doll until impacting with the audience barricade.

"And Siegfried goes down as well! Team Leader Akihiko is proving to be a one-man army!"

Akihiko locked eyes with the final warrior, and Mitsuru thought she saw a flash of red gleam from behind his sunglasses. "I told you. I am way out of your league."

The red-skinned knight was shaking so badly that he dropped his sword to the ground. However, he still stepped up into the ring, his fists clenched and teeth bared.

"eeeeEEEAAAAUUUUGGGH!"

With a fearsome scream, the man transformed into a huge, muscular troll. The armor he was wearing exploded off him, leaving his gargantuan form contained by nothing but a

leather cod piece. Felica squealed with delight, to Yukari and Mitusuru's embarrassment.

"Holy cow! Look at the size of him!"

"Oh, it seems as though Cu Chulainn has triggered his Berserker form. How will Leader Akihiko respond to this?" The announcer commented, apparently unsurprised.

The monster charged forward at Akihiko, who raised an eyebrow in surprise. The purple and black flames began to emanate from his entire body, and as the monster got closer Akihiko suddenly appeared directly in front of it in a flash of fire. He planted a fist firmly in its stomach, stopping it in its tracks. Then he swept the same fist into the monster's chin with a fierce uppercut that actually picked it up off the ground. Grinning, he jumped and grabbed it by the throat, slamming it hard back down into the arena. For the final blow, he raised his heel high above its head and brought it crashing down in an axe kick decorated in purple fire.

"Worm." He muttered as the beast transformed back into an unconscious soldier.

"And that's it, the last soldier in the Three Man Army is down! Akihiko single-handedly picks up Team Inferno's first victory! Round two is theirs!" The announcer seemed unsurprised to the point of being bored, though he still spoke with some (potentially sarcastic) energy. Akihiko stalked out of the ring towards the exit, and Mitsuru calmly rose from her seat while Felicia bounded up and down, nudging Yukari.

"Did you see that! Holy cow, that guy is amazing! You're gonna go talk to him now, right? You'll introduce me and stuff right? Put in a good word for me, Yuka-chan?"

"Yes, alright already! Geez, it's like you're on catnip or something." Yukari couldn't help but smile herself; she was looking forward to meeting up with Akihiko again. And she too was impressed with his improved abilities.

"Meanwhile, Felicia, what was it you discovered while you were looking for Elizabeth?"

"Oh, yeah!" She grinned mischievously. "Well, not only did I find out where her office is, but I overheard a conversation she was having that sounded pretty important! She was saying how someone named 'Yuki' had let in someone with a forged ticket, and how they were gonna be in big trouble if someone named Philemon found out about them. Then the lady she was talking to just said it was too late tah do anything about it and that she'd handle any problems. She sounded really strange, like…" she thought for a moment "Like it was as though she wasn't speaking her native language, but she still didn't have an accent? Anyways, then Elizabeth said that if Philemon didn't want the tournament to happen it wouldn't, no matter what. The other lady didn't say anything, and then Elizabeth walked out and almost spotted me. 'Course, she didn't, cause I'm a ninja!"

Mitsuru nodded. "Good work, Felicity. We'll have to think on this more later. Meanwhile, our fight's about to start, so we'd better get down there. Hopefully we'll run into Akihiko on the way. I'd like to know what sort of training he's been up to in the last few years."

"Yeah no kidding. I can barely believe it's the same Akihiko we fought beside so long ago. He's so much stronger! I wouldn't mind learning some moves like that myself."

" Mmm, me neither." Felicity purred, earning herself a smack from Yukari.

"Will you stop with that? Geez, you're worse than Junpei."

"Mrow! Hey, you can't be hittn' me like that right before a match! It…it…it lowers team morale! Teams need that, y'know?"

The girls continued down to the ring entrance, and as they expected they met Akihiko and his team in the hallway. With a thin smile, he waved away his cloaked team members.

"Hey, get lost, will ya guys? I've got some business with these ladies. They continued down the hall without a word, leaving the four alone. "I was wondering if I'd see you here too, Mitsuru. Figures it'd be something like this that gets us back together."

"Heh. It seems as though we may be on opposing sides in this case. It is good to see you again, Akihiko." Mitsuru flipped her hair, as though their meeting was no big deal. Yukari was far less casual.

"It's been forever! How have you been? It seems as though you've been training pretty hard." Yukari was still somewhat flustered at Akihko's performance. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Demons." Akihiko leaned on a nearby wall as he began explaining. "After we split up, I started training harder than ever. Both my Persona, and my own abilities. I guess I was picked up on someone's radar, because before too long a demon named Belphegor showed up and offered me a job fighting demons in an underworld fight club. It seemed shady, but I wasn't about to pass up that kind of opportunity. So I signed a contract: I get a massive power boost, and in return I win a hundred fights on his behalf. The training I got in the fights has helped plenty too, of course."

Mitsuru eyed Akihiko suspiciously. "So, you're using demon powers in addition to your own? Seems…risky."

He adjusted his sunglasses. "There are a few minor setbacks, I'll admit. But overall it's been a huge benefit."

"Yeah, demon power sure can be something." Felicity stepped forward, purring. "The name's Felicity, pleasure to meetcha'! And I want ya tah know, there's a lot more to us demons than just fighting." She smiled toothily, and Akihiko raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, well…Anyways, Mitsuru, I'm sure you want to get to the bottom of this tournament as well. I was going to have a look around after my fight; I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Excellent. Here, I'll write down the name of our hotel room. You can meet us there this evening after the day's fights are over."

Akihiko took the scrap of paper she handed him in a gloved hand, and she felt it linger in hers for just a second longer than it needed to. "Alright. Good luck on your fight: you're up against the Jack brothers. They're total idiots, but don't underestimate them. They had to win a whole other tournament to earn a spot in this one, so don't think they can't hold their own."

"Thanks for the advice. See you later, Akihiko."

He walked off, and Felicity's eyes followed after him, her tail twitching in rhythm with his steps.

"OW! Hey, what did I tell ya about that Yuka-chan? Team morale!"


End file.

Persona Series, Adventure, Mystery