Persona: The Beautiful

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 4, 2021

[x] "I don't see why I should have to decide when I'm only in high school"
[x] "Shouldn't we leave this up to a class vote?"

You found your way over to the Gymnasium for the Kendo Club. Or Tea Ceremony Club? You guessed the two were from similar enough disciplines to be combined into one, either that or Kikuko had just taken over both of them.

I mean, I really don't want to have to associate with the All-Aces any more than I already have to, you thought, but had to admit, still, guess I should be keeping an eye on them though, especially people like Kikuko who I really don't know anything about, other than what everyone else in school knows. Unlike Eitaro, at least she's in a club where beating up your classmates is what you're there for.

Opening the door to the gym, you then got worried you may've come a little late, as from the numerous shouts of battle and clunking of bokken against bokken, the club looked well underway.

"Oh, oh, Miss Nakamura is it?" you heard a girlish voice suddenly come up to you, at which you spun around to see a... maid approach you. She had purplish black hair in little drills to either side, wore her apron over a kimono, and like the rest of the room had a bokken sheathed at her hip.
"My apologies, must not have introduced myself," the maid's cheeriness turned to shock and she rapidly bowed, "I'm Yomogi Tsubasa, Jack of Grails, and I attend this school as maid to Mistress Kikuko. I knew you'd been appointed as a Jack, although Mistress was, ahem, terse as usual about you".

You had to laugh a little, "Sounds like her. And wow, huge flex on her part bringing a maid to school, although yeah, guess I should expect that sort of thing from the All-Aces," you replied.

With one last thud, you turned to see Kikuko standing atop a hill of her clubmates she'd struck down. Like it was nothing, she then walked over to you, making direct eye contact.
"Thank you Tsubasa, but I'll take things from here," she brushed off her maid and then intoned to you, "So Jack, have you given thought as to Alliances?"

Alliances? you could only think, wondering what Kikuko was even talking about, but afraid of her snapping back at you if you admitted this. "I- I just came here to check out the Kendo Club, that was all," you managed to say.

Kikuko just sighed but looked back all the other students gathered. "This is a conversation best had once the two of us are alone. Also, this is properly the Tea Ceremony club, but I organised kendo sparring sessions to strengthen people's appreciation for the art".

"So Jack, Haruka, you choose to audition for this Club?" Kikuko asked, before whipping out a blade that looked too metallic to be a bokken, pointing it right between your eyes and saying, "Think you have what it takes to challenge me?"

"N-no, of course not!" you shrieked, your forehead already caked in sweat.

Kikuko chortled "Good answer", as she then sheathed the blade "You at least seem to have a realistic assessment of your abilities. Still, if it's an audition you want..." she muttered as she pulled you into the centre of the Gym, taking a random bokken and throwing it your way, "We have time for one last fight. Yomogi, over here".

Her maid then came over to face you in the ring, unsheathing her own bokken, "Right Miss, ahem, your Ladyship," she stuttered.

Readying the blade you'd just been given, you burst out, "W-wait! Aren't we supposed to put protective gear on first?" But with the sudden beat of a taiko drum, the fight had already begun, as Tsubasa rushed at you ready to strike.

Not having a Persona around to empower you, and using a completely different weapon than before, you amazed yourself by not immediately getting knocked out. Instead, you reacted in a heartbeat to block Tsubasa's blade with your own, before pushing back against her and almost scraping her shoulder.

[+5 Resolve]

However, Tsubasa quickly proved she was Kikuko's maid for a reason, as she struck you in the side and sent you floundering to the floor. The victor was clear.

"As I expected," Kikuko snarled, looking down at you, "Perhaps try auditioning again once your Resolve has strengthened, or at least develop some blade Etiquette".

Huh, shows what you can get away with, being an All-Ace, you thought coldly, trying to pick yourself up, If I acted like you just did, Kikuko, I'd be expelled.

"Oh, M-Miss Nakamura, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up," Tsubasa the maid cried out, lifting you to your feet, "I must've misjudged my own strength, oh I'm so embarrassed".

"Feh, don't be," Kikuko sighed, "What Haruka here just went through is nothing. The Maeda lineage prides itself on far stricter training".

Wow, remind me never to meet your parents, you fumed from within. Your gaze softened as you looked at Tsubasa and said, "It's okay, my legs are fine now, I can stand just fine". The gazes of all the other students around on you though, not so fine.

The sun soon began to set, and at the very least you got to have green tea before Club activities ended, a tea that was certainly a stark difference from the more Western blends Colette had served you.

When it was just you, Kikuko and Tsubasa left in the Gym, the Ace of Grails turned to her maid and said, "This is a conversation I wish to have with Haruka in private. Tsubasa, have my ride home prepared".

"Aye aye, your ladyship," Tsubasa bowed before exiting the room.

With it just the two of you, Kikuko immediately glared and seethed, "You mean to tell me you're still ignorant about Alliances?"

Hey, I've only been here a week, y'know, you thought, but just said, "I take it they have something to do with the Persona Game?"

Kikuko laughed coldly, "They are the Persona Game". She sighed and went on to explain, "While matters may be cordial among us All-Aces for now, the Gameboard is arranged so that only one Empire may conquer it in its entirety. You would've heard the term 'Jack of Coins', 'Jack of Blades', 'Jack of Grails'? Well, it's about time you started thinking whose Jack you are".

- Seriously? I thought was joining the popular kids, not a fight club, you thought yet kept quiet, or a cult.

Her tea finished, Kikuko then stood up from kneeling position and began walking to the door. Before she left, you swiftly got up to ask her one last question.
"Wait, Kikuko, w-what can you tell me about Rokudo Rin?" you called out across the Gym. You would've asked about that 'Galactic Empire' thing but were worried Kikuko would just demand to know where you found out about it.

Kikuko only slightly turned her head, "Of what concern is she to you? She died before you even came to this school," she muttered.

"W-well, as a Jack, I figured I had an obligation to learn about the All-Aces' history," you told her.

A faint smile emerged on Kikuko's lips "Heh, I can at least respect that. I'm afraid though you'll have to ask Azuma for all the details, he was closest to her after all. She was certainly a moral person though, as befitting Student Council President, though appropriately rigid in her ethics. They ruled her death a suicide, although none of us can say for certain. Unsurprisingly, the Student Council descended into disgrace immediately following her death. That is all I believe a Jack needs to know," she told you, before making her exit.

Or you got all too carried away with your Persona Game, you thought, following Kikuko outside.

Upon exiting out onto the street, your eyes could've fallen out of their sockets in surprise. You expected Kikuko to be in a car or on a motorcycle or something, not on a friggin' horse! I mean, Popo's the only horse I know, and he'd probably be flattened if I tried to ride him, you thought, as Kikuko galloped away on her chestnut stallion, mare, whichever.

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Empress Arcana"

"Hey, 'Ruka, woah you look shaken," Megumi spoke up as you got back to your apartment, "Tough day at school, huh? Like, I never went to anywhere as fancy as Hanataba, but yeesh my high school years were Hell".

"What, someone threatened to slice your face open with a sword too?" you laughed, but not with much humour behind it.

"Hmm, yeah about. Metaphorically speaking anyway," Megumi replied, before changing the subject in a split-second, "Anyway, you been looking at part-time jobs? Sorry for pressuring you, but I seriously don't need that old leech breathing down my neck again about the rent".

"Yeah yeah, I've been meaning to find something, but it's not like jobs grow on trees," you groaned.

"They do if you're a gardener," Megumi chimed in.

"Urgh, besides, I've... had a lot of stuff on my mind lately," you muttered out, slumping down on the couch.

[ ] Talk some more with Megumi, they're a breath of fresh air after Kikuko, and you kinda need to vent.
[ ] Phone your parents, their work should be over now.
[ ] Get to bed early, it's been a long day.
[ ] There's always studying.
[ ] Surf the net, you might wanna hunt for part-time jobs.
- [ ] Sweet shop worker, guys think it's cute, mochi-pounding's good exercise you guess.
- [ ] Traditional Gaming (Board and Tabletop) shop assistant.
- [ ] Local Museum Guide.
- [ ] Record store assistant.
- [ ] Model? Well, you guess Reina could give you tips.
[ ] Head out on the town, see what's open this late.
- [ ] On your own.
- [ ] Ask Megumi to come with you.
[ ] Write-in.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 5, 2021

[x] Phone your parents, their work should be over now.

Giving Megumi some privacy, you headed into your bedroom, which had no room for anything else but said bed and a closet, took your phone out of your pocket and dialed your parents for the first time this year.

"Hey Mum, Dad," you muttered, "Er, so how it's been?"

"Haruka!" a woman's voice pierced through the phone and throughout your room, "Oh thank goodness, you look absolutely alright. We were worried sick about you but knew everything would be alright for you".

Er, kinda sending a contradictory message there, Mum, you thought. Said mother of yours being Nakamura Kanae, a woman who you'd been told once had a standard job but threw it all away to pursue her dreams of being a sculptor, mostly glassblowing with some metalworking in there.
Speaking of which, "Oh, how's the sculpting coming along, Mum?" you asked.

You may have touched a nerve there. "Right, about that. I've barely had any buyers for the past few weeks, like oh, I get it, this town's tastes are too traditional, are they- Um, sorry about that. Yeah, it's going great," your mum gradually calmed herself.

The video camera on at their end, you could see the cluttered old house you'd grown up in. Your mother had converted it from an old train carriage, with it located on a forested ridge on the road out of town. Idyllic as the surrounding scenery were, living there meant you had to walk miles to school back in the day, with how hilly Kuchinashi was not helping. Hence why you'd moved to this apartment.

"Okay, ahem, hi there Haruka, school treating you well?" came the more reserved voice of your Dad, Nakamura Yozou, still clad in a business suit and with bags around his eyes.

"Er, well..." No, absolutely not, help! is what you would've said, but your resolve wasn't that strong, "Things are looking up for me in certain ways, I guess. Like, I've been talking with people more, shown more interest in clubs, became Class Representative even," you tried to focus on the positives, even if your brain immediately added, by default, to that last one.

"Wow, and all that in your first week," your Dad remarked, "Hey, be careful not to tire yourself out, I learned that lesson the hard way after too many hours overtime". You remember the only thing Dad liked about his previous job was the sake brand it introduced him to.

"Really? Oh Haruka, that sounds wonderful!" your Mum exclaimed back, "By the way, you don't seem to have your camera on, did you just forget or-"

"Ah, no, I'll ahem, turn it on right now," you muttered. After seeing how your friends barely recognised you due to your new appearance, you'd gotten nervous about how your parents would react.

The camera on your end clicked on, and your mother's face widened, "My Haruka, you've certainly grown. Oh, people always called you a plain child, but I knew you'd one day blossom into a beautiful woman, a 'glow up' as I believe you kids call it! Finally, you're getting to express who you truly are," she beamed.

Who I truly am? Yeah, after getting dragged into a torture session called a 'makeover', you thought "Uh, thanks Mum".

"Er yeah, I have to admit, if not for your voice I wouldn't even have recognised you as, well, you," your dad stumbled with his words, but added, "Your posture's looking better too, it used to be that every time I saw you, you'd be slumped over or crouched into a corner, but now you're standing up straight and confident. Heh, I'm dreading all the boyfriends you'll be bringing home".

"You know what? You kind of remind me of the girls at my old school. Not the ones I hung out with, but the ones who were always prettier and more popular than me, who I swore I'd one day be like, but that day never came," your mother started rambling on, "Well, not for me at least".

Sheesh, my hair got styled and I had a bunch of makeup slathered on me, why is everyone making such a big deal out of this? that thought oozed inside you.

"Still need to redecorate your new room though, it's awfully bland so far," your Mum muttered, "Hmm, guess that's landlords for you".

"Oh, and about boys, how're things going with Yuya? And your friend Keiko too?" your Dad then spoke up.

"Keiko and Yuya, um," you hesitated, not quite sure what to say, "Well we thought we hit a rough patch, but I think we've smoothed it out," you came up with.

"Oh, and you have a roommate now, Megumi right?" your Mum chimed in, "Are you two getting along? Are they treating you well?"

You snuck a peek out the door to see Megumi snoring on the couch, a whole load of textbooks and empty chip packets sprawled over them.

"Yeah, 'Gumi's cool," was all you said about them.

"Right, well it sounds like you've got everything sorted out, probably more so than us in fact," your Dad said, smiling to lift the sting of that last line, "Be sure to take a break every once in a while, come visit us some time maybe?"

"Yes, and if there really is anything bothering you, know you can always talk to us about to it," your Mum piped up, "If it's a problem for you, then it's a problem for us too".

"Ah, t-thank you, I appreciate it," you told them, You sure you're not just saying that though? 'Cause I could go on for days. "See you soon, love you Mum & Dad!"

"Goodnight, angel," your parents said in unison as the call ended.

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Star Arcana"

You slumped back down on your bed, Well, that was a little ray of light, wasn't it? you thought. Sorry Mum and Dad, but tomorrow I'll be descending back into the darkness.

Friday, April 8th

"Drama Club's still deciding what play they're gonna put on-"

"Hey, who's the new girl, the redhead? Really, that's Nakamura Haruka?!"

"You've gotta go see Nightshade! She's a new singer around town, and man she's intense!"

"Okay, been having some trouble getting a gaming group together. What, not eSports, tabletop"

Trudging back into Hanataba again, whatever this 'Galactic Empire' you'd missed on the Gameboard was probably what most occupied your mind right now. But before all that, you had to stand in front of class to introduce yourself as Class Rep.

"Okay, Class 2-C, I don't wanna see you move from those chairs. Now, let's give a warm welcome to your new Class Representative, someone who's really putting herself out there, so you better not make this any harder on her, ya hear?" Tanizawa-sensei had to bark at the room, before smiling and gesturing to you as you walked in.

"Hello, everyone," you waved sheepishly, feeling everyone's stares upon you, Keiko and Yuya's being possibly the heaviest. "You may know me as Nakamura Haruka, and-" You hadn't exactly prepared any notes for this.

[ ] "-I can see people don't think of us as the school's, ahem, most respected class, but I believe our talents can truly amount to something if we all work together" you clasped your hands angelically. [+Perception]
[ ] "-I am ever so proud to be your new Class Representative, I do look forward to working with you all" you curtseyed. [+Etiquette]
[ ] "-I shall endeavour to raise this Class's standards to achieve utmost realised potential in our school system" you would've raised your glasses if you had any. [+Education]
[ ] Ah what the hell, have some fun with this. "Woo-hoo, Class 2-C rules! Can I get a hell yeah?!" you pulled out your scrunchies and shook your mane, then kicked a spare chair over and somersaulted over the teacher's desk. [+Resolve]
[ ] Write-in.

Either way, the entire class... just stared dumbfounded at you. Beads of sweat forming on your forehead, you quickly finished with, "Er, please be sure to vote for Vice-Representative this afternoon. Okay, thank you".

"Wow, Azuma has weird taste in childhood friends," you could hear a student mutter.

Later that day, you began slowly making your way over to the Prized Pupil Lounge, though you didn't even have to go that far to run into one of the All-Aces.
"Well well, Haruka," the lofty voice of Melissa Lilian rang in your ear, as she strode up to you in the hallway, "So, how's things with Azuma and you going?"

"Azuma?" you could only ask, before stating, "Haven't really caught up to him since I was last in the Lounge".

"What? Oh you hold it right there!" Melissa hissed, swerving around you to look you directly in the face, "Have you seen how Azuma acts around you? Guy's head over fuckin' heels for you! You have the chance to hook up with the most desirable bachelor in school, and you're just sitting there doing nothing?! Christ, you're nearly a grown-ass woman, yet you're still acting like boys have cooties," she harrumphed.

Yeah well, being weirdly obsessive and trying to cut you off from your friends aren't exactly turn-ons, you thought, but just said, "I guess he's cute, but y'know, still think he's kinda out of my league..."

"Okay look, I can see you're in dire need of someone to play matchmaker, so..." she then tapped her phone until it brought up a picture of Hokkaido's southern cape. "Did a little research about romantic getaway spots on this island, and they say Cape Erimo's the place to be! I can arrange Azuma and you a date there just in time to catch that cherry blossom-viewing thing you do!" she squealed with delight. "Hmhm, my family's loaded of course, so it's all on the house, financial worries are for poor people. Now aren't I just so generous?"

"Uh, okay, thanks..." was all you said in reply, knowing that she'd probably keep forcing you into this if you'd said no.

"What the hell are you two talking about?!" grumbled the approaching Eitaro.

"It's called Love and Romance, Eitaro. Meatheads like you wouldn't understand its complexities," Melissa brushed him off.

"Feh, you don't know how often I've had to break up players' relationships on the football team," he snarled, crossing his arms, "Some people can't understand that if you want success, you have to cut out any distractions".

Well, that over with, you entered the Prized Pupil Lounge and glanced up to see portraits of Aces past hung up near the ceiling. The All-Aces went back pretty far it seemed, the oldest portrait dating back to the Meiji era, right around the Hanataba's founding, Kuchinashi's founding even.
There were so many portraits that it took you a while to finally get to Rokudo Rin's, but when you did, you immediately took a step back. Her hair hadn't been bleached from, er, death, and no aviator gear, but that was clearly Lauryn.

Lau-Ryn. Ro-Rin. Rokudo Rin. Those names echoed in your head; Igor had even called his assistant a lost soul looking for an afterlife.

"Pray tell, is something the concern?" Azuma's lilting voice snapped you out of your daze.

"What? Oh no, it's nothing-" you muttered, but then crouched down to see... there was another Empire on the Gameboard's underside. You could see glinting stars in a hazy blue void, so was this that Galactic Empire?

"Er, hey, who's that Empire belong to? Thought there were only six All-Aces," you spoke up.

Azuma froze for a second, but slowly said "...That was Rin's". He went on to explain, "How can someone dead still have an Empire? Well, a person's legacy does not cease upon death, in fact one's death often only boldens their impact. Hence how our human imagination dreamt up ghosts, to describe how it feels for a person's presence to still be there, even when they're gone and buried".

"What a coincidence, Haruka was asking me about Rin, our old Ace of Pentangles, just yesterday," Kikuko spoke up, "Said she felt as a Jack, she had an obligation to find out about her".

"Aw, isn't that sweet? Like, I'm Ace of Coins, and I felt no need to brush up on some girl who died before I even got here," Melissa remarked, before trying to say, "Now, about this date I've booked for you and-"

"Still, I see no need to care about a Dead Empire," Eitaro butted in, "Lingering presence or not, Rin's out of the game. Not like she ever had the strength of will to win, as her death showed us". Azuma gave Eitaro a swift, piercing glance for that.

"Ah ah ah, you're forgetting about loot," Gakuto brought up, spinning around once in his chair, and wagging a finger, "With its throne vacant, Rin's Galactic Empire is free for the raiding. Of course, if you're planning to go there, I'll stay here for now, smartest thing for me to do would be to have someone else scout out the area".

"Hmph, my family taught me to respect suicide over capture," Kikuko interjected, "Tell me, Ace of Wands, would you have looted Honnoji after Nobunaga's death?"

"Probably," Gakuto said, "Could make a real killing on real Honnoji salvage on eBay or Instagram. Or, er, on the feudal era equivalents of those".

"Alright then, I'll come with you, Haruka," Eitaro suddenly then said, "Oh don't get me wrong, this isn't about Rin or any loot. I just can't understand why the rest of the Aces are so fixated on you, so I figure I should at least see you in action".

"I too shall come," Azuma was quick to speak up, saying, "I was the closest of all of us to Rin before her passing. It would be wrong of me to leave her Empire unattended".

"Sorry, but I- I can't," Himawari then said, tears starting to form in her eyes, "I just can't bring myself to look on Rin's Empire after she's- after she's gone. It's too hard for me, being reminded that she's... gone", she'd begun to slump on the floor.

"Oh, and bring me back a Deathstone, won't you?" were Gakuto's parting words to you.

With that, all that was left was to lay your playing cards down, if this time on the underside of the table.

"Gahh! What the-" you gasped. Maybe you leapt into the Galactic Empire too soon, because you soon found yourself floating in zero gravity!

You eventually scrambled your way onto a nearby asteroid, wondering how you were even still breathing in a place like this.
"What the hell is your problem?" Eitaro snarled, looking right down from above you.

Like you in your shining armour and Melissa in her queen-bee prom dress, you saw Eitaro's outfit had changed too, into what looked like Bronze Age battle gear with hefty shoulders, spikes around his headband and boots, and fittingly for ancient times, a plated skirt, though maybe he'd prefer the word 'kilt'. It was a stretch to call his uniform armour though, since he was also completely shirtless in this get up, with only a single leather strap across his chest.

You had the rest of this Empire to stare at too, and it was quite something. Around you were alien planets with swirling atmospheres, moonbases, ring-shaped space stations, spaceships that... looked like they belonged more in the Victorian Era or Taisho period from their rusted or Bakelite designs, and a giant crystal sphere encasing the whole Empire.
Oh, and instead of everything orbiting around a sun, there was instead a black hole at this Empire's centre instead, being one way to remind you its Empress was dead.

"Wow, Rin certainly had a strong imagination," you gasped.

"Not imagination, beliefs," you heard Azuma's voice behind you. He was now dressed in certainly more formal attire than Eitaro, looking straight out of a vampire movie with his flowing scarlet cloak, black trousers, maroon waistcoat, ruffled white tie, and dark rings around his eyes.
"Haruka, I have a question," he then said, gesturing to the world around him, "Elegance. Ancestry. Wealth. Genius. Passion. Power," he nodded at Eitaro for that last one "By what principle do you believe our world should be governed?"

You just stared at him, eventually saying "I... don't see how that's relevant right now".

Azuma laughed, "Why, when you play the Persona Game, that is the most important question of all. It's the basis from which our Empires are built on.
Still, I understand how weighty a question it is, so feel free to take your time before you give your answer," he said, before he sighed and muttered, "Rin's was Morality, a fitting theme for a Space Opera".

You barely had time to ponder though, before something crashed down onto this asteroid, sending the three of you floating back upwards. You looked and saw it was a looming, colossal Shadow in some sort of space armour, with a visor on its head scanning all around, a club that turned out to be a giant horn and, in contrast with how serious it was, had donned a glittering cape all the colours of the rainbow.

"Alright, I see this place doesn't mess around," Eitaro flashed a grin. "Get out on the field, Qin Shi Huangdi!"
Eitaro's Persona was a black-and-orange-robed imperial figure with a terracotta dragon-headed wall wrapped all around him. Said wall didn't just serve as armour, but as a restraint to keep a seething silver slime from spilling out of him like an ooze monster. His face was hidden by a curtain of beads drooping from a rectangular hat, and he wielded two spiked wind-and-fire wheels made from dragon scales.

"Take the stage, Richard III!" came Azuma's cry in turn. His Persona looked like a great haunting shade beneath its cloak and Late Medieval hat, except for his eyes and boar-like tusks which glowed the brightest white. He swung two giant roses around like bolas, one white, one black, and both their stems being completely covered in thorns. One of his legs was instead replaced by a sword to walk on, broken in the middle.

As for your move:
[ ] Theodora, with the power of mind.
[ ] Anjou, for the explosive power of war.
[ ] Forneus, with freezing ice.
[ ] Argus, to match this Shadow's gaze.
[ ] Cyclops, for sheer brute strength.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 6, 2021

[x] "-I can see people don't think of us as the school's, ahem, most respected class, but I believe our talents can truly amount to something if we all work together" you clasped your hands angelically. [+Perception]
[X] Theodora, with the power of mind.

[+3 Perception from Class Rep Intro]

"Theodora!" you called out, having your mosaic Persona arrive to blast the Shadow with raw psychic energy. Following her, you tried to flip around in zero gravity to get within range of that Shadow, but manoeuvring yourself in the void of cognitive space wasn't the easiest.

Azuma had it better in this regard, as he pulled out what looked to you like a bladed whip or segmented sword and lassoed it around an outcrop of space-rock. But this Shadow was having none of that and, shrugging of the Psy waves through force of will, threw the three of you back upwards again with a Magarula gale force strike.

"Ah good, we're finally through, can you hear us?" Gakuto's voice crackled from beyond, "You're up against Heimdall, of the Justice Arcana, the rainbow theme and horn should've made that clear. Good thing for you there's no sound in space, otherwise he could launch a nasty concussive sonic attack. Oh, and forecast warns against using Wind and Ice Spells".

We've got both wind and breath in this 'space', along with a crystal sphere. I doubt we'd be safe from sound blasts, you could only think in response. "Okay, so movement's clearly an issue here. Theodora, let's speed up!" you ordered, your Persona casting a bright green Sukukaja glow around you.

"There's no breaking this defence!" Eitaro roared, as Qin Shi Huang conjured three red, searing Rakukaja rings around him, helping shield him from a swift battering by Heimdall wielding his horn like a club. Eitaro then tried casting the same spell on Azuma, though didn't proceed to cast any protective barrier around you.

Azuma at least came through with healing, stating "Let divine mercy shine down" as Richard III cast a shining Media on the party. Eitaro however then promptly ignored Gakuto's advice and had a Garu spell cast, but not directly at Heimdall, but rather to direct his longbow's arrows towards the Shadow.

Azuma responded in turn by suddenly pulling out a crossbow, shooting bolts that ricocheted off the floating rocks towards Heimdall. Eitaro then used his wind currents to head in directly for a flying kick, only to then be knocked back when Heimdall pierced him with a Bufula icicle lance.

With Eitaro now struggling to get his foot free of the ice, you at least felt that Heimdall had now moved close enough for you to attack head-on. Casting another Sukukaja on yourself for good measure, you somersaulted upwards to deliver a cross chop with your tonfas. You scored a direct strike on Heimdall, but only for him to batter you away with another crushing swing of his horn, making you land with a thud onto the asteroid surface.

"Haruka!" Azuma called out, attempting to reach out and slash Heimdall with his whip-sword, only for Heimdall to freeze it along its entire length then break the ice, causing multiple frozen shards to be launched at Azuma, sending his now wounded body hurtling into deep space.

Eitaro, finally smashing the ice that had held him, roared and responded with a longbow arrow aimed directly between Heimdall's eyes, but Heimdall was easily able to use a conjured gale to redirect that arrow back around towards Eitaro. Piercing right into Eitaro's stomach, he almost fell unconscious.

For you, at least picking yourself back up again was relatively easy in zero gravity. This time, you shouted "Lets end this!" and cast a blinding gold Hama spell around Heimdall to just finish him off already... but no such luck. The shadow then casted Diarama upon himself to heal to full, before readying to send you flying with another icy gale.

Except, your world instead started to rewind, as scenes of the past fight flashed before you, till you suddenly found yourself back in the All-Aces' Lounge.
"What the hell? Who pulled us out?!" Eitaro was first to speak up.

"That was me," Azuma answered, "It was obvious we were clearly in over our heads, so I employed an item called a 'Goho-M' to save us from being pounded into oblivion".

Eitaro could only sneer. "Pathetic. I easily could've dealt with that Shadow myself, if it weren't for-" he turned to look at Azuma, but only able to meet his gaze for so long, instead turned to you "-That Jack you keep insisting on bringing along to the gameboard, a damn second-year who can't even build her own Empire! Humph, so much for 'proving your worth', a single Shadow is all it takes to make you retreat".

"Excuse me?!" you then spat out, about to reach the breaking point with these people, "You have Azuma to thank for getting us out of there, not me! Take it up with him, unless you're too chicken-shit to go against your King. Besides, you a match for that Shadow? He was tossing you around like a ragdoll!"

[+3 Resolve]

The whole room, Aces and Jacks, went silent, but Eitaro finally hissed, "Azuma was only made to retreat because you were too weak. Yet you think you can talk smack to me?!" Eitaro leaned in close, pointing right between your eyes, "Let's just see if you can back up those fighting words. Tomorrow, my Imperial Colosseum, I'm challenging you to a Duel".

Lacking a gauntlet, he instead conjured that flaming blue Tarot card and threw it on the ground. The gasps of all the whole room were upon you.

"Tsutsuji Eitaro," Azuma spoke up, "If you insist on this, at the very least give Haruka ample opportunity to prepare herself! Tomorrow is too short notice, even for a full-fledged Ace".

"After all, what accomplishment is there in striking down a foe who is clearly not at full strength?" Kikuko approached, making the offer, "How about this Monday, the 11th, then she will have had the whole weekend to train herself?"

Eitaro glared down at you, "Alright, fine, have your little training session, for all the good it will do you. Just don't make me wait any longer than that," he spat before storming out of the room.

Well, that certainly was the most open with his feelings you'd ever seen Eitaro...

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Chariot Arcana"

Wait, what in the world?! you thought. Well, you guessed 'dueling opponent' was technically a connection...

"Haruka..." Azuma muttered, "My apologies, I should've known, Eitaro's boiling wrath was clearly getting out of hand. Still, I believe I made the right choice in inviting you to the Gameboard, that willpower you just showed was far greater than any other student at Hanataba. Few people I know would ever stand up to Eitaro like that," he put his hand on your shoulder and smiled down at you.

"...Thanks," you muttered. "I admit, I'm scared about this coming Monday, but on the bright side," you then said, clenching your fists together, "Oh boy, I can't lie that if anyone here needs a real thumping, it's Eitaro. That jerk thinks he can just treat everyone around him like shit, even abuse his own Vice-Captain. At least this is a chance to give him a taste of his own medicine!
Just, er, one thing," your bravado then faded, as you asked, "Er, this Duel, it's not going to be, well, to the Death, is it?"

It took the whole room a while to respond, but finally Gakuto answered, "Well, I'm sure if you asked Eitaro later in court, he'd probably plea it was in self-defence or an accident or something. Guy's not exactly known for holding back, though".

"Er, I can't join the fight with you, our Rules say all Duels are One-on-One," Himawari said, but tried to perk you up with "But I'm definitely gonna be cheering on you, Haruka! Oh, you will to, won't you Melissa?"

"Hmm, hard decision honestly," Melissa then said, "On one hand, Eitaro is a total beefcake, nice change of pace from all the skinny boys around here. But on the other, I don't want that Cape Erimo trip I booked for you and Azuma to go to waste".

You already went and booked it? that thought rang out in your head, your face going pale.

"Hold on, I don't believe I've been informed of this," Azuma spoke up.

"Well, you've clearly been putting the moves on Haruka, but she's being an ungrateful little bitch by not reciprocating. So, I thought what you needed was a little getaway, a chance to really get to know each other!" Melissa ginned and clasped her hands, "If she survives, of course".

"That's..." Azuma began, but after some consideration said "...rather generous of you, Melissa. I couldn't exactly turn something like that down".

"Ahem, if we're done with all the lovey-dovey talk," Gakuto raised his voice, "I'll have to take the Switzerland route on this Duel. Who knows, might set up a betting pool? Although Haruka, if it's information on your foe you require, I'm always available for, let's just say, a price," he nudged his glasses, "Of course, the same goes for Eitaro, though he'll likely insist he knows all he needs to".

You flinched, simply saying "Er, lemme get back to you on that". Lemme get back to you all on everything, you thought, Well, at least I know one place to go to prepare.

Popping out of school to enter back into the Velvet Room, you said to Lauryn, "Well, investigated that Galactic Empire like you asked. Sorry, but I couldn't find much, got thrashed all over by the gatekeeper there," you shrugged, "There was this black hole in the centre of everything though, take it that wasn't there before?"

"A black hole?" the aviatrix gasped, "Well, thank you all the same, I didn't expect it would be an easy mission for you. Um, so you would've seen the portraits hanging above the Gameboard, right?"

"Yeah," you replied simply, before finally voicing out "...You're Rokudo Rin, right?"

Lauryn didn't even speak, only nodding.

"It is a most strange occurrence indeed," Igor spoke up, "While guests within our Velvet Room have gone on to great heights, not many so far have taken up the role of assistant here. Yes, Lauryn had her own Journey, one which even after death is not yet over. For her to truly reach the end however, another may have to finish what she began".

"So er, well there's no easy way to put this," you mumbled, before taking a deep breath and saying, "Um, they say you committed suicide..."

"Suicide?" Lauryn raised her voice, "No, I would never! I'm, well, I'm not sure how I died" she snarled and looked down, "I was asleep at the time, but to my knowledge I was perfectly healthy".

You froze, finally moving your lips "You're, you're saying you were murdered?!"

"I, I don't know of any other explanation," she could only say.

That was, well, certainly a confession you got out of Lauryn. At that moment, you saw the entire Velvet Room light up, like the storm outside had unleashed a bolt of lightning.

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Death Arcana"

"Well well, two Social Links within this very Velvet Room," Igor grinned "Although Popo here isn't an official resident, but regardless".

Speaking of Popo, that's right, you'd be due new Personae now.
"Right Miss, coming right up," the pegasus pony chirped.

Reflections of the Personae of those who had ventured with you into the Galactic empire soon emerged:

"I am Emperor Richard III, Last Petal on the White Rose" whispered the shadowy king, "What is done cannot be now amended".

Elements: Resists Bless, weak to Ice
Stats:
- Strength: |||||
- Cognition: |||||
- Agility: |||||
- Luck: |||||
- Endurance: |||||
Skills:
- Kouha
- Eiha
- Dia

"I am Chariot Qin Shi Huang, King of All under Heaven," boomed the terracotta tyrant, "My legacy will last till the world's end!"

Elements: Strong to Wind, weak to Gun
Stats:
- Strength: |||||
- Cognition: |||||
- Agility: |||||
- Luck: |||||
- Endurance: |||||
Skills:
- Garu
- Makanda
- Rakukaja

"Wait, no Heimdall?" you spoke up.

"It seems your aberrant Wild Card only works when it comes to Shadows you have either bested, or Personae who've come to your aid," Igor replied, before clenching his hands tighter, "Moreover, we have another problem.
At present, it seems your psyche can only hold up to six Personae, any more and you will become burdened with immense mental strain," he explained, "Fortunately, we have ways of getting around that. Either you simply leave a Persona's card here with us in storage, or we can have two or three of your Personae fuse".

The fusions recommended to you were:
[ ] Chariot Cyclops + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Chariot Cuchulainn (Physical and Wind)
[ ] Emperor Forneus + Emperor Richard III = Emperor Seiryu (Ice and Healing)
[ ] Fool Theodora + Hanged Man Argus = Tower Lancelot (Physical and Ice)
[ ] Fool Theodora + Strength Anjou = Death Santa Muerte (Curse and Gun)
[ ] Fool Theodora + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Moon Yutu (Nuclear and Healing)
[ ] Chariot Qin Shi Huang + Hanged Man Argus = Fool Coyote (Psy and Fire)
[ ] Strength Anjou + Hanged Man Argus = Temperance Clementia (Healing and Psy)
[ ] Write-in Fusion
[ ] No fusion, just leave a Persona here (write-in)

"If you ever need an old persona returned to you, I can summon it again using this Persona Compendium," Lauryn told you, holding a book.

"Until next time," Igor said, bidding you farewell.

And since you'd been kicked off the Gameboard quite quickly, and your Velvet Room visit hadn't taken that long, there should still be some after school clubs still operational. Let's see:

[ ] Occult Club's on, Colette will be pestering you about that.
[ ] There's Drama Club, maybe you should get to know Azuma a little better, if only 'cause of that dumb date.
[ ] Why not hang out with Reina again?
[ ] You can join Kendo Club, but is your resolve really that strong yet?
[ ] Ryouko probably needs some assistance...
[ ] There's still part-time jobs:
- [ ] Tabletop gaming store.
- [ ] Sweets shop.
- [ ] Record store.
- [ ] Local Museum.
- [ ] Modelling.
[ ] Write-in.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 7, 2021

[X] Fool Theodora + Strength Anjou = Death Santa Muerte (Curse and Gun)
[X] Occult Club's on, Colette will be pestering you about that.
[X] There's still part-time jobs:
- [X] Tabletop gaming store.

You didn't have to go far to run into Colette again.
"Well well, Class Rep now are we?" she giggled in your presence, pulling a mock curtsy. "We haven't interacted much since the week began, have we? Still, from what I've been observing, those All-Aces don't seem to have gotten to you much, but nevertheless, you do have some explaining to do" she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Explaining?" you cocked your head, "Over what, not paying enough attention to you".

"Oh don't pretend like you don't know," she sighed, before spelling it out to you, "About leaving the position of Vice-Rep up to a class vote. Humph, I can finally see why Socrates hated democracy, as the will of the people decided it'd be a fun little prank to play by electing me 2-C's Vice-Rep!" she seethed.

You almost couldn't believe what you heard. "Wait, you're my Vice-Rep now?" you just had to giggle, but tried to lighten things with "Hey, on the bright side, hanging out with you more may be the antidote I need to the All-Aces' poison. Besides, maybe you weren't voted in because of a prank, maybe it was because the Class genuinely looked up to you?"

Colette's gaze turned cold, "Have you even met the rest of our Class?" she stated, before breathing deep and explaining, "I believe I've made it clear to you I'm quite happy on the fringes of society, being pushed into the spotlight like this most displeases me".

"Really? 'Cause you sure seem to push yourself into the spotlight around me whenever you can," you smirked at her.

Colette gritted her teeth as she said "I'll choose to interpret your words charitably, as if you simply need someone you can be open with, after having to keep a tight lip around the All-Aces today".

That just made you laugh. "Yeah, about that," you spoke up, saying "I finally told the All-Aces, Eitaro specifically, how I really felt today. I may have put my life on the line because of it, but I'll take my victories where I can," you grinned.

Colette was almost speechless a second, but then said "Y-you mean that? Why Haruka, that does sound like quite the tale to be told! But of course, not out in the halls obviously, let's head to Occult Club immediately".

Sitting back in the darkened room, Colette began flicking through a collection of vinyl LPs she had on the shelves, "Have to set the appropriate atmosphere, you know," she said to you, "But I'm practically paralysed with choice".
You took a look at her music collection, even if you had to squint in the dark to make out some of the names. Hmm, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Nick Cave, Dead Can Dance, Malice Mizer, Voltaire, Rasputina, Kanon Wakeshima, Lingua Ignota, the names kept going on, you kinda lost track a little. You did feel like you had more insight into what Colette was like.

[+2 Perception]

"Oh, just never mind," Collette sighed, "The other club members will be here soon, so it's best you just tell me while we still have a little privacy," she said, proceeding to light some candles so that the room wasn't a total black blob.

"To make it quick, I told Sports Ace Eitaro he could stuff it," you put simply, folding your arms, "That he should stop calling others weak to hide his own failures. And..." you paused, a lump in your throat, "Then he challenged me to a Duel".

"Oh my!" Colette had to giggle, "What kind of 'duel'? Cards, chess, archery, fencing, pistols at dawn?"

"With Personae," you muttered, the humour in your voice gone, "On the Gameboard. At the Heart of his Empire".

Colette stared blankly, wincing as she said "Er, sorry, I honestly have no idea what any of those are," then after more silence, "I would say it sounds awfully poetic, but... from your expression, I can tell this is something dead serious, pardon the pun".

"Yeah, I could be dead this Monday," you said, looking down, guess this is what I get for assuming Colette was aware of all this.

"Well, whatever those terms mean, I'm not surprised that those as aristocratic as the All-Aces would be engaging in some absolutely 17th-century behaviour," Colette said, but the lowered her voice, "I have no evidence linking them directly to Rin's death, I mean she died before we even started coming here, but I'm beyond surprise at this point.
Still, you're up against Eitaro, right? Well that meathead probably knows no strategy other than brute force, so at least you've got someone easy to counter," she said, before looking around, "Ah, that'll be the rest of the club. Come in, come in!"

You were soon joined by three more students, a scruffy-haired boy with cat ears and two tails, a skinny boy wrapped in bandages with his hands in a meditative position, and a girl with wavy hair and with the lower half of her face completely covered.

"Haruka, may I introduce you to Hitoshi, Masaomi, and Ibuki, my fellow delvers in the dark," Colette smiled and gestured to them.

"Nyan~!" Hitoshi purred, winking and extending a paw towards you.

"Greetings," Masaomi stoically spoke, bowing at you.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Ibuki whispered in your ear.

"Er, what the-" you stuttered, before saying "Yeah sure, you're alright-looking".

Ibuki giggled and then uncovered her mouth, showing what looked like two long scars either side of her mouth, "Do you think I'm pretty?!" she repeated.

"Eeyah!" you burst out, stumbling back almost over a chair "Alright alright, you're friggin' drop-dead gorgeous, okay?!"

"Relax Haruka, the three of them were simply getting into character," Colette grinned, helping you back on your feet, "Oh, to clarify, Hitoshi's a nekomata, Masaomi comes as a sokushinbutsu, while our Ibuki is the kuchisake-onna. And I'm the doll, of course".

"You always get to be the doll," Masaomi muttered beneath his breath.

"Ooh, that reminds me. Since you're new to the club Haruka, we haven't picked out a costume for you yet," Colette started pondering.

You replied:
[ ] "I'm feeling more and more like a marionette these days"
[ ] "Creepy jester maybe? Feels like I've had some mean jokes played on me"
[ ] "Er, witch? Most obvious one I can think of"
[ ] "Er, zombie make-up should be easy" Plus I could be dead soon anyway.
[ ] "Can't I just come as I am? If anyone asks, say I'm the 'Final Girl'."
[ ] "How about a werewolf? Might as well use the club to unwind a little." (@Edgedancer write-in)
[ ] Write-in.

"Why, an ingenious idea!" Colette beamed, before she stood back and cleared her throat, "Now, you all know why I've summoned you here today".

"Brewing potions!" Hitoshi spoke up.

"Preparing coffins," Masaomi droned.

"Bargaining with demons!" Ibuki flashed a wild smile (though not like she couldn't).

"Er, don't we serve tea here?" you only offered.

"Well yes, of course tea!" Colette answered "In fact, we have a lovely serving of Melbourne Breakfast ready, even if of course it's long after breakfast. I even stayed in Melbourne once, as part of an exchange program. I was afraid the sun would be insufferable, but has luck would have it, Melbourne's quite the delightfully gloomy, rainy city.
Ah, but I'm getting sidetracked. No, the real reason is-" she then pulled out a needle and thread, "Sewing lessons! A necessary skill for keeping up with the latest in gothic fashion. With how expensive it is these days, DIY's really the only way to go for those of us who aren't drowning in lucre".

Well, sewing certainly did train you to be precise, not to mention refined. You still kept missing the needle most of the time though...

[+1 Perception, +1 Education, +2 Etiquette]

Sometime later, Colette groaned "Unfortunately, the Occult Club has to abide by school rules and close up for the evening. Shame, it would be most intriguing to explore our school deserted at night, but regardless".

Oh, that reminded you of one last thing, "Hey Colette, you know how you were talking about music earlier? Have you heard of this 'Nightshade' singer around town?" you asked, "Like, I only really know the name..."

"Nightshade? Ah, but of course, I was planning to attend a performance of her's tonight!" Colette said, writing down the place's address to you, "It's not exactly an All-Ages venue, but a little etiquette and right word choice can get you in anywhere, I feel. If you ask me, most musicians around Kuchinashi could likely only get applause from their mothers, but nightshade, yes, she is indeed the exception! Very, ahem, expressive"

"8:00 PM huh?" you read, "Well that's... manageable, and Tanizawa-sensei I don't think is the type to mind students oversleeping. Okay, you're on, I'll try to make it!" A concert sounds like just the thing to take my mind off... everything.

"Ah, perfect!" Colette grinned "Our paths shall next cross there, then".

- The Moon has Journeyed to Rank 2! -

Before you entered your apartment, you dialed up Tumbling Dice, the local gaming store for everything except video games, though you had to admit that sweet shop job was tempting, and maybe modelling now if you were desperate enough.
"Hello there, Nakamura Haruka here, noticed you were looking for-" you began your call, but soon stopped when you recognised the voice on the other end of the line, "Wait, Hotaru- ahem, Student Council President?"

"Haruka, hey. You're that girl with the All-Aces, right?" you could hear Hotaru's voice come in, "Oh, you're 2-C's Class Representative too, I remember. But hey, that's all school stuff, right? You were calling to help our store out, right?"

"Uh, yes," you nodded, despite being on the phone "So, er, family business?"

"What? Oh yeah, I wish. Nope, I've been frequenting this store for about a decade now, Student Council's pretty hectic, so it's nice to kick back and escape sometimes," he explained, "Anyway, you're pretty accomplished yourself Haruka, from what I've heard, so why not come in to apply? This Saturday sound good to you?"

"Er, of course, I could squeeze that in. See you then, bye!" you hung up, before walking into your apartment to say, "Hey Megumi, how's that for a job interview, hmm?"

"Hey, careful now, they haven't accepted your application yet," Megumi just mumbled from watching Phoenix Rider in a daze, "But a gaming shop, huh? Yeah, sounds fun".

Heading into your room, you got changed into the elegant get-up you'd picked out with Reina, before lifting Megumi by their arm.
"Hey, Megumi, kinda need your help tonight," you told them, "You know that singer Nightshade, right? Well, I'm heading to one of her performances, but based on the place, it kinda sounds like I need an adult with me to get in. You up?"

"Oh yeah, Nightshade," Megumi said, "Well, guess I didn't need my eardrums anyway. Sure, I can come with you, it's not like I had anything else planned tonight, honestly".

A little while later, you'd hopped into the passenger seat of Megumi's motorbike, and soon sped off downtown. The nightclub in question, Dark Desires, at least didn't take long to find. It was a pretty cramped place, its neon lights constantly short-circuiting and cables everywhere on the floor, though with how much room the stage took up, at least Nightshade would have plenty of space to perform. So far, seemed the only 'desire' around here was for a better club.

Before this Nightshade could come onto the stage, you ran into someone else, er, someone you really weren't hoping to encounter here.

"Haruka?!" exclaimed Ryouko, with her dressed surprisingly stylishly in ironed black trousers and a white waistcoat.

"T-Tanizawa-sensei?" you sputtered out, before desperately thinking of anything to change the topic.

Luckily, something came up. "Hmhm, well now Haruka, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend now?" Ryouko suddenly purred.

You flinched. "Who, Megumi? Oh okay, er they're my roommate, they're doing a college degree right now," was all the info you could offer.

Megumi laughed warmly, them now dressed in a sparkly black-green dress with white shorts underneath, and said to Ryouko "Umebayashi Megumi. I've heard about you from Haruka, Miss Tanizawa".

"You know," Ryouko's smile widened as she flicked her hair, "I'm fond of the androgyne style myself, if you hadn't noticed".

"Well, for me, it's more than a style, but still, I appreciate your interest," Megumi giggled, before turning to bartender and asking for "Your best red wine, please. Oh, and Miss Tanizawa, may I call you Ryouko? What will you be having?"

Geez Megumi, first you're worried about making rent, now you're splurging on wine? you could only think. Come on, when's Nightshade gonna start? My teacher flirting with my roommate is frankly not something I needed to see.

Your chance to slip away then came though, as you could hear Colette calling out to you from the other side of the room. "Haruka, over here!" she waved to you, still dressed in the same dark, frilly clothes as before.

Sighing with relief and sidling over to her, Colette then told you, "By the way, turns out they're quite lax about letting minors in here, just as long as we stick to Oolong tea. Which suits me just fine".

"Wait, so you mean I didn't have to watch our teacher and my roommate chatting each other up?" you gulped.

"Au contraire Haruka, I'd say they're simply adorable together- oh wait, show's starting," Colette said as the lights dimmed, intentionally this time.

A scarlet spotlight then shone on a girl with pitch black contact lenses with red pupils, her wearing a blood red corset, short pleated black skirt, and purple lacy thigh-high socks, though most stunning was her bright pink hair. "Alright peasants, bow before your Queen! Let's rock this godforsaken joint!" she let out a banshee screech, as the music came on and she began to sing.

Other than her screaming her lungs out, Nightshade's act was, er, certainly something. Other than multiple instances of what looked like her humping her mic and the floor, there were even instances of her pointing a replica gun near her head, running a blade near her tongue, and smearing herself with what better have been fake blood.

She... also looked weirdly familiar, and not just from the posters either. Unfortunately, you weren't perceptive enough to know where your deja vu came from.

But your teacher certainly was. "Excuse me, I'm just... such a fan of Miss Nightshade that I absolutely must meet her backstage," Ryouko said quickly, heading to the dressing room.

"Wait, huh?" Colette muttered, before she turned to you and tugged your hand, "Well, why should only Tanizawa-sensei get to meet Nightshade in person? Allons-y!"

With Megumi choosing to respect Ryouko's privacy, or maybe just too wine-drunk to notice she was elsewhere, that left the three of you to meet Nightshade in her dressing room.

The costumed singer turned to look at you and smirked, "Sorry, due for an encore, so if you want autographs you'll have to sit your arses down".

"Oh no, you better sit your arse down," Ryouko approached, pulling off Nightshade's wig, to let long, deep bluish hair cascade down, "Miss Aoyagi!"

Nightshade, no, Himawari then started panicking, promptly running around to hold the door back out firmly shut as her black contacts fell out. "M-Miss Tanizawa! Haruka! P-please, you can't tell anyone about this, I beg you-" she began, before she took back her pink wig and growled out "Seriously, what the bloody Hell are you trying to pull? Oh, you think you can waltz in here and cut my career short, can you? Well, this ain't school anymore, Ryouko, so if you wanna throw down..."

Huh, this sure explains that 'Criminal Empire', you thought.

"Oh no, I'm here to congratulate you," Ryouko laughed, "This is certainly an impressive stunt you're performing, Himawari, I never expected this would be the legacy of Class 2-C. She was my student last year in case you weren't aware," she whispered that last line to you.

Nightshade gave a fanged grin, "Oh no, Ryouko, I don't 'perform'. This is who I really am, love me or leave me".
She then began to snarl, "Every single person in my life, my parents, my teachers, my classmates, they've all been pushing me to be this innocent little good girl, never giving a shit about what I feel, never thinking that I'm only a goddamn human being!" Her composure returned, as she flashed a wicked smile "Face facts, Aoyagi Himawari's dead, long live Nightshade!"

She then however removed her wig and whimpered, "But, um, please don't tell anyone. If anyone in my life found out, it-it scares me how they could react..." her eyes started welling up.

"Of course we shan't" Colette promised, "There always seemed something... fake about Himawari, but this night has proven, Nightshade, that you're far more than just another All-Ace. Plus, you're the best singer around, without you Kuchinashi's music scene would be a lost cause".

"Listen, Himawari or Nightshade, you're still one of the highest-scoring students 2-C ever had, so I can't just turn on you" Ryouko took her hand.

Himawari blushed, before she looked right at you. "I'm sorry for deceiving you, Haruka, about who I really am" she muttered, before the wig came back on and she said, "Tell me, Haruka darling, hmhm, what do you think now that you've gotten to know the real me?!"

[ ] "You do seem a lot happier, a lot more comfortable with yourself..."
[ ] "Er, you see, I do miss the old Himawari just a little"
[ ] "You're not even out of high school, how can you tell if you've found the 'real you'?"
[ ] "I, ah, might still need more time to process all this"
[ ] Write-in.

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Devil Arcana"

(QM's Note: Wanted to skip ahead to the Nightshade reveal since, well, people had pretty much already figured it out, so i saw no point in delaying it further.)

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 8, 2021

(QM's Note: Little warning before we start, this chapter gets a little more, er, Mature-rated, especially halfway through, although nothing worse than what was tackled early on in Persona 5.
Also, there's a rough equivalent to Kamen Rider in Persona already, Zephyrman in P5 Strikers, but eh I feel he's kind of a stretch from KR.)

[X] "I'm feeling more and more like a marionette these days"
[X] "You do seem a lot happier, a lot more comfortable with yourself..."

"Haha, knew you'd come around," Nightshade grinned, before leaning in closer and saying, "Seriously though, if you tell anyone at school about this," she then mimed a finger across the throat.

"Ah, but interacting with fans bores me," she moaned, "I am overdue back on for an encore, don't want the crowd to tear this entire place down in frustration, after all. Grr, still stuck using backing tracks though, I really need to get a backing band together, but I can't ask any of my schoolmates".

It was then Colette stood up, "You can ask this schoolmate, I'm a great appreciator of music, from Classical to Contemporary. Admittedly writing and sewing are more my specialties, but you could say that means I'm skilled with my hands, hmhm," she giggled.

"Er, I've barely touched an instrument, but still, being in a Visual Kei girl band sounds way cooler than teaching. So I don't mind," Ryouko stepped in, before she admitted, "Plus, guess I owe you for, y'know, exposing you earlier".

The three of them then turned to look at you, so you just said to Nightshade, "Er, could we talk in private, please?"
The two of you walked to the side, where you went in and whispered, "Don't know if you've forgotten, Ace of Hearts, but your unhinged clubmate is threatening to kill me this Monday. I don't exactly have time to be practicing music".

Nightshade however only beamed widely at that, saying "Okay babe, why don't we make a sisterly Soul Pact? You back me up on stage, and if Eitaro really does fricassee you, then I'll Duel him to avenge you".

That didn't quite convince you, "What, are you going to hit him with your mic? Challenge him to a dance-off?"

"You dare underestimate my Anastasia?" Nightshade haughtily chuckled, "Oh, and as for my weapon of choice, try a ball-and-chain and throwing axes".

"Wow, okay then. So ah, do the other Aces know about you being Nightshade?" you had to ask.

That made Nightshade pause to think, before she said "I haven't told them, but I'm worried some of them may've figured it out on their own. Plus, my Gameboard Regalia is, well, not very subtle about it. Did think to ask Melissa to join me, but she'd just try and make the whole thing about her, then rat me out if I ever told her to shut it. The Jacks should be totally clueless about me though.
Oh, and if you're getting ideas about that, sorry, can't promote you to Jack of Hearts, people would just ask about the specific connection," she said.

"Why? Can't you just say we're like, friends or something?" you asked.

"First, we've known each other like, a week, and second, being a personal Jack is more about than just being friends," she said as she licked her lips, "You're basically asking to become my slave, little Haruka" she ran a nail along your skin.

"Ah, so yeah, I'll join your band," you quickly finished the conversation, as Nightshade and you could already feel Colette and Ryouko starting to stare you.

"Okay yeah, encore time, gotta go," Nightshade said as she headed back to the stage, "I'll let you decide what instruments you're gonna pick, sounds like you're equally hopeless at most of them, really".

"Okay, so instruments. Right then..."

[ ] Yourself: Guitar, Colette: Bass, Ryouko: Drums.
[ ] Yourself: Guitar, Ryouko: Bass, Colette: Drums.
[ ] Colette: Guitar, Ryouko: Bass, Yourself: Drums
[ ] Colette: Guitar, Yourself: Bass, Ryouko: Drums.
[ ] Ryouko: Guitar, Yourself: Bass, Colette: Drums.
[ ] Ryouko: Guitar, Colette: Bass, Yourself: Drums.
[ ] Write-in.

Back in your apartment, you had to now deal with your teacher and your roommate making out in the doorway.

"Oh my God, I had such a great time tonight," Ryouko moaned, fingering the top of Megumi's blouse.

"Same," Megumi just smiled, holding Ryouko's hand and receiving her kiss.

Ew, gross gross grossgrossgross, was what you'd been thinking the whole time.
"Okay, freakin' break it up you two," you yelled out, pushing Tanizawa-sensei out of the door.

"Argh, seriously Haruka?" Ryouko complained as she thumped on your now locked door. "Ooh, I am so going to dock your grade for this, young lady!"

"Sheesh, did you really have to do that?" Megumi frowned at you, "I did get you into that nightclub, y'know. Besides, contrary to popular belief, it's not easy to find dates in college".

You sighed, "Look, if you want, you can totally see my teacher whenever. Just... not while I'm in the room, please," you whimpered.

Megumi just had to laugh, sidling up to you and saying, "You're not jealous, are you?"

You then sprang back "...Jealous? W-why would I be jealous?" you tried to smile.

"That an overworked college student like me can at least still get a date," Megumi smirked at you, "Well okay, it is your first week back after all, so maybe that's unfair. Still, only took one night for Ryouko to come home with me".

You stared at them, as you slowly sputtered out, "Oh come on, I can get totally get a date! My popularity at school's shot way up since I started hanging with the All-Aces!" It's gonna go up even further once I'm dead, high school tends to be like that. "I just, ah, haven't found the time, that's all".

"If you say so," Megumi muttered, before saying with a flick of their hair, "Take a little advice from the 'lovemeister' here though. Seek out common interests, 'cause if you can't find them, all your conversations are going to be non-starters. For example," they picked up a figurine, "You know Phoenix Rider, right? Way better than Featherman, I'd say. Point is, being a popular series for decades now, it can also serve as a good starting topic".

[+3 Perception, +1 Etiquette]

"Er, well I haven't really kept up with the show for years, but I get your point," you said, thinking a little, "I know from childhood that Yuya's a fan, and Keiko even more so. Though er, why'd you think it's better than Featherman?"

"Eh, there's always a bunch of Phoenix Rangers, but a Phoenix Rider is forced to stand alone. Being outside the gender binary, that really gets to you," Megumi began, but had to admit "Okay, that's more true for earlier seasons. But Phoenix Rider had a Season themed around friggin' Candy, has Featherman ever had a season about that?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that" you nod, "It was about a girl escaping from the cult that abducted her as a child".

"Ahem, yeah. Kinda think we've gone off-topic a bit though," Megumi said, before standing up off the couch, "Point is, Nakamura Haruka, I'm challenging you to a contest. Find a date by your mid-terms, end of this year at the very latest, or you'll have to, er, well I'll think of something later".

Heh, I might not even have that long, you thought as you slumped down.

- Temperance has Journeyed to Rank 2! -

They suddenly shut the door to your own bedroom. "For cutting off my make-out session with Ryouko though, you're sleeping on the couch tonight. Deal with it," Megumi said through the door.

"What the- Oh come on!" you called out, thumping on your own door but to no avail.

Saturday, April 9th

"Hey, you heard about this new gossip site Secret Lives of Students? There's some nasty stuff on there -"

"- Wow, I thought Eitaro was cool and tough, but he's been getting really agitated lately"

"What? You mean there's a Maid and Butler as students here? Oh, they're Jacks, guess that explains it -"

"- Wait, imagine if that gossip site dug up stuff on the All-Aces?"

"Ah Haruka, perfect timing," you were suddenly met at the school gates by Gakuto, all of people. A small crowd of students had even started to crowd around.

"What is it?" you muttered, "I'm not exactly flush with cash, if you still wanna sell info on Eitaro".

"Oh my no, I'm more than loaded, so no yen required," Gakuto smiled, before suddenly leading you behind a tree.
"In exchange for every little speck of dirt I have on our Ace of Swords, I have a more... specific request," his smiled stretched out to a wide, thin grin as he pushed up his glasses "Send nudes".

You would've immediately taken a step back, had you not been back up against a tree "-The Hell?!"

"Preferably of Himawari, although Melissa I wouldn't mind if possible, but I could settle for disrobed pictures of you. Not Kikuko though, I'm no daredevil, I don't wanna risk getting my testicles sliced off," he said, before noticing your pulsing glare, "Okay, I can see you're not convinced. Look, I'll sweeten the deal, send me regular pictures and I'll just edit them to make deepfake porn, how's that sound? ...What about upskirt shots then?"

Not holding back, you swiftly kicked him right in the groin. "Drop fucking dead, Gakuto!" you roared.

[+3 Resolve]

"Gyaaargh!" he groaned and whimpered, before he hissed at you "You're lucky I've declared myself neutral in this Duel, else I would've sold every scrap of info I could find on you to Eitaro for that!"
He started laughing like a hyena, saying "Whatever, I've got this whole Persona Game in the bag. I'll just pit everyone against each other, then swoop in and finish off the last, weakened contestant".

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," you snarled.

Walking back to the school door, those students started whispering amongst themselves, stuff like "Did, did she just seriously kick an All-Ace in the crotch?", then opposing views like "How dare she do that?" and "Wow, she's badass!"

Sitting in class, you could feel Tanizawa-sensei's eyes fixed on you, as she slowly said "Okay then, Little Miss Vag-Blocker, how 'bout a question?"

Jesus, did you have to bring that thing with Megumi up in front of class? you thought as you sweated.

"Which of the following is not an Agatha Christie novel?"
[ ] A Daughter's a Daughter
[ ] Hallowe'en Party
[ ] Poirot Investigates
[ ] The Clocks

You gave your answer, but she hardly seemed that impressed anyway. She did have to turn around to admit to you, "Good job standing up to Gakuto back there though. I had him in my class last year, guy was a douche back then too".
Well, that was something.

Being Saturday, you were off school fairly early, so took the opportunity to head down to the game store you'd been on the phone with, Tumbling Dice, to more formally apply for a job there.

It wasn't the best looking or most spacious store, and the musty green wallpaper wasn't the most stylish, but it still had a very decent collection of board and tabletop games all stacked up, at least a decent collection to your knowledge. The scaly, medieval framework along its window was a nice touch.

It was then you were approached by the star-badged Student Council President himself, Morikawa Hotaru.
"Great, you've found the place, I was beginning to worry. Come in, come in! Er, duties here mostly just revolve around stacking boxes, also recommending games to customers based on their preferences, but that's about it really" he said before sighing.

"Wow, that really was you on the phone then," you had to giggle, "So I wasn't talking to a surprisingly good voice impersonator".

Hotaru didn't know how to react to that, but just "Oh yeah, huh, cool. Anyway, what I really needed help with was finding another member for our gaming group, especially since Daisuke, well, you know".

You didn't say anything to that, but just nodded. Yeah, I know, you thought.

"And I'm glad you came Haruka. From everything I've heard, it sounds like you'd be prime player material. Like, I checked your social media profiles, basic employment requirement, and it sounds like you've already got quite the backstory," Hotaru grinned.

You remembered that little fanfic of you Azuma wrote, "Oh yeah," That.

"Of course, before all that, we of course have to decide what game we're playing" he said, ushering you into the store's darkened back room where two other guys were at sitting at a table. One fairly normal looking, with slippery black hair and a suit on, almost like he hadn't had time to change out of his salaryman clothes, and the other a foreigner with greasy red hair and freckles.

"Torashi, Damian," Hotaru introduced the two, "This here's Haruka, she's gonna be our new member, right?"

"Uh yeah, sure," you mumbled, "Why not?"

"Okay, hi. So, we've settled on Dragon Record, right?" Torashi went on to say.

"Dragon Record, really? Come on, there's more interesting stuff out there, like why not Atomspire?" Damian spoke up.

"Look, Dragon Record gets way more interesting if you go beyond the basic setting," Torashi argued.

"Er, okay, so..." Hotaru gulped, "As Game Master here, I've got the final say, but I'd be interested in what you think, Haruka, you are the newcomer here after all", he said as he took a pile of six games and dropped them on the table, "We're probably not gonna get much more than character creation done this afternoon though".

[ ] Dragon Record. Basic Fantasy setting, Elves, Dwarves, Warriors, Thieves, Mages. Makes sense for your first time.
[ ] Slime: The Genesis. Er, apparently you play as blob-people. Tragic and serious horror game though.
[ ] Atomspire. Hybrid fantasy setting with nuclear power in it, drawing just as much on 50s America and other Atomic Age stuff.
[ ] Loathcrypt. Much more low-powered, well the player characters are anyway, RPG about retaining sanity in the face of the indescribable.
[ ] Phoenix Ranger Featherman RPG. Title kinda says it all.
[ ] Tears from the Veil. You play as high-schoolers, wow, big change there, but you go around solving mysteries about weird machines in the countryside.
[ ] Write-in.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 9, 2021

(QM's Note: If you're wondering what the point of your generated character doing character generation is, it's because Stat Gains from the Fortune Link work a little different. Whereas Social Stat Gains in other S. Links are set, here which Stats are raised depends on what sort of character you make Haruka play as.)

[X] Poirot Investigates
[X] Ryouko: Guitar, Yourself: Bass, Colette: Drums.
[X] Tears from the Veil. You play as high-schoolers, wow, big change there, but you go around solving mysteries about weird machines in the countryside.

"Alright, I've settled on Tears from the Veil," Hotaru announced over the table, "It's Haruka's first time coming here, so how about we do her a favour, hmm?"

"Tears from the Veil? Oh, that's the Goonies-like game with the weird art, right?" Damian asked, before he said to Torashi, "Oh, The Goonies was-"

"80s Spielberg movie, yeah, I've seen it," Torashi cut in.

"Okay, but first we should set the music," Hotaru spoke up, starting to scroll through this phone to find a fitting playlist. Took him a while, but he eventually settled on something.

"Well, that should be atmospheric enough," he said, as he then handed you the Players' Manual, "Alright, I'll set the scene. It's near the end of the Showa Era, just before the economy plummeted, and you're a growing teen who's getting bored of their small hometown of, er," he quickly brought up a map of Japan on his phone and went, "Inaba, small town of Inaba, north of Mt. Fuji".

Teen bored of their country town, wow, escapism, you thought dully.

"Oh, the Showa Era was-" Torashi began.

"20s to the 80s, yeah, got it," Damian cut in.

"Anyway, you're growing up in a time where a bunch of new computer technology is being rolled out. You see, new computer programs have been made accessible that allow kids to conjure up Monsters through code, and with your parents all working for Omoikane Computer Labs, you're one of the first in your town to get access to these," Hotaru went on, "Just one problem though, you've been hearing of rogue monsters stalking the streets at night. Okay, got that?" he finished, as he started passing around character sheets.

You stared at yours, twirling your pencil around as you did so. For what you heard would be a fairly close-to-home, coming up with a character on the fly proved surprisingly strenuous, you could see why Hotaru said it could take all session. Ultimately you settled on:

Name:
[ ] Kitagawa Hitomi
[ ] Kidou Akinori
[ ] Yamane Kurumi
[ ] Write-in

Archetype:
[ ] Popular
[ ] Delinquent
[ ] Academic
[ ] Ordinary
[ ] Write-in

Specialisation:
[ ] Emotional
[ ] Social
[ ] Intellectual
[ ] Physical
[ ] Balanced

"Right, that seems pretty reasonable," Hotaru muttered as he looked over your character sheet, "Now, Damian, hmmm, yeah I kinda expected you to play as a foreign student, but that's okay, guess it's what you know and... Torashi, what is this?"

"Well, I thought my character concept might bring a bit of variation to the game, thinking outside the box a little," Torashi tried to explain.

"Torashi, you've written in your bio that your character is the reincarnation of an ancient feudal warlord, beat up multiple yakuza gangs before high school, and is a top undercover agent of the Secret Demon Strike Force," Hotaru told him point blank.

"Hey, this is already a supernatural setting clearly, so I don't see how my character bio could honestly be so unworkable by the game's logic," Torashi huffed, crossing his arms.

"Listen, the core concept of Tears from the Veil is mundane students suddenly coming into contact with mysteries far beyond them," Hotaru tried to keep cool, "Whereas if your character is clearly more than mundane from the very get-go, the initial impact of the supernatural world upon is nowhere near as-"

Damian and you just sighed and looked at together as Hotaru and Torashi's argument continued on, "Hope this isn't what his student council meetings are like," you whispered to him.

Your Game Master, at the point of collapse, eventually exclaimed, "Okay, fine! Just... maybe leave the whole secret agent stuff till later in the campaign, how 'bout that?! Okay, are we good to go?"

"Er, according to your door, it's about time you started closing up shop," you pointed out.

"What? Oh, er, right, yeah that," Hotaru put his hand to his head, "Right, so next session we should be ready to officially start the game.
By the way, Haruka," he then said, "Feel free to invite other people along, if you'd like. I know you hang out with the All-Aces, so I thought it'd be really cool if you somehow got Gakuto to join us here".

Er, no. No. Nonononono! you instantly thought, but just said, "Think Gakuto's been pretty busy recently, I mean he's got like gaming and computer stuff to do on top of schoolwork. But sure, I could always invite someone else I know here," I mean, I've been suddenly drowning in contacts anyway.

"Great, so we'll see you soon then," Hotaru smiled, as you began to leave.

"Oh yeah, bye," Torashi feebly waved, as he then said to Damian, "Still surprised Hotaru was able to bring a girl in here".

"Would you quit it?" Damian sighed, "I've been in heaps of gaming groups with girls in them. Even some I didn't know were girls till after they came out through the gaming group".

As you and Hotaru exited the store, you had to turn to him and ask, "Er, Hotaru. Did Rin ever come here?"

At first Hotaru didn't know how to respond, but after some stifled mumblings he at last said, "Yeah, a couple of times, back in the day. I mean, she was always occupied by a whole bunch of stuff, probably even more so than I am right now. She did seem to be taking a bit of interest, RPGs getting her talking about group cohesion and everything, but then, well, you know," his words came to a stop.

You didn't say anything, only nodding. And in the silence:

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Fortune Arcana"

"I should be heading home, but yeah, I had a nice time," was all you eventually said.

"Oh, ah, thank you," Hotaru said in return, giving you a thumbs up "Oh, and consider your job application here a success!"

"Hey, Haruka," Megumi said to you the instant you got home, "Got some questions to ask".

"Wow, that's a blunt greeting," you muttered, "Not a 'Hello Haruka, how was your day?'"

"Listen, I've been reading your social media," they started, which made you instantly flinch, "And I'm, er, surprised you never said anything about this. Like, you mean the folks who live in the train carriage aren't your real parents, and you're some sort of aristocrat? And wait, when have you ever been interested in singing, dancing, and animals? Come on, I've got way better dance moves than you, and you call that monotone drone of yours 'singing'?"

"Yeah but well, who doesn't love animals?" you offered, before breathing out and coming clean, "Okay, I had to lie about my past to impress the cool kids, they said my actual life story was too dull. Like, that bio you just read was written by Azuma, not me".

"Who's this Azuma?" Megumi cocked an eyebrow.

"Sakurai Azuma, the most popular guy in school," you smugly smiled, that expression soon fading, "Well, at least my parents will probably never read his little made-up story, and yeah, Nakamura Kanae and Yozou definitely are my real Mum and Dad, unless they've got some major dirt they've been hiding from me".

"Is this all to get a guy?" Megumi spoke up, before sitting down again, "look, I'm sorry about pressuring you to find a date-"

"Oh, it's okay, all this went down long before our little dare," you explained, "On my first day back at school, actually".

"Wasn't this the day you also fell into a coma?" they questioned you.

"Hey, that happened by accident," you started, but were made to admit, "...Okay, the Aces could've warned me about messing around with it first. Oh, the All-Aces is a special school club, a clique made out of the kings and queens of all the other cliques".

"Haruka, I haven't met any of these All-Aces, but it sounds like they're the exact sort of hoity-toity nobs who won't amount to anything the moment they leave school," they sneered, but then sighed, "I should know, I spent way too much of my high school years trying to impress the exact same sorts, lying to them and myself about who I really was, and they still never gave a shit about me".

The two of you sat in silence for a while, before Megumi started laughing "Shit, from the way I've been talking to you, it sounds like I'm turning into my Mum and Dad".

You smiled at them, "Hey, thanks for caring about me either way. And I could never imagine turning into my parents, I'd have to go all bohemian to be my Mum, but I get what you're saying".

Well, the night was still young:

[ ] Go to the arcade and blow off some steam.
[ ] Go on a bushwalk, you could use the exercise.
[ ] Go instrument-shopping, see if Ryouko and Colette can come.
[ ] Go see a Saturday Night movie, they're showing the supernatural high school film Sonny Shadow, and invite:
- [ ] Megumi.
- [ ] Keiko.
- [ ] Yuya.
- [ ] Colette.
- [ ] Reina.
- [ ] Mum & Dad.
- [ ] Himawari.
- [ ] Just go by yourself.
- [ ] Write-in.
[ ] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [ ] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
- [ ] Get Melissa to come along, she does want to see you live till that Azuma date she arranged, right?
- [ ] Get Kikuko to come along, it doesn't sound like she'd miss the chance to get in some training.
- [ ] Get Azuma to come along, guy has a weird fixation on you anyway, might as well take advantage of it.
- [ ] Go it alone, the Aces are, well, the Aces.
[ ] Just do some studying.
[ ] Hang out in the apartment with Megumi.
[ ] Phone your parents again.
[ ] You know what? Head straight to bed.
[ ] Write-in.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 10, 2021

[X] Yamane Kurumi
- [X] Delinquent
- [X] Emotional
[X] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [X] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
[X] Go see a Saturday Night movie, they're showing the supernatural high school film Sonny Shadow, and invite:
- [X] Keiko.
- [X] Yuya.
[X] Chariot Cyclops + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Chariot Cuchulainn (Physical and Wind), swap Forneus to Theodora

You were conflicted, I should really be inspecting Eitaro's Empire, but like I just want to catch up with my real friends already and destress for once. I mean yeah I hung out Hotaru's gaming group, but talking about Daisuke, Rin and Gakuto made the whole thing awkward quickly, that thought seeped out of you.

Well, the night's still young, and they're only showing the regular edition of Sonny Shadow, not the extended one, so I think I'll have time to squeeze both in, you came to the conclusion.
You then texted Keiko, -Hey, cinema's on, and we shouldn't have to worry about those Aces outside of school, so wanna go?-

Her response took a little while, but you eventually read, -Thanks loads for not ditching me. Sure, I'll be there!- That was... certainly a reply.

Since you'd been interacting with Yuya even less than you'd been with Keiko lately, you decided your meagre invitation to him should be a little more personal. You went into your room and called him up personally.

"Ah, hi there Yuya. Yeah, er, I'm really sorry I haven't been catching up with you much this first week..." you started by mumbling.

"Huh? Oh no, no, that's not your fault, like we both had a bunch of stuff to do. And hey, it looks like you've been having a really good time in school so far, whereas, well, I couldn't even pass the Hall Monitor auditions," Yuya sounded lively at first, but his voice soon withered.

"Yeah, I guess it's been... something so far. And geez, sorry to hear that. But hey, how 'bout you, Keiko and I go see a movie together?" you tried to raise spirits, "Just like old times, huh? Especially since things have been so, well, different lately".

"Wow, you mean that?" Yuya said, his voice lifting, "Sure, that'd be great, I'll try to make it. Um, see you soon then".

That having gone mostly smoothly, you let out a sigh of relief. At least my old friends and me can have this one moment. But with the fun all sorted, now for business...

"Hey, Himawari, ah sorry, Nightshade," you said in a hushed tone, "Great, you're there. Anyway, I need to know how to sneak into the Lounge at night. Say about, er, two hours from now".

"Huh? Oh right, um, I think there's the wall outside the clubroom's all covered in vines, and there's at least a drainpipe nearby," she murmured as if in a daze, and very much as Himawari, "Er, if you want me to sneak in with you, I think I can elude my parents, but they're gonna be real mad if they do find me gone," she whimpered.

"Come on Himawari, you spilled blood all over yourself on stage, I think you can certainly sneak out fine," you said sighing, "Like, we were up pretty late in that bar the other night".

"Well, y-yeah, but that was different then," she blurted out, but said, "Ah, okay okay I'll meet you then".

You sighed; Guess I can see why Nightshade's so fed up with her.

A while later, you then headed out of the cinema, not as fancy as the ones down in Sapporo but it'd do, with Keiko and Yuya. The former was pondering what it was they just saw, while the latter offered feeble explanations.

"That was bizarre! Like, he's from the future but also the past, but like, is he supposed to be Jesus or an alternate reality- gah!" she clutched her head like she had brainfreeze, even though she'd just stuck to popcorn while in the theatre.

"I don't know, but maybe Sonny Shadow was just trying to convey how, like, confusing the world is when you're a teenager, I think," Yuya mumbled, holding onto a chicken wing.

"I don't know, multiple worlds, teens with powers, cryptic animal people, psychological issues, film felt pretty normal to me personally," you shrugged, to the stares of your friends.

[+3 Perception, +1 Education]

"...If you say so, Haruka," Keiko threw up her hands, before saying "Good thing I happen to live pretty close, so you two will have plenty of time to catch up by yourselves, especially with how long a walk it is back to your places, heh, Well, see ya!" she waved as she headed over to her, ahem, rather run-down house.

"Yeah, you too!" you waved back at Keiko, hopefully, as you turned to Yuya, "Hey, why don't we stop by your place first?"

Yuya titled his head for a second, asking "Huh, but isn't your flat closer?"

"Uh, yeah, but this whole thing was my treat to you, so I should do the honours," you said, grabbing his arm.

The two of you headed over a bridge lit up by old lampposts, a gentle spring snow falling down around you.
"So, um, Yuya, been a while since just us two talked together," you started, but fumbled on how to continue, "Other than on the phone just then, anyway. Ah, so being a Hall Monitor didn't work out, then?" you said anything just to make conversation.

"Well, uh, no. Hotaru told me I just didn't have the right personality for it, and well, he's used to Daisuke, so I see his point," he sighed, with a short silence descending before he brought up, "Oh yeah, I er, heard you well, ah-"

"Hey, what is it? C'mon, you can tell me," you said, looking him in the eyes.

"I heard you kicked Gakuto in the crotch earlier today," he said straight-up.

"Oh that? Yep, you heard right!" you had to smile at that, "guy was being a complete creep".

"Really? Wow," Yuya had to stop to take that in, "I mean, I think at Hanataba we kinda assume that joining the All-Aces is the ultimate goal, that it'll solve your life's problems and make you royalty. So it's, er, a shock to hear that. Hopefully it's just him who's that way though".

On the outside you smiled, but within you thought, Oh Yuya, how naïve you are.

"Oh yeah, speaking of the Aces, er, so you were childhood friends with Azuma, right?" he had to bring up, "I don't remember him at all, but I guess you knew him before you knew Keiko and me".

If your resolve was stronger, you would've said No I didn't, that was just some weird lie he made up!

"And I... never knew you were from aristocrat stock, or that Yozou and Kanae weren't your real parents," he just had to go on, "But I can see why. It sounds like that would've been really tough for you to bring up, so," he then looked into your face "Um, yeah, maybe I shouldn't have brought it up myself. Sorry".

You gritted your teeth and sighed, but luckily this awkward conversation had little time to continue any longer, as you'd reached the fairly ordinary, middle-class Itou Residence along a cobblestone street.

"About memories, Haruka, do you remember when we used to play along here? I knew Keiko played Phoenix Rider Scales, you were Rider Zero, and I was Rider Heart I think? We got into mock fights over which of us could win against each other, think I always kept losing though," he said, gazing across the street.

"Oh yeah, we were watching Rider vs Rider reruns at the time, right?" you spoke up, having to laugh, "Think we kinda missed the point of that season in hindsight".

"Haha, yeah," Yuya chuckled, before turning to say "Hey, I really had fun tonight, let's hope we can still see each other when we can, okay?"

"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Lovers Arcana"

"Yeah, let's..." you gave an uncertain smile as the two of you parted for the night.

Before you headed to Hanataba, there was one last thing left on your checklist. Stopping at the Velvet Room, you switched out Forneus for Theodora again, and combined Cyclops with Qin Shi Huang to get:

"I am Chariot Cu Chulainn, Hound of Ulster," said a white clad figure lined with purple, wielding a seven-headed spear, "My spear strikes true to the bitter end".

Elements: Resists Wind and Curse, weak to Electric
Stats:
- Strength: |||||
- Cognition: |||||
- Agility: |||||
- Luck: |||||
- Endurance: |||||
Skills:
- Torrent Shot
- Killer Wind
- Mamudo
- Inherit: Makanda
- Inherit: Resist Physical

Heading around to the school gardens, careful to duck out of the way any time a night guard shined his torch anywhere near you, you soon reached the vine-covered wall Himawari had told you about.

You saw the Ace of Hearts, crouched and shaking in her red pajama dress right by the wall, "Haruka, oh there you are," she looked and stuttered out, then saying "Er, hope this works out, I mean if I'm caught I could get suspended or expelled or-".

"You'll be fine," you groaned out, perhaps without really thinking. Jesus, why couldn't she have come as Nightshade? "Anyway, let's get up there".

Pulling yourself up along the vines, Himawari panting after you, she then held an All-Ace Emblem up to window, which then swung inwards for her.

"We had this recognition system installed, in case we ever did need the Gameboard after hours," she whispered.

"Wow, you guys really do get everything," you muttered.

Heading into the Prized Pupil Lounge, which weirdly felt less eerie at night now that you knew nobody else was here, you said to Himawari "Okay, you've might've guessed we're heading for Eitaro's Empire. I have to get a layout of what the place is like if I'm gonna be, er, duelling there, and the moment he least suspects, the better".

"Aw, and I was planning to show you my private room here," Himawari said out of the blue.

"Huh, you get your own rooms here?!" you had to ask.

"Oh yeah, all us Aces do," she said, "Though I've only seen the inside of mine, personally".

"Right, okay then," you just said, before six cards materialised in your hands, all of which you laid down on the Gameboard.

After a spinning flash, you found yourself back in No One's Land, staring up a sudden incline in the Gameboard, where its hexagonal tiles stretched upwards to form something of a mountain.

"You'll find that jerk Eitaro's Empire at the top," came the snarling voice of Himawari, no, Nightshade.

She wasn't in the wig or costume she wore the other night, but her Gameboard Regalia instead felt like a much more realised version of that. Nightshade was now dressed in mostly black attire, leather and spikes all over, with a frilled collar and violet lipstick and nail polish putting you in mind of a fairytale evil queen, if not a demoness. Her hair though was in the style she had as Himawari, but now with a silvery-white sheen. As she'd said, she was now wielding a ball-and-chain flail and an axe-thrower.

"Do not bore me, peasant," she huffed in an even more authoritative tone of voice than the tone she'd had in the nightclub, pointing down so you'd get on your knees. "If you can't find some Shadows for me to shred into soon, I may have to take my-" she giggled, "urges out on you," she said as she rested a high-heeled boot on top of your face.

As soon as she let you move again, you chuckled a bit but gulped in response. Starting the climb up this chessboard mountain, you felt the air get thinner and thinner, until you found yourself walking onto a brickwork road, gasping for breath.

You looked ahead to see the Empire Eitaro believed he could rule, a land of high mountain crags and jagged, monolith rocks, some left natural, some carved by unseen hand into figures of strongmen, athletes and thunder gods. Or maybe seen hand, as you could spot some Shadows hauling stone blocks up the slopes, like they were in some 50s Historical Epic.
The landscape was crisscrossed with dragon-patterned walls, with the tops of said walls being the only clear roads in sight. Monasteries dotted the highest peaks, while at the centre of it all, surrounded by five rings, was a looming colosseum hewn out of a mountain.

"What an insecure ruler. I'll give Eitaro sheer power, but his empire simply lacks any, what's the word, style," Nightshade said dismissively, then adding "Azuma's practically the opposite, his rose-strewn theatres are nothing but elegance".

You trekked further along the wall until you came to what looked to be an observation deck or waypoint. Thinking it was somewhere you could finally rest, the opposite proved to be true, as a whole team of shadows sprang forth around you. While a couple were wearing the same bronze armour as Cyclops before, most were clad in what looked like terracotta.

You stumbled back, but Nightshade just chortled and said, "Finally, the moment I've been waiting for. Come out and play, Anastasia!"

Nightshade's persona was a bleach-blonde girl with skin made out of snow, wielding a giant spiked bat made of ice, and with what looked like Faberge Eggs sown into her winter cloak, squatting down in what reminded you of a sukeban dress.

Okay, probably gonna need someone with crowd control, you thought, before summoning:

[ ] Argus the Many-Eyed Watcher.
[ ] Cuchullain of Ulster.
[ ] Richard III of the White Rose.
[ ] Santa Muerte of Holy Demise.
[ ] Theodora of the Imperial Shroud.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 11, 2021

[X] Cuchullain of Ulster.

The Shadows soon revealed themselves as a pack of red Oni, along with paper Momunofu soldiers also out of old Japan. And yet the one among them leading the charge was a furred lioness-like woman clad in bear skin, and wielding a longbow made from attached boar tusks, her fingernails resembling full claws.

"Cuchulainn!" you cried out, summoning the spearman who then turned said spear upside down to form a blade, which somehow set a rushing Killer Wind bursting up from all around, nearly knocking the Momunofu over like cards, and causing the huntress to misfire.

"Not bad, but allow me," Nightshade smirked as she had Anastasia use a Bufu or even Mabufu spell to freeze the ground around her. The Oni, more heavy and lumbering than agile, struggled for a while to maintain their balance on the now icy floor. She then slammed her flail into the ground, causing a cloud of ice shards to be knocked upwards and swung around in the wind.

Several of the Oni then began trying intentionally to crash themselves into the ground, trying to sink this one watchtower down into what looked like valleys below. Nightshade then used was what left of the ice on the floor to propel herself right into you, her sudden tackle getting the two of away in time before the platform you'd been on could fall and collapse.

But the fight wasn't done yet, as the huntress shadow had managed to speed away from the tower and further along the wall, from which she started firing off a stream of arrows at you.

You kept calling on Cuchulainn to deflect these arrows, but the huntress kept speedily dodging any you sent back her way. As her arrows kept getting blown away though, she instead dashed up to you, grabbed your arm... and threw you off the wall, sending you falling past the cliffs.

Oh no, not now- you began to think, before a sharp surge of pain hit your body. The next second however, you found yourself back on top of the wall just fine, though with a white halo shining then fading around you.

"Consider yourself lucky Anastasia knows Recarm," Nightshade muttered, before she said her Persona strike the huntress Shadow right atop the skull with her frozen bat.

"Wait, Personae can, they can resurrect people?" you stuttered out.

"Grr, I'll explain later," she seethed as Anastasia's ice-bat and the huntress' bow wielded like a club clashed together.
You noticed, while Anastasia wasn't able to break the huntress' guard, she was succeeding in pushing her ever so slightly to the edge. Taking this opportunity, you had Cuchulainn step in to spear the foe with a Torrent Shot flurry, at last sending the huntress off the wall herself.

She wasn't quite down yet though, as with her claws she was clinging onto the edge. Nightshade however simply finished things by slamming her flail right down onto the Shadow's fingers, sending her truly falling.

Wiping your brow with relief, you then asked Nightshade, "So, ahem, about that resurrection thing? Could it- could it bring me back if Eitaro really does-"

"Don't get your hopes up," she muttered and crossed her arms, "Recarm spells and the like only work after attacks done by Shadows, and even then, only when there's a faint scrap of consciousness still in you. We're not miracle workers".

You stopped silent. Clearing your throat, you said "Sheesh, if I can't even beat his welcoming committee on my own without dying, what am I supposed to do in a duel against him?"

"Like I said," Nightshade grinned, "The pact we made was, if he 'loses control' and kills you, I kill him right back".

Yeah, 'ppreciate it, but that still doesn't keep me alive, you kept that thought to yourself. You then tried walking further along the wall, only to soon have your progress blocked by another, emerging wall, made from bricks rapidly assembling themselves on top of each other.
"Oh come on!" you said on impulse.

"Only if you truly know a person's full self can you access the entirety of the Empire," Nightshade recited, before shrugging and saying, "Or so Azuma says anyway. I suppose that makes sense, people naturally wouldn't want to show their whole psyche to just anyone. Hah, I should know".

"Well, I'm lucky it's just more wall, I was worried for a second this place was gonna take all the air left in my lungs or something," you said.

Looking around, Nightshade said after a little hesitation, "I wouldn't give Eitaro any ideas, little girl, we're still inside his psyche you know".

"But so what, this is the end of the road already?" you asked, staring at her.

Nightshade however turned her head upwards to a nearby mountain peak, "Oh, I think there might be another way in".

Approaching this peak, the path quickly became too narrow, and you started grunting as you began rock-climbing. Somehow, Nightshade was seemingly effortlessly making the ascent, despite wearing less practical clothing than you.

"Hey, Hima- Nightshade," you started talking the moment you found a ledge wide enough to rest on, "You said you couldn't explore a whole Empire till you knew everything about that person, right? But, well, I don't think any person really fully knows themselves, at least not their own. Like if they did, wouldn't they be enlightened or something?"

Nightshade squinted at you, "Are you suggesting there's parts of even my own Empire I haven't seen?" but then gave that some thought, "Huh, that's certainly... something to wonder about".

The two of you then came to an unusual sight, a monastery built hanging right off the clifftop. The ledge not offering any other way forward, you slowly stepped in, hoping the whole place wouldn't immediately fall into the ravine.

Passing through the foyer, you walked into what must be some sort of Dojo, though large enough to be an indoor sports field, with a giant gong teetering in the background. Standing in front of it, you saw two wispy Shadows, still in human form. one was a boy being whacked by a floating cane, with what looked like sunlight coming out where blood should be. The other was a girl trapped in a little jail cell behind what looked like cricket stumps.

"K-Kaneto? Takako?" you blurted out to the Shadows, only for Kaneto's to then run away deeper into the monastery's passages, that cane trailing behind him.

Suddenly there was a loud shattering, as from behind you two demonic knights, one a dark blue on a red horse and the other bright red on a dark blue horse, galloped down and began playing some polo variant a gigantic, spiked ball.
"I'll deal these two!" Nightshade shouted out, "You go and track down that kid's shadow".

"What? No, I'm not gonna leave you here alone," you exclaimed back at her.

"Fine, suit yourself," she snarled, saying "I'm still an Ace, I'm telling you I've got this". Nightshade then had Anastasia bat that spiked ball straight back, only for that dark knight to light the ball on fire as it came his way again.
You tried to intervene by having Cuchulainn blow the flaming ball out of the way, only for the wind to just feed the growing fire, leaving Cuchulainn, and by mental connection you, to be hit directly by it.

While you were reeling back in pain, yet were still somehow resilient enough to keep moving, Nightshade lived up to her boast by having Anastasia strike the fiery Shadow knight with an icicle blast, sending his steed beneath him stumbling over to collapse.

As she personally led an assault on that knight with her flail, you meanwhile had to switch to Richard III to heal up. However, that left the other Shadow knight to come up right behind you, lashing at you with a razor wind now that you no longer had Cuchulainn, before leaping up to try trampling on you.

Still consciousness, you switched back to the spearman of Ulster to better take this hit, but then Nightshade at the idea to toss an axe up at the ropes holding up that gong. The gong first fell straight on its side onto the floor, creating enough of a clang to have the leaping knight's horse lose focus, making it misjudge their jump and miss you. After that, the gong started leaning over forward, with the knight turning around to charge away, only to find that spiked ball just behind him.

Nightshade had Anastasia bat the ball once again into the red knight, leaving him sandwiched between it and the falling gong. That left you to try getting Takako's Shadow out of her cage, only for you to soon find that no force worked against it.

"Her name's Takako right, our Cricket Club Captain? Hmm, Eitaro's been blocking her piece from advancing it looks like, probably because the lunkhead didn't understand a thing about cricket, so kept trying to shit on any of her attempts to start her club so he could enforce the status quo," Nightshade surmised, "At least it sounds like a real Eitaro thing to do, jerk can't let anyone but him be the star when it comes to sports, any sports".

You let that all sink in, as you mumbled "I only met Takako once, but she seemed to trust Eitaro. Seemed to".
It was then you could smell something burning, even though that ball's fire had been put out. Running further into the monastery, you came across what would've once been a library, but now with its books all burning. The smoke clogging your lungs even worse than the thin air outside, you ran through nevertheless to chase after the wispy, bleeding form of Kaneto's Shadow.

Seeing his wounds, you tried using Richard III to cast a healing spell on him. It seemed to be working, the gashes slowly closing up, but then your shortness of breath finally got to you as you collapsed...

Sunday, April 10th
Eitaro Duel Tomorrow

Your eyes shot awake in the Prized Pupil Lounge, it now surely past midnight.

"Are you okay, Haruka?" Himawari took you by the hand, her face and voice definitely no longer in Nightshade mode, "I got you out of there when I could".

"I see, thanks," you slowly smiled, but had to ask, "So, did you come save me as Nightshade, or as, well, you?" not knowing how else to word that.

"Nightshade, she... Nightshade is me," Himawari looked at you befuddled, "I'm Nightshade, so there's, ah, really no need to make the distinction".

Nightshade herself sure does, you chose not to voice that, just saying "Ah, okay then".

"Er, so, that was Eitaro's soul you just saw right there," she stated, before gulping and asking, "did it, er, change or clarify your impression of him?"

"Oh boy," you murmured, with you giving your opinion:
[ ] "Guy's real insecure, like violence is the only language he's been taught"
[ ] "He seems afraid honestly. Like now he's finally on top, he thinks he has to keep everyone down so they don't climb after him"
[ ] "Hah, he's achieved so much, by high school standards anyway, yet still feels the need to prove himself to... whoever"
[ ] "...What's there to get? Dude's a dick"
[ ] Write-in.

With that answer, you felt a strong ringing in your head, even if Eitaro was nowhere around:

- The Chariot has Journeyed to Rank 2! -

"That's, um, quite the summation," Himawari said, though you got the feeling she would've said that regardless of what you answered.
"I'd be so nervous to show anyone my own Empire myself, but..." she pondered, "I feel, if you make it through this, that I owe you one, so maybe we could celebrate then with me throwing you a concert or something, that sound good?"

You laughed, but also smiled, "That kinda reminds me, I still need to buy an instrument to play in your backing band. I was, er, thinking bass, less strings to keep track of, and cheaper than a drumkit after all".

She giggled, "I'm honoured you'd still be thinking of that at this hour. But, y'know, we should really be getting you home, you need all the hours left in the night to sleep".

Heading out of the All-Aces' Lounge by sliding down the drainpipe outside, your tired self dawdled your way back to your apartment, those night guards on their break or something.

As Himawari helped you through your front door, you expected Megumi to be fast asleep by now... but that turned out not to be the case at all.
"Oh my God, Himawari!" they exclaimed, their bleary-eyed self stumbling up to promptly hug you, "I was seriously starting to worry about where you were. Although, I do guess staying up this late helped me catch up on studies. Huh, is she one of your classmates?" they looked at Himawari.

"What? Oh no, I'm actually Haruka's senpai, even though I may not look it," Himawari giggled and then bowed "Um, I do have to be going, but I do I have to be going, ah," she paused, not sure to how address Megumi.

"Just call me Megumi. Umebayashi Megumi," they shook Himawari's hand, "And hey, it's good to hear Haruka has someone senior at school to look out for her. From how she described them, I always got the impression her peers were a bunch of arseholes".

Himawari flinched. "Ahem, yeah, I can see that. Well, nice meeting you" she curtseyed before saying goodbye, leaving Megumi to help you back into bed.

After last night and the past week, you felt like sleeping in this Sunday as long as you could. But then just lying in bed doing nothing got kinda boring, so you slowly got up and headed out of your bedroom.

Not wanting to take too long preparing anything, you made up some tamago kake gohan (raw egg in rice) and began thinking about to spend possibly the last free day you had left.

[ ] Visit your parents in person.
- [ ] By yourself.
- [ ] With Megumi.
- [ ] With Keiko and Yuya.
- [ ] With Colette.
- [ ] Write-in.
[ ] Hang out with Keiko.
[ ] Hang out with Yuya.
[ ] Hang out with Reina.
[ ] Hang out with Megumi.
[ ] Hotaru's gaming group should be meeting up.
- [ ] Go by yourself.
- [ ] Bring Keiko.
- [ ] Bring Colette.
- [ ] Bring Azuma.
- [ ] Bring Himawari.
- [ ] Bring Megumi.
- [ ] Write-in.
[ ] Go instrument-shopping with Colette and Ryouko.
[ ] Get some more training in on the Gameboard.
- [ ] Team up with Nightshade again.
- [ ] See if Azuma can be swayed.
- [ ] Tell Melissa that your and Azuma's relationship will be on the line if she doesn't come.
- [ ] Ask Kikuko to come, if only for her firepower.
- [ ] Get Gakuto to act as a meatshield.
- [ ] Go it alone.
[ ] Write-in.

But first, there was a knock at the door...

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 12, 2021

[X] Visit your parents in person.
-[X] By yourself.
[X] "He seems afraid honestly. Like now he's finally on top, he thinks he has to keep everyone down so they don't climb after him"
[X] Hang out with Reina.

Dragging yourself over to the door, you opened it... and stared blankly at who you saw, your legs feeling ready to bolt.

"Oh, Haruka, hello," came the voice of Gakuto, him straightening his tie and saying, "Just a little home inspection by us, to ensure this, ahem, place of dwelling is at least befitting a jack".

"Grr, out of the way!" Melissa shouted out, pushing right past Gakuto, leaving him to the fall to the ground. "Listen, Jack, if you're gonna be seen with us, we can't have you embarrassing us if your place turns out to be Satan's own pigsty! Got that into your pretty little head of yours?"

"Yo Haruka, what a wake-up call," Megumi mumbled, rubbing their eyes and saying, "Hey, could ya warn me before you're going to have guests over?"

"I didn't invite any of these people," you whispered in a hushed voice back to Megumi.

"Um, and who would this balls-less, college-looking weirdo be?" Melissa leaned over and asked you.

"Her roommate," Megumi interjected, "And way hotter and more stylish than any California gurl, I might add. Don't you have a manicure you need to be getting back to?"

"California? Why you- I'm from Galveston!" Melissa snapped, "That's in Texas by the way, for your information".

"Er, I'm sorry, Haruka," Himawari then slipped in, her expression wobbling, "The rest of the All-Aces kept insisting on making a housecall, as part of your, ahem, 'integration into higher society'".

"And good thing too!" Melissa said after going to check out your room, "This place is little better than a Hooverville".

"Hmhm, I don't know," Gakuto, now bac on his feet, chimed in, "I've been to several gaming and tech conventions, so I've definitely seen places far more wretched than this".

"Well yeah, guess it's technically clean and stuff," Melissa replied but crossed her arms, "But it's so fuckin' bland, we're talking like zero flair and style!"

"Wait, you said the All-Aces?" you cut through and asked Himawari, "So, does that mean-?"

"Nakamura Haruka," Azuma's voice glided through as he stepped in, "I must apologise for being so, well, short notice, but you would of course know, being one of us isn't merely about who you are at school. It's a mindset you must apply to every facet of your life, a role that must be rehearsed, you could say".

So that explains why you people won't leave me alone, even at home! you fumed internally.
"I, er, I don't see why what my place looks like would really matter, since I've got that Duel tomorrow and everything," you at least said.

"Nice to hear that hasn't left your mind," Eitaro just had to arrive.

"Well, think of it this way," Gakuto said to you, "You know how they say 'leave a good-looking corpse'? If our Eitaro, ahem, 'misjudges his strength' tomorrow, then the same principle applies to your demesne. Especially since the press will likely be all over this place like vultures next week".

"At least there's nothing frivolous or anything here," Eitaro muttered, leaning on a wall, "Still, you show a lack of any strength of character. Well, if our Duel won't be interesting, it'll be short anyway".

"Ahem, mind telling me what the Hell this 'Duel' crap is?" Megumi spoke out.

"Butt out, you freak", Melissa glared at them, pushing them back down to the couch, "Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"Oh, so that's your limit for rudeness?!" Megumi shot back up.

Melissa was barely containing her fury by this point, so he hissed, "Oh Eitaroooo, there's someone here who needs a little lesson in manners!"

"Heh, I'm on it," Eitaro rolled up his sleeves and approached Megumi... only for them to pre-emptively counter by swiftly kicking Eitaro in the shin and then elbowing him in the stomach.

"People, please!" Azuma called out, "This was simply meant to be a home inspection, we truly don't need talk of Duelling at this moment, let alone casual violence".

"Shame, this was actually starting to get interesting," Gakuto sighed, before he looked at you and said, "Quite a roommate you've got in her, Haruka, never knew you had a thing for fut-".

Oh God No! you facepalmed at Gakuto's choice of words, if you had a pillow you'd scream at peak volume. At least Megumi didn't hear.

"Indeed Azuma, I've finished my own analysis of this abode," came Kikuko's chilling voice, before she spat out "This place has been tainted with Western infestation. I would you advise you, Haruka, to remember and pay due respect your heritage as Japanese. Yomogi!"

At her voice, the purplish black-haired maid, Yomogi Tsubasa, you'd met at the Tea Ceremony Club came stumbling in, "Y-yes, Miss Kikuko, ahem, beg yer pardon, Madamoiselle Maeda?" she sweated and shook.

"Rid this dwelling of anything too Occidental," Kikuko ordered.

"Yes ma'am, right away ma'am!" Tsubasa said as she took out a broom, "Sorry to be a blaggard, Miss Haruka, but I'll try and save as much of yer stuff as I can when the mistress isn't looking," she then whispered to you.

"Anything Occidental? Huh, any chance you could throw her in the trash while you're at it?" Megumi muttered, eyeing Melissa.

"Alternatively," Azuma instead said and ushered someone else in, a butler with slick-backed grey hair, despite young age, even in a waistcoat and carrying a dish.

"Hey, you do know regulations say there's only meant to be seven people in here at once-" you tried to say but were ignored.

"May I introduce myself? I am the Jack of Spades, Ohtsuka Shinsuke, personal assistant and dresser to Master Azuma" the butler bowed to you "On top of costuming, I have also been regarded for my culinary skills".

"Feh, we can't loan out two Jacks to another," Kikuko protested, "Nakamura, either you choose Shinsuke or Tsubasa to renovate your home and lifestyle. Actually, loaning out either may be too generous due to your Duel tomorrow, so we'll give you time to think".

Sheesh, do I want Azuma's closest follower having his eye on me all day, or a girl shackled to a sword-happy onna-bugeisha LARPer? you thought.

"More importantly, your games collection," Gakuto spoke up, his hands already rifling through them, "I knew I was in for an underwhelming experience the minute I saw Animal Crossing. Let's see, your only fighting games are Smash Bros, the latest Street Fighter, and a licensed Phoenix Rider title. Most of your collection does not predate the PS2 era, latest releases are mostly limited to the new Mario and Zelda, Tokimeki Memorial Girls' Side and its sequels are your only visual novel acquisitions, and the sole FromSoft game you own is Bloodborne of all things".

Opposed to what, the deep complexities and intricate characterisations of friggin' Gacha games or whatever? you thought.

"As for your computer library-" he then quickly hacked into your streaming service account, "My my, looks like you haven't touched any of these in quite some time".

"Hey, what the hell, are you my account?" Megumi spoke up again.

Could be worse, you did consider, at least he isn't trying to dig up and critique any porn or anything.

"I believe now would be the best time for us to leave," Azuma had to intervene, hoisting Gakuto off, "Farewell for now, dear Haruka, and well, we shall see how Monday plays out".

"Oh yes, we should be going," Himawari smiled, but then whispered to you "I'm... sorry about all this".

- The Fool has Journeyed to Rank 3! -

The All-Aces and their servants all gradually shuffled out, with Eitaro the last to leave. "Haruka," he muttered, crushing a drink can in his fist "If you try to bail on me, well...". He then left, with that sentence still hanging there.

After that, you thought to just chill out and have some fun. As you ran into Reina along the shopping arcade, her eyes immediately sparkled.

"Haruka, hiii!" she squealed out, saying "Oh my, you're looking so cute in casual get-up. Hey I know, how about," she held that last syllable, putting a finger to her lip, "We head straight to a purikura booth! I think I was planning to take you there last time, but ya know, life caught up and stuff".

"Sure," you shrugged, "You only live once, am I right?"

Getting dragged, Reina stood out the most in the booth, flashing multiple hand signs, sticking out her tongue and pulling down an eyelid, and pressing up to you and winking, while you mostly just stood there and let her move you into various poses.

[+2 Etiquette]

When your went out and got you photos though, you flinched at what you saw. "Reina, ahem, you didn't check to see what sort of photobooth this was before entering, did you?" you asked.

"Oh er, I thought this was one I already knew, why?" she said, taking a lot at your pictures... only to see they were all covered in pictures of skulls, cobwebs, and dripping slime. "Ooh, guess we stepped into a creepy-themed booth, huh? Well hey, it's an experience, right?"

"Oh yeah, that it is," you muttered, before musing, "Y'know, Colette may actually like this place". You automatically closed your mouth, knowing you just may've slipped your link with her through Reina back to Melissa.

"Colette? You mean that weird girl who runs the Occult Club?" Reina flinched, but admitted, "Well, I say that, but maybe I'm being kinda judgy? I've never really spoken to her though, but Melissa seems to really hate her, don't know why".

"Well, Colette isn't so bad, she can actually be pretty nice once you get to know her. She even stood up for me one time" you told her.

"Wow, okay then, but then why would Melissa-" Reina began, but then said, "Nah, it's gotta be something private between them. Don't wanna disturb, and that sorta thing. Still, strange that Colette has a Western name, but she's Japanese".

"Oh that? It's just her pen name," you explained, before smirking, "besides, you're hardly dressed in a kimono and black hair yourself".

Reina seemed to take your joke pretty well. "Yeah, guess I was totally hypocritical there. Hey, our next stop should be a karaoke sesh, whaddya say?!"

"Lead the way," you murmured, before getting pulled along again.

You were soon reminded why Himawari/Nightshade was the singer among you, as you just monotoned your way through the whole song Reina chose while she kept going for the highest pitch on every note. Still, at the very least you gave it a shot.

[+2 Resolve]

Leaving the karaoke parlour, you sat down to a lunch of fried eel, as Reina brought her phone up to you and said, "But the way, you've heard of the Secret Lives of Students blog, right?"

"Er, I overheard people talking about it on the way to school, that's about it," you mumbled between mouthfuls.

"I, well, I know it's not a site I should really be looking at, gossip column and all. I mean it doesn't even have much of a social media presence, like 'cause it'd get flagged if it did, but..." she winced, coming out with "But I just can't stop reading it! Oh look, they've got a folder on our school!"

Well, at least this sort of site may help give me a leg up on Eitaro, you thought. The stuff you found on him was accurate enough, detailing his abuse and threatening of underclassmen and detailing every time he'd lost a match, but nothing you felt crucial. It also detailed Melissa's habit of shoving people into lockers and, er, family's connections to the Russian mafia?

"Ah, um, Melissa did tell me her grandparents founded an Oil Conglomerate, so they go to Sakhalin a lot. That's why she's at school here in Hokkaido," Reina explained.

The site also listed, Oh Jesus, Melissa's measurements and cup size, along with Himawari's, though it did detail Eitaro and Azuma's, ah, genital lengths, if only to appear egalitarian. On Azuma, it detailed every seduction technique he had, some more than a little gaslight-y on his parts, while for Kikuko it went into her oddly comprehensive Yukio Mishima collection, along with, er, an off-colour joke that reminded you of what people'd made up about Catherine the Great.
You weren't the least bit surprised that Gakuto got off the easiest, the site mostly just listing a few of his ragequits and games he'd never gotten around to finishing, along with his fairly extensive H-game library. Also, nothing about Himawari being Nightshade, thankfully.

It wasn't just the All-Aces it documented though. Keiko and Yuya weren't anywhere, but you were surprised to find Colette was mentioned, though just with 'Real name: Koizumi Kentaro'. Wait, but that name's for bo- oh, oh no!
Shivering, you then scrolled down to your own entry... and what you saw written about you just made you want to vomit. "Take this, I don't wanna read this- this thing anymore!" you exclaimed as you handed the phone back to Reina.

"Wow, they even have an entry on me!" her eyes widened, only for her to read what was there, and...
Reina shot up, and immediately ran away crying, tears streaking down her face and into breeze.

"Reina, hold on!" you called out, running over to her as she collapsed in a nervous wreck by the park, hugging her tightly and consoling her.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what it was you read, and I don't want to know! If it made you cry like that, I'm so sorry," you held her in your arms.

She sniffed, and then hugged you back even tighter. "Th-thank you, Haruka. I, I never wanted anyone to know what- what it said about me, b-but you'll stick by me, right?" she tried to dry her eyes.

"O-of course," you said to her.

- The Magician has Journeyed to Rank 3! -

Reina smiled back at you, "I'm so- so happy to hear that. Y'know I was trying to eat light today, but Hell, how about we go out for ice-cream to get our minds off that?!"

"Sounds great!" you beamed.

After saying goodbye to Reina, it occurred to you that, as possibly your last day off, the one you should do more than anything is see your parents in person.

It was quite the journey back to their place, as you walked your old school rout for the first time in quite a while, as the ridges started to climb up, the houses thinned and the trees thickened.

Finally, you came to that old, detached train carriage with the assorted glass and wire sculptures out front. Your mother, her artist apron drenched in rust and smudging, wasted no time in rushing straight up and hugging you "Oh, my Haruka, you're home!"

"Hey there Mum," you smiled, "Just thought it was right to visit, you know, after my first week back".

"Glad to hear that," your father smiled, standing by the doorway, "Well, come on in, even this early on you must have quite a lot to talk about, I'd imagine".

"Yeah," you just said, "You could say that".

Indoors, the lower floor of the carriage was the loungeroom and kitchen, while your old bedroom was on the upper floor, separated from your parents' by a bead curtain, the bathroom off in a small side-cart. Mum's workshop was in a tin shed just outside.

But before you could see your old room again, you first sat down to talk with your parents. Your mother offered you a drink of herbal, er, something, while your Dad just had to finish answering a sudden call from work.

His call ended, he turned to you and asked, "So Haruka, how's your first week back at school been?"

Well, that's the billion-yen question, isn't it? you thought. You definitely didn't know how to tell them about the Gameboard, but you could at least say-

[ ] "It's... been going great so far, I really think I'm moving up in the world".
[ ] "Some good, some bad. I've made some new friends, and also, well run into people I really wish I hadn't..."
[ ] "Hate to say it, but things aren't going so well. I've never been treated this crappily this much in my school life"
[ ] "It's school, nothing much new to say really. So anyway-"
[ ] Write-in.

ArlequineLunaire · Mar 13, 2021

[X] "Some good, some bad. I've made some new friends, and also, well run into people I really wish I hadn't..."

"Ah, um, well then," your mother tried to begin, "Let's hear about your friends then, first".

"Well, I'm still trying to keep up with Keiko and Yuya when I can, they seem to be going, hmm, as well as ever, least from what I know," you started off, "Haven't really changed at all.
Oh yeah, I told you I got made Class Rep. That more me in contact with my teacher, Tanizawa-sensei, who's cool I guess," you muttered, before sighing out "Though she seems about as interested in teaching as I am in, well, most things. Then there's my Vice-Rep, and also head of the Occult Club. She goes by the pen name Colette, and er, she's been nice enough to me so far. Kinda kooky though," And has some creep going around exposing her deepest secrets, your thoughts simmered.

"My, they certainly sound like interesting people," your Dad made conversation, "Perhaps you'd like to invite them over sometime?"

Oh God, you thought, saying "Er, I'll see if they're free one day.
Anyway, me being class Rep also put me in contact with Hotaru, our Student Council President, though we didn't really get to know each other the way you'd expect," you went on, trying to swallow down your mother's herbal concoction, "I met him through his gaming circle, when I went to apply for a part-time job at a local board game shop".

"Gaming group? Ah, I remember when I was in one of those! Though of course, that was all the way back in high school, haven't really kept up with the hobby since," your mother smiled.

"Still, hanging with the Student Council President must really be something," your father grinned.

You twitched a little, and decided on saying "You'd think so, but not really, I kinda forgot he even was when I was talking with him".

"Ah, so he's a man of the people, then?" your father raised a glass.

"Er, yeah, you could put it like that. Hmm, Reina's my other remaining friend from school, she's as, well there's no other way to put this, girly as you can get, but she's really nice!" you said, unlike some people.
Only then did you remember "Ah wait, There's also Nightshade. She's a singer around town and she's, um, real intense actually. Still, she does need a backing band, so I thought hey, I could help out there. It'd be interesting at least," you finished.

"My, you're really putting yourself out there!" your mother patted you on the back, but had to ask "I don't remember you doing all that well when you tried out for Choir and Symphonic Band all those years ago though? Regardless, it's good to see you're getting into artistic expression once again".

"You did say you were having some trouble at school though. Please, we're here, you can fill us in on whatever's bother you," your Dad said, leaning closer.

It took you a while to respond to that, but the words finally came out, "There's, there's this school club called the All-Aces, made up of the most popular kids at school. But like, they've seriously let their popularity go to their heads, and while people's backs are turned, they do some really fucked-up stuff. Hell, even when people's backs aren't turned, some of them will still be bullying arseholes".

Your parents gasped at what you had to say, your father being the first to respond, sighing as he said, "To be honest with you, I sadly expected this would happen. I wish we could've found you a school that doesn't have a bullying problem, but quite frankly I doubt one exists, at least anywhere near here".

"Oh honey," your mother reached down and hugged you again, "It's okay, I know what you've gone through. Look, the important thing is to keep being yourself, no matter who pressures you, and to just... stay away from those sorts of people".

"Thanks, I owe you a bunch, Mum. But..." you gritted your teeth and looked down, "I'm not sure if that's possible. I mean, this makeover I got, that was because one of the All-Aces kinda forced it upon me. Not to be nice though, but because they said they couldn't stand someone as plain as I was being around them".

Your parents seemed to struggle in how to react to that, but your mother eventually said, "Well, we're still here for you, and from what you've told us, so are your friends, old and new".

"And hey, I remember being put through hell back in high school, but I made it through alive. So no matter how much they get to you, Haruka, know that you have a future beyond them" he said, smiling at you. He wrecked the moment though by mumbling "Not like work's much better though..."

Still, you smiled back, stood up and said "That's great, you... didn't know much I needed to hear that" you said. Mum, Dad, just... hope I don't come home from school in a coffin tomorrow, you added in your mind.

While you were still at your parents' place though, you headed up the stairs just to check out your old room. Okay, you hadn't been gone that long, but you were surprised to see it'd been kept basically the way you left it:

[ ] Mostly kinda featureless admittedly, but with a fairly large and stuffed bookcase. Now that you remember, you might take an old one back to the apartment with you. (+Education)
[ ] Girly enough that it could pass for Reina's room. Pink everywhere, pictures of cute boys, magazines, large stuffed animals, actually you might take one of them to the apartment with you, there's probably space on your new bed. (+Etiquette)
[ ] A fairly hi-tech room with a fancy computer (probably still a step up from Megumi's) and sound equipment, and several paintings up on the wall. Would've cost a lot to build this all up, and now you'd left it all, but it reminded you that you were once dedicated to things other than just, er, surviving. (+Resolve)
[ ] You'd basically just let your room design it without caring yourself. Naturally, there was a pile of incense and candles, a mandala on the wall, a bunch of shrine tags for ghosts, and potted plants, which your apartment could use since you couldn't keep pets. At least Mum knew her scents. (+Perception)
[ ] Write-in (pick one social stat)

You hadn't planned to stay much longer, but a distinctive odour wafted up from downstairs that alerted you dinner was being made, also reminding you how long you'd been out and about.

"Ah Haruka, if you'd come here on longer notice, we could've prepared a special dinner. But for now, how about durian curry?" you mother beamed as you came back down, holding a bubbling, bursting pot with green spiky chunks melting in it.

"Er, great. Ah yeah, I can stay", you told them. Dubious as the food looks, it may be the last ever dinner my Mum makes for me.

"That's great! Well, eat up," she said, holding out a spoon.

- The Star has Journeyed to Rank 2! -

Heading back home, er, to your current home, your thoughts turned to seeing if you could sneak in to the Gameboard again. Two problems arose though, the first was trying that tactic two nights a row, you'd already gotten lucky the first time. The second was that you were up past midnight last night, and in an area where you struggled to breathe for most of it, so tonight you needed all the sleep you could get if you didn't want to be fatigued and drowsy when Eitaro confronted you.

That said, you at least made one final stop before going home for the night. Heading into the Velvet Room, you told Popo you had some Personae due.

"Ah, 'course missus, comin' right up missus," the pony said, as he used his shrouds of shogi pieces to call up both:

"I am Devil Anastasia, the last jewel in Winter's Crown," came of the voice of Himawari's, or rather Nightshade's, Persona "They try to execute us, we'll go down swinging".

Elements: Resists Ice, weak to Fire
Stats:
- Strength: |||||
- Cognition: |||||
- Agility: |||||
- Luck: |||||
- Endurance: |||||
Skills:
- Bufu
- Bash
- Recarm
- Devil Bonus: Mabufu

"I am Strength Atalanta, lion-huntress of boars born of bears," said of the voice that lion-bear woman with a tusked bow you'd fought in Eitaro's Empire, "We'll outrace the wind, we'll outrace light".

Elements: Nulls Gun, resists Wind, weak to Psy and Electric
Stats:
- Strength: |||||
- Cognition: |||||
- Agility: |||||
- Luck: |||||
- Endurance: |||||
Skills:
- Twin Shot
- Swift Strike
- Masukukaja
- Strength Bonus: Arrow Rain

"Popo," you then asked the tiny pegasus, "You're meant to be from the Gameboard itself, right? Then you could explain what's with this everyone conquering each other thing, or all these Duels?"

Popo just gasped, trotting slightly backwards. "W-what ever do you mean, missus Haruka?" he pronounced your name with a short 'a' rather than a long 'ar', "The Gameboard is born from clashing wills, yes it be, and 'course Empires can expand and incorporate others and whatnot, but sorry miss, I haven't the faintest what a 'Duel' is".

"What?" you shot up, "You know Eitaro, right?"

"Er, yes miss, Qin Shi Huang's user. He's with All-Aces, ain't he?" Popo slowly replied, with a gasping Lauryn also leaning in on the conversation.

"Yeah well, he couldn't handle not winning all the time, or showing weakness sometimes, so naturally he blamed everything on me," you muttered, crossing your arms and slumping back down, "He challenged me to a Duel starting tomorrow, right in a big colosseum smack dab in the middle of his Empire. It's not supposed to be to the death, but..." you sighed.

"Oh, oh no!" Popo burst out, putting his hoof to his head, "I, I never meant for Persona-users t'be fighting each other! They were s'posed to keep people safe from Shadows, that was the whole point!"

"Eitaro was, I admit, never the most peaceful person..." Lauryn bit her lip, then said "But this! This is behaviour I never would've tolerated as Ace of Pentacles! Even though," she froze for a second, "Even though, I do admit, the question of what would happen if a single Empire won the whole Gameboard was back then still something we thought about".

You breathed deep before you said "Okay then, what does happen if someone conquers the whole Gameboard?"

Popo shrunk back, ducking his head, "We're- we're not sure miss. I'm just an emissary after all, don't really have the authority to be knowing somethin' like that".

"We can assume it involves the hearts of the whole school all following the one person," Lauryn stated, "But beyond that, who can say? I had possibly the largest Empire at the time, and even I never learned the answer".

"Oh great, you mean to tell me Azuma's running this whole fight club for a prize he knows nothing about?!" you spat out.

"Azuma isn't like that!" Lauryn suddenly shot up, but cleared her throat and said, "My apologies, I got carried away there".

"Um, Miss 'Aruka?" Popo whimpered, "P-please don't die out there. We- we haven't known each other that long, b-but I'd be... really sad to see you go".

You knelt down to look Popo in the eye, "I'm sorry, I, I can't promise anything. But I will fight back against him as hard as I can, for you, for everyone," that speech flowed out of you.

- The Tower has Journeyed to Rank 2! -

"Oh, Miss," Popo's voice then brightened up, "Ah, I do got some good news 'ere. Looks like you've got better with personae, to the point where you can now hold up 8 of 'em".

"Ah, all this has reminded me," Igor spoke up, having finished his phone call with, er, someone else, "I once knew a Querent such as yourself, a young maiden who also felt her world had been lost, as those who should have been her companions instead fought against, and you'll be pleased to know, she also found an answer at the end of it all. Of course, you are flesh and she was steel, but details, details".

"Um, thanks" you mumbled.

New Fusion Recommendations

Fool Theodora + Death Santa Muerte = Strength Guan Yu (Physical and Ice)
Death Santa Muerte + Hanged Man Argus = Moon Camazotz (Wind and Curse)
Death Santa Muerte + Chariot Cuchulainn = Devil Nobunaga (Fire and Curse)
Devil Anastasia + Fool Theodora or Chariot Cuchullain = Temperance Themis (Physical and Psy)
Devil Anastasia + Emperor Richard III = Justice Saint George (Physical and Bless)
Devil Anastasia + Death Santa Muerte = Chariot Thor (Physical and Electric)
Devil Anastasia + Hanged Man Argus = Fortune Lachesis (Bless and Curse)
Strength Atalanta + Devil Anastasia = Death Anubis (Curse and Healing)
Strength Atalanta + Emperor Richard III = Tower Chernobog (Curse and Nuclear)

After the Velvet Room you headed straight home, too sleepy from yesterday and today to go out anywhere else, plus you knew you had to save your strength for tomorrow.

You slumped down on your bed, hugging your pillows and burying yourself in your blankets. However just outside your door, you heard Megumi coming back into the house, talking with... oh no, Tanizawa-sensei.

"Mmhm, I had a wonderful time, it was great we could catch up again," your teacher purred outside your door.

"Hey, anytime," you could hear Megumi chuckle, before the two began, oh Jesus, kissing and making out, making you promptly bury your ears into your pillows.

Your doorknob rattled, before Megumi said "Huh, guess Haruka's already in, sorry about that".

Ryouko kept on giggling, "Well, we can name do. I know a few good love hotels in the area," she said before kissing them again.

Good, they're not doing it right next to me, you thought. You meant no ill will, it's just that... your teacher's sex life was seriously not something you needed to know, much less happen one room over from you.

Monday, April 11th
Day of the Duel

You at least felt all rested and relaxed, stretching your arms wide as you woke up. Heading into the loungeroom, you could see Megumi wasn't anywhere, you guessed still with Ryouko at this hour. Shame, as you'd really liked to have talked to them one last time.

You tried to eat as heartily as you could for breakfast, which wasn't easy given your cupboards weren't the most stocked, though having some of that durian curry packed by your Mum as leftovers was... something.

Arriving at school shortly after, you met with Eitaro waiting for you by the school gates. He said nothing, just gave a cold glare and snorted, before walking in.

Once you got to class, you found one other plus to getting a good night's sleep was being able to stay alert through the teacher's lecture. Tanizawa-sensei did try to appear professional, but you could still spot some lipstick stains on her, and that her tie was slightly loosened.

[+2 Education]

After that, well, you knew what was next. Heading into the All-Aces Lounge, you saw all six of them waiting for you. Eitaro naturally was first to speak up, "So, you snuck into this place at night?"

You gasped, stuttering out "H-how did you know?"

"He has me to thank for that," Gakuto grinned, "I was just inspecting our security system records, and out of the goodness of my heart I gave Eitaro that information free of charge".
He then sidled up to and whispered "Of course, if you still want crucial info on Eitaro, it's not too late, provided you're willing to pay up this time..." You just brushed past him, not even entertaining the thought.

"Well, at least I can appreciate going the distance to get some extra training in," Eitaro muttered, before his Tarot card appeared in his hand. "I'll be waiting," he said, before slamming the card on the gameboard, vanishing within.

"Yo Haruka, one last thing," Melissa grinned, holding up your tonfas, "Got a little present for ya! Well, actually it was Azuma and Himawari who kept nagging me to do this, so you'd better be grateful, got it?"

"Huh?" you mumbled, "Grateful for what?"

"You might've noticed each of us also carries a ranged weapon," Azuma began, "So for this Duel, we only thought it fair and you too should be handed one".

"Melissa says she got her people to modify your tonfas, so not only can you hit stuff with them, they can also double as guns. Pretty neat, huh?" Himawari piped up, and you never thought you'd see her with this personality talking about firearms like that.

"Oh yeah, I'd kinda forgotten you'd all been being guns and stuff to school," you smiled on the outside but snarled on the inside, "Boy, you All-Aces can get away with anything".

"Hey, they're for like, gameboard shit and stuff!" Melissa snapped, before asking "Anyway, you'd better select which ammo you want like, pronto!"

[ ] Standard (hits six time before reload, average damage)
[ ] Rapid (hits multiple times, low individual damage)
[ ] Heavy (hits once or twice, high individual damage)
[ ] Scatter (hits a range of foes, uses up more bullets)
[ ] Sniper (high precision and long-distance, little use close up)
[ ] Dynamite (high damage, chance of friendly fire)
[ ] Laser (high damage, cognitively draining)
[ ] Write-in

Entering onto the Gameboard, appearing straight at the start of Eitaro's Empire, you felt a rumbling all around. It was then you saw parts of the walls below you break open. Emerging out of the holes were whole of legions of... corpses? The dead bodies started floating up into the air, before all being pulled together by some strange force to form a bridge, stretching from the watchtower you'd appeared on and down to the Colosseum.

You gingerly tried stepping onto the zombie bridge, only to be immediately repulsed by the sheer stench wafting up from them, as well as, obviously, dead tissue.
"Oh, stop complaining," Kikuko huffed, effortlessly walking over the dead bridge. You did follow after her, though holding your nose the whole way across.

"Have to say, tonfas combined with guns?" she laughed, brandishing her katana and also a Tanegashima arquebus "I believe I'll stick with the more tried-and-tested weapons, thank you".

That bridge thankfully crossed, you tried desperately to get any gunk of your shoes, before you stopped to look up at the looming Colosseum, with its rings and rings of what inside would've been seats, all of it carved right out from a mountain. You entered a long tunnel leading inside, and other than the ends the only light came up piles of burning books.

"Well now, Haruka," Kikuko then asked you, "Have you decided on a strategy?"

"Yeah," was all you told her, though on the inside your brain scrambled to come up with a plan.

[ ] If Eitaro's mostly a physical guy, that means I'll need Rakukaja and Tarunda on my side, plus healing if possible.
[ ] The guy's an archer and football star, that means I'll have to stack on Sukukaja if I'm to outspeed him.
[ ] I'll blast with him Magic! Well, before he starts casting Makanda anyway.
[ ] I'll go full on offence! But with some healing of course.
[ ] I can't be sure exactly what he'll do, I'll have to dodge and guard while I figure out his pattern.
[ ] Write-in.

Persona: The Beautiful

100k Words Special: Best Girl Poll

Higashizawa Reina

Maeda Kikuko

Suzakuin Keiko

Melissa Lilian

Yomogi Tsubasa

Lauryn

Aoyagi Himawari

Colette Claudius

Sakurai Tomomi

Yamashiro Takako

Aimoto Koyomi

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)

Modern Middle Norn (Art by AriaMPDEoL)