#also if nanako is a fan of yosuke would she be one of those like

[crazymecjc]

someone keep me away from the cars au

(plus bonus yosuke!!)

[thecottageinthedark]

Sorting Persona 4

Here again with another Sorting Hat Chats post! This one’s for Persona 4. Full disclaimer; this is based just on the game, not the anime. Also it’s behind a cut cause it is LONG. And has spoilers.

The system I’m using is explained here by @wisteria-lodge.

The Persona 4 MC, whose name is either Souji Seta or Yu Narukami depending on which supplemental materials you go by, is a really REALLY loud Badger secondary. His power is based on making Social Links with NPCs and shifting to become whatever they need-and also on patiently grinding to level up his attributes. And because he lives so much in this secondary-plus the fact that on a meta level he’s kind of a stand-in for the player-his Primary is hard to see.

But where it gets revealed in the end is the decisive moment when the ending you’re going to get is decided. The Investigation Team have discovered that Namatame’s been putting people into the TV, and thus are assuming he’s the murderer-and it’s become horribly personal, because one of the people he did that to was Nanako, and even though she’s been rescued, she’s deathly ill thanks to the TV World’s poison.

And now you-and the MC-have a choice. The IT are baying for Namatame’s blood, ready to kill. One Badger Primary method would be to appeal to the fact that he’s a person, you can’t just kill people….but nobody’s listening. Another would be to dehumanise him and say, he’s a murderer, he needs to die for the sake of everyone-going along with all the fury of the group. A Lion would lash out too-less because everyone’s doing it and more from their own gut feeling, but that would still lead to dead Namatame. A Snake might kill Namatame because he hurt Nanako...or, in the Golden remake, if they’ve done Adachi’s social link, they might cover for him. Either way, they’d be prioritising an inner circle member.

And all of those get you bad endings. Especially the Snake choice to cover for Adachi.

What gets the good ending, the happy ending where the MC is fulfilled and at peace, is to ignore all the emotion that’s running so high, and order everyone to step back and take time to think about whether the theory of Namatame being the killer makes sense. Pounce on the niggling little detail that doesn’t fit, and realise that the assumption everyone is labouring under isn’t true. And then prioritise the actual truth over personal loyalties or emotional reactions.

Bird Primary.

Because of course. This is a detective story. Your party are called both the Investigation Team and the Seekers of Truth. Even the title song hints at it; find the truth (Bird) by getting together with others (Badger).

Yosuke Hanamura’s a young, immature Snake Primary at game start, with the selfishness typical to that. His Shadow throws that back in his face, and he realises he doesn’t like being an asshole whose secret gut reaction to murders happening is ‘well at least I’m not bored anymore now something is happening in this dead-end town’.

So he does two things pretty much at the same time; he widens his inner circle to let in first Souji and then the rest of the IT, and he adds a model on top to let him care about things outside that circle. I think it’s a Lion model-a young Lion, just like his Snake, that edges into Glory Hound, but keeps hold of the idea that you should do certain things because they’re just right.

(It’s not based on the MC, though the MC is undoubtedly his most important person, who he even calls his partner. But then, as I said, the MC’s Bird is very quiet, so it’d be hard for Yosuke to perceive it well enough to mimic it. I think it’s actually based on Chie, who is after all the inner circle member he has known longest!)

And his secondary? Yosuke’s a support guy. He lifts his friends up. His family run Junes, and he leverages that connection to create a base location for the IT and secure a portal into the TV world that’s big enough to be usable. When Teddie comes to the human world, it’s Yosuke who gives him a place to stay. He’s a Badger secondary, and again, this makes perfect sense. The Lover sorting. No wonder so much of the fandom ships him with the MC.

Chie Satonaka is LOUD and BRASH and if you are a jerk she will KICK YOU IN THE FACE. She is so goddamn Lion Secondary, and utterly unapologetic about it.

Her primary, I think, is Lion again. The reason she has gotten possessive of Yukiko (as her Shadow calls her out on) isn’t that she wants Yukiko to be just hers-it’s that she wants to be Yukiko’s knight. Saving the princess is actually a textbook Lion cause. It lets her feel heroic and brave.

But that’s not good for either of them. Damsel in distress is a shitty role, one that doesn’t allow Yukiko to be strong and capable herself, and Chie pushing Yukiko into that role is really straining their relationship. It’s also something that Chie herself knows is wrong-that’s why her Shadow accuses her of it. (“I am a Shadow, the true self...”)

So instead Chie changes gears, because oh look a new Cause just popped up! Find the killer and bring them to justice! And on top of that, there’s always sexist prats to kick.

Yukiko Amagi models Badger Primary, because it’s expected of her. Running an inn is a really Badger kind of job. She also models Badger Secondary, for the same reasons. She feels this is who she’s meant to be; sweet, gentle, socially adept, community-focused and hard-working. The traditional Japanese ideal of womanhood.

But it chafes. The weight of societal expectations feels crushing. She doesn’t want to do stuff just because she’s meant to, because people think she should. She’s an Internal Primary, and needs to follow the voice of her own heart.

And where that heart leads her...is back to the Amagi Inn, except now she’s decided that she’s doing this for herself. She needed to feel that she could actually choose to not inherit the inn, before she could realise that she wanted to run it. She’s a Snake Primary, and the inn is important to her because it’s hers.

Her secondary...actually I get the feeling she’s like Toph Beifong of Avatar, a Snake who likes to spend most of her time in neutral. She is delightfully quirky and weird, and owns that, but she doesn’t charge like a Lion and she’s comfy with wearing masks when the situation calls for it.

Kanji Tatsumi panics at the idea that he might be gay, and caretakes like a boss, and that might look at first sight like a Double Badger who’s scared that he might be one of the people he’s used to dehumanising. His Shadow screams that it wants to be accepted...but what calms it is when Kanji himself accepts it, and says that this resolution is about being true to himself. Kanji’s a Double Lion who burnt his primary because being given shit for the feminine, queer-coded parts of himself made him lose faith in his internal compass, worrying that it was leading him somewhere that he viewed as bad. Internalised homophobia’s a bitch of a thing.

Accepting his Shadow is the start of Kanji healing his primary-letting go of shame for being an oddball and telling the world to go fuck itself if it thinks it can make him conform. He does model Badger Secondary-as I said, he caretakes like a boss-but that’s more a thing he does as a gift to others. When it comes to solving problems, he charges in swinging, ready to beat up anyone from biker gangs to otherworldly monsters.

Rise Kujikawa is a cheerful, shameless Snake Primary, loving and ambitious. She became an idol to make friends, and enjoys the fame it gets her. And when she needs to take a break for the sake of her mental health, she has no compunctions about doing so.

But she needed that break because the idol life was stressing her out-unsurprisingly, it’s a really intense life. And the particular problem she had was to do with the conflicting expectations the public has of celebrities. Perfection is demanded...but so is authenticity.

Rise realised that she was face-shifting as an integral part of her career, and this knowledge sent her into a tailspin. The fans don’t like the real Rise Kujikawa-they like Risette. But who is the real Rise Kujikawa? She doesn’t know! It’s frightening! What if she’s just made of smoke and mirrors? How does she find out what’s underneath?

And the answer she comes to is that there is no real Rise Kujikawa...which is the same as saying that there is no false one. Rise is Risette is Rise, it’s all just her, adapting to the context as she needs to. She’s a Badger Secondary, and the act of performance is the true self.

And for her, that’s a good answer-it brings her peace. But now we need to talk about Teddie.

Because just hearing Rise say ‘there’s no real me’ sends Teddie into a Shadow crisis right there.

He completely fucking loses it. He’s a denizen of the TV world-he’s been immune to it all this time, never manifesting a Shadow, but this is what breaks him. And that just screams Bird Lion. It’s his Buzz Lightyear moment-or rather his first Buzz Lightyear moment, because there are two. This is the first, and he survives it by retreating into his Secondary. It allows him to bring Shadow Teddie under control...but this isn’t sustainable. He’s realised something terrible and can’t avoid that knowledge indefinitely.

And soon enough he admits it to himself (and to the MC). He is a Shadow, that somehow became self-aware. His Truth was never true. He can’t handle it, he has no idea how to even exist, and he outright tells the MC that he intends to commit suicide.

He recovers, though-and he does so because the MC tells him Nanako survived. That’s the first thing that gives him a glimmer of hope, because his Truth already had some Snakey elements in there about chosen people and ambitions. He comes back from the brink, reshapes his system to centre those Snake principles, and returns to the side of his friends.

Lastly, Naoto Shirogane, our other queer-coded character. (I’m using she pronouns for the sake of canon here-but I’m a firm believer in nonbinary Naoto, for the record.) I think she’s a Bird secondary-the only one of those here, jeez. She’s just so analytical. She’s a rapid-fire Bird too, Detective Prince working on a case, squarely in the middle of her comfort zone. But push her out of it-into a normal teenager social situation, say-and watch her squirm!

She has a Bird Primary performance, too. But performance is the operative word here. She’s trying to look adult and smart and collected, in order to be taken seriously by the police officers she works with. And she is smart, mind you, but that’s not the why of her though it is the how. It’s not Naoto who goes ‘wait, let’s think about this, we need more information’ at the crucial point, but the MC, who really is a Bird Primary. Naoto was the one to suggest doing a little vigilante justice vis-a-vis murdering Namatame.

Her real Primary is Lion. Being a detective is a Cause for her, not a Truth, and she is blazingly certain of her own sense of what’s right-so much so that she doesn’t stop and check it against other people’s. And she inspires people! She doesn’t even mean to, and certainly doesn’t know why, but she is just so cool that people flock to her and admire her. ‘The Detective Prince’ is, when you think about it, a really Lion Bird kind of title!

Her Shadow has two issues with her. First, it harps on the gender angle. Hey, self, there’s that thing about your identity that you’ve been refusing to think about! You need to go poke at it! And then it breaks down into a scared child. Self, your performance is eating you alive. You need to do it, yes, the Cause demands it, but you also need to be able to stop sometimes and let yourself have emotions!

In short:

MC/Souji/Yu: Bird primary, Badger secondary

Yosuke: Snake primary, Badger secondary, models Lion primary

Chie: Lion primary, Lion secondary

Yukiko: Snake primary, Snake secondary, with Badger primary and secondary models that start out pretty unhealthy for her. 

Kanji: Lion primary that starts out burnt and begins to unburn after his Shadow fight, Lion secondary. Models Badger secondary.

Rise: Snake primary, Badger secondary

Teddie: Bird primary, Lion secondary. Falls dramatically and recovers by shaping his system to be more Snakelike.

Naoto: Lion primary, Bird secondary, performs Bird primary

[ask-the-phan-site]

Phan Cam: The Fight Before Christmas (Part 4)

NOTE: Some characters will not be shown wearing formal attire. So I must ask that you imagine how they look as they are described. Thank you.

NOTE 2: Before we begin, we would like to inform you that we know about the ban of Tumblr content and to let you know that we are in full support of lifting the ban. Don’t worry, we’re on your side.

WARNING: This post is pretty long since we tried to squeeze in a lot that’s happened.

>Shibuya. More specifically, the Wilton Hotel. The Fight Before Christmas Opening Party was going into full swing. The Investigation Team came in first in the lobby.

>Yu was dressed in something he borrowed from his uncle, Yosuke was dressed in a regular black tuxedo, Kanji was wearing a fine black suit, and Teddie was in his standard human form clothing.

>Chie was dressed in an orientle Chinese dress that was green with golden lining and golden flowers (thanks to Kanji), and black shoes. Yukiko was dressed in something similar to her summer clothes. Rise was in her Sapphire dress. Naoto was dressed in a fancy white dress (she was a bit embarrassed about wearing a dress). And Nanako was like Yukiko and wearing something similar to her summer clothes.

Here we are! I can’t believe I made it.

You deserve it, Chie. You’re one of the best fighters I know. We all know that.

(rubbing his bottom) I can believe that.

Chie: (upset) What’s that suppose to mean!?

Yosuke: (nervous) Nothing. Nothing.

I wonder when they’ll get here. They said they were coming.

Oh, there they are!

>Our van comes up to the entrance. We, along with Boss, came out.

Valet: Park your vehicle for you, sir?

Really? I normally self-park, but I guess this once. How much is the tip?

Valet: ¥700.

That much!?

>In defeat, Boss pays the man and he parks the van.

Boss: How I’d let you talk me into this, I’ll never know.

Relax, Sojiro, at least you’ll be getting free food out of this.

>With that, we head inside where we meet the others.

Rise: Hi, guys! I like what you’re wearing.

Thanks. They were a gift from ALTUS.

Rise: Really!? How come ALTUS never gave us anything fancy?

Yosuke: She has a point. We’ve been making money for them since 2008.

Chie: Really? I thought it was since 2011.

That was when our story took place. The release date of Persona 4 was in 2008.

Rise: Well I still think they should give us a gift for all we’ve done.

Maybe if they make a Persona 5 Arena... Maybe.

Anyway, let’s head inside. If Kanamin Kitchen is in there, I’d love to meet them... Not that I unhappy you’re here, Rise chan.

Rise: (scowling) You better.

I’m sure he will. Actually, Ryuji here has decided to become an idol himself.

Rise: Really?

Ryuji: That’s right. I want to be so great, even DearDream and KUROFUNE would be impressed.

Rise: That’s great. You know, if you ever need tips, you can ask me.

Thanks, Rise senpai.

Rise: You hear that, Senpai? Now I’m the senpai.

Yu: Congratulations, Rise.

>With that, we head inside the Wilton Hotel. Inside, the opening party was in full swing. The place was packed with fighters, their sponsors, their supporters, and lucky fans. I’m surprised they managed to fit in the Christmas decorations and the tree. After much walking around, we managed to find Joe, Ryuichi, Setsuko, Yuta, and two old men who I can only guess are Setsuko’s father and Mr. Takizawa, Joe’s coach and Maki Takakura’s father.

(in a tuxedo... and not happy in it) Hey, guys!

(in a cream suit with a red tie) So these are the guys you told me about.

Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you George Takizawa.

(wearing a purple frock with gold earrings and black high-heels) I just want to thank you again for deciding to do this.

Makoto: Actually, I’m earning the money for something else.

Setsuko: Yes, Yuta told me.

Mr. Takizawa: I hope your aikido instructor will be fine.

Makoto: It’s alright. He said that if there’s any money left over, he’ll give it to you for Yuta’s treatment.

Setsuko: Thank you.

(wearing a light blue dress-shirt and a black tie under a red sweater vest, tan pants, and black shoes) Do I really have to wear this? I can’t feel pain, but I do feel silly.

Joe: You and me both.

(also in a tux) You both will be fine. If you two can pull it off at the wedding, you can pull it off here.

I actually know how you feel. I don’t normally wear something like this.

Ryuji: I bet you wanted to wear a kimono or something.

I think you look good in it, Yusuke.

Thank you, Ren.

>He really did look good in that suit.

Ryuichi: Hey, are those two...

Joe: Speaking of clothing, what’s with the mask?

Soul Taker: The identity of Soul Taker must remain secret.

Yosuke: (confused) Dude, it’s only covering half your face.

Soul Taker: Hey, that’s how ALTUS made it.

Yusuke: I brought my mask as well to show support.

I wish we’d done the same.

Makoto: Maybe for New Years.

Thanks, Mako chan.

You’re welcome, Haru.

Ryuichi: Are they also...

Is that all you’re going to ask tonight?

Chie: Yeah, you should be more careful of what you say next.

Yukiko: (intimidating) I’ll crush you in one strike.

Akechi: Anyway, there’s Sae san over there.

Yu: It looks like she’s speaking with Mitsuru san and Akihiko san. Let’s head over there.

Kanji: You guys go on ahead. I just want to do some last minute fixes.

Rise: Again?

Naoto: I told you, that suit I had was just fine.

Kanji: No way. This is a formal event. I don’t think anyone would be happy with that.

Yosuke: And this coming from the guy who came with his bleached hear and piercings.

Kanji: (angry) What was that?

Yosuke: (scared) Nothing.

Nanako: I like it. It’s like Beauty and the Beast.

Kanji: (a little happy) Th- Thanks, Nanako.

Naoto: (blushing a little more) Yes, thank you.

Setsuko: See, Dad? It’s not so bad dressing nicely.

... I think I’ll be fine.

Joe: You go on, too. We just want to look around for a bit.

>With that, we leave to join Sae, Mitsuru, and Akihiko.

(wearing a tight black dress under her coat) Really, you would take the case for us?

Yes. You have the same power Makoto has. I think it would only be fair to help you out.

Mitsuru: I see. Thank you, Niijima, for your support.

Good. This case has been going on for a while.

Makoto: Sis!

Sae: Makoto, you’re here.

Makoto: I overheard you talking about a case. Is something wrong.

Sae: Nothing you need to worry yourself now.

Mitsuru: So you must be Niijima’s sister.

Makoto: Yes. I’m Makoto Niijima. You’re Mitsuru Kirijo, the head of the Kirijo Group and leader of the Shadow Operatives.

Mitsuru: Yes. I’ve seen you’ve done your research quite thoroughly.

Makoto: Well, Yu and his friends told us much about you last year. It also helps that Futaba contributed as well.

You know you really need to improve your security algorithm. It only took me less than 5 minutes to hack in.

Mitsuru: I see. I’ll make sure of it. You must be Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter.

Boss: I’m also her guardian.

Mitsuru: Sojiro Sakura. You must have been a good father to Futaba.

Futaba: He’s been the best.

Thanks for that.

Mitsuru: Good... Now tell me, you, like us, also have Personas?

Soul Taker: We have.

>We began explaining our story to Mitsuru and Akihiko. Of course, we sometimes go off topic and speak of other things... Like that silly useless ban on Tumblr content. We also explain about the cognitive psience.

Mitsuru: I see. That’s quite the story. We knew of the Persona and Shadow activity here in Tokyo for sometime, but we were preoccupied with other things at the time. Forgive us.

Soul Taker: That’s alright. You probably had your hands tied and couldn’t do anything.

I guess it’s party my fault. I caused all of those incidents making people have psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns.

Haru: That’s only because Shido made you do it. You’re just as much a victim as anyone else.

Akechi: I know. And you all helped me. Thank you.

Akihiko: I’ve heard that you have some pretty strong Personas. I’d like to see that in action.

Yu: Yes. We saw just how powerful their Personas are.

Mitsuru: Yes. It sound like you would become valuable assets to the Shadow Operatives.

Makoto: That would be great, but I fear that would mean we would have to reveal our identities to the public.

Akihiko: I don’t think you would have to worry about that. When I’m not in the ring, I’m a police officer. I can just cover up for you.

Chie: So am I! Well, I’m actually training to be one. I guess we really think alike, don’t we, Master?

Akechi: I guess that would be good. But we’re not so sure... However, it might come in handy with our currant heist.

Mitsuru: You mean steal the hearts of the corrupted Tumblr admins?

Soul Taker: Another version of us is taking care of that. How much do you know about Sugimura Sekitan?

Mitsuru: He is the son of a politician. However, after Masayoshi Shido’s confession, Mr. Sekitan was discovered to be in Shido’s inner circle and he, along with others in that circle, came under fire and was forced to resign.

Haru: That’s true. Now his family is suffering some financial problems because of that resignation. In fact, the reason Sugimura is sponsoring Joe Yuuki is so that he could get the prize money to ensure their fortune long enough to restore his father’s reputation and allow him to return to politics...

But I don’t think he’s going to play fair.

Sae: You think he might be up to something?

Haru: I know Sugimura long enough to know what he’s capable of. We checked the Metaverse Navigator. He has a Palace.

Mitsuru: So you wish to steal the distortion from his heart and make him confess the truth?

Ryuji: Pretty much. We had a meeting the other day to discuss this and we discovered where his Palace is.

Makoto: There’s another reason why all of us came here besides supporting our friends for the Fight Before Christmas...

It’s here. The Wilton Hotel.

Mitsuru: I see. Then allow us to help you. We seek only the elimination of Shadow threats and this is no different.

Akechi: That’s probably a good idea...

Since I will not be here when the heist takes place.

Mitsuru: You won’t be here, Akechi?

Akechi: I know I consider the Phantom Thieves my family, but it’s not exactly the same since everyone has their own holiday tradition.And since my mother is dead and my father is... indisposed, it would mostly likely I would spend the holidays alone. However, a friend of ours in New York has offered to let me spend Christmas with him and his aunt. I should be back in time for New Year.

Mitsuru: I see. I guess you’ll need someone to fill in for you.

Makoto: Normally, we would have a reserved member fill in for a main member if they are unavailable, however, they all have their own holiday plans right now and we wish not to disturber them. Even King, who lives here in Japan, has his hands tied.

Mitsuru: Yes, we heard from one of our operatives he and his little girl are busy. However, we do have people available, if that is alright with you.

Soul Taker: As long as they can use Bless skills, or Light as you call it, that would be great.

Mitsuru: Good. I’ll have him come as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mitsuru san.

Naoto: (finally joining us with Kanji) I would be glad to help as well. If that’s alright.

Kanji: If you’re going in there, Naoto, I’m going with you.

Soul Taker: I guess you can.

Naoto: Thank you.

Ryuji: Okay, now that that’s settle, there’s still something else we gotta do. We have the who and the where, now we just need to know what Sugimura sees the hotel as.

Haru: I don’t think even I know that.

Soul Taker: True. He does seem the type who hides who he’s like on the inside...

Which is why I brought a secret weapon.

>Everyone was a bit confused about what I said. So I reached into my shirt and pulled the “secret weapon”.

(groans) Finally! I thought I was never getting out of there!

What!? Mona!? What’s he doing here!?

Ryuji, shush! Someone will hear us.

Soul Taker: I brought him here in case there was sushi here, but it looks like he has something else to do here. Morgana, Sugimura is just over there. We need you to go and listen to what he has to say so we can figure out what his distortion is.

You can count on me, Joker.

>With that, Morgana goes off to spy on Sugimura. Luckily, no one notices him so far.

Boss: Are you sure no one will notice him?

Soul Taker: I have faith in him. We need him.

Mitsuru: (pleased) Good. I like how well a leader you are.

Sae: So, what shall we do while we wait?

Talk more I guess. I still have a few choice words about the Tumblr staff.

>Morgana managed to get to Sugimura who was talking with Yuuki, Maki, and Yuuki’s coach, Matsuda.

(wearing a yellow dress with red and black designs and white high heels) Really!? You’re sponsoring Joe even though you have financial problems?

I’ll pay for the expenses after we win the tournament. Just trust me.

(wearing a tux) My. Aren’t we the sly one.

I really don’t care about the money. I just want to beat the crap out of that Haninozuka and become the new champion. And fighting Akamine is just a bonus.

Sugimura: It’s that determined attitude that will favor us greatly. Just think, with that kind of money and my father's reputation restored, I’ll be living this life even longer. I especially would like to move here to the Wilton. My own privet paradise. Plus, the buffet is to die for.

Matsuda: Heh! The way you talk about it, you sound like a gangster out of a movie.

Sugimura: Yes, it would seem that way. Which is why I would like to discuss something with you... Without those two. (Yuuki and Maki.)

Yuuki: What is it?

Sugimura: Oh, just some boring stuff.

Maki: Alright. We’re suppose to be meeting with the other Favorites now. Suoh will be making the announcement any minute.

Yuuki: Tech! Fine.

>With that, the couple leave.

Matsuda: What is it you want to talk to me about in private?

Sugimura: Well, just in case, to make sure we win this... I had the fights fixed.

Matsuda: (shocked) Really!? Isn’t that cheating?

Sugimura: Just looking after my assets, as well as yours and Yuuki’s. You want your gym to gain more attention and Yuuki just wants to be number one at everything. I’m just making sure we all get what we want.

Matsuda: Oh you wicked young man... But if you really think this will work, I can’t really argue.

Sugimura: Excellent. I knew you would see it my way.

>With that, they leave.

>Morgana managed to get back to us and told us everything.

That effin son of a bitch! He’s fixin’ the fight!?

Morgana: It gets worse. The coach agree with him. As long as he and Yuuki get what they want, they can’t do anything.

Makoto: Does Yuuki know?

Morgana: I don’t think so. I guess he knows he’ll turn him in if he knew.

Soul Taker: So you said that the coach compared Sugimura to a gangster?

Morgana: That’s what I heard. It sounded important.

Makoto: A regular gangster would see a hotel as just a hotel. But he thinks of this place as a kind of paradise. Like his personal hideout.

Haru: I can only assume that might be it. Let’s try it with the Nav.

>I take out my phone and put in the keywords.

Soul Taker: Sugimura Sekitan. Wilton Hotel. Gangster’s Hideout.

Nav: Results found.

Yusuke: It’s a hit. We can get in.

Soul Taker: But it looks like we’ll have to wait. They’re about to start the ceremony.

>We head to a stage where the 10 Favorites of Japan were along with Kanami Mashita, Ms. Ochimizu, the Masters Family, and the Ouran Host Club. Tamaki Suoh comes up to the podium.

Welcome, everyone, to the 15th Annual Fight Before Christmas Tournament! Now normally, my father, Yuzuru Suoh would do this speech, but he thought I was ready to do this.

As goes my own father, who is tied up at work with my older brothers at the moment and couldn’t make it.

Same here. And I really want to support Chika chan.

Tch! As if I need support from you, Mitsukuni.

Anyway!

Tamaki: We hold this tournament to remind us of all the struggle we had endured this year. And that the coming holidays makes us happy of the adventures that came with it. To celebrate who we were, who we are, and who we will be. And we wish only victory to tall of you. Good luck fighters!

>Everyone applauded.

Tamaki: Kanami sama, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Tamaki. Hello, everyone! My meat is marbled, my movement is slow, and I sleep off every meal! I’m Kanami Mashita, your prized cow!

And I’m Ken Masters. Me and my friend, Ryu, founded this tournament with help from the Suoh Group, the Ootori Group, and of course the Haninozuka Dojo. Also with me are my lovely wife, Eliza.

It’s good to meet you all.

Ken: And our son, Mel.

I just wish I was old enough to compete.

Ken: I’m sure you’ll be old enough soon, Mel. As for Ryu, well, he couldn’t make it this year. He’s still resting from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Kanami: Either way, I’m just so glad that everyone’s here.

You rule, Kanamin!

>Everyone couldn’t help but cheer as well.

If you are all quite done!

Kanami: Thanks, Ms. Ochimizu. Anyway, I hope you all have fun at this wonderful tournament to ring in the New Year. Good luck to you all!

>Everyone cheered.

Ms. Ochimizu: And don’t forget about Kanamin Kitchen’s New Years Eve Spectacular, featuring many other performances and Knamin Kitchen’s newest hit, Pull The Trigger.

>The crowd cheered even more.

>A little later after they announced the match up for the qualifiers, Joe, Ryuichi, Setsuko, Yuta, Mr. Koshu, Mr. Takizawa, the Investigation Team (save Naoto and Kanji), Sae, and Boss head home. The rest of us, including Mitsuru and Kanji were just outside the hotel. We were waiting for Akihiko who went inside to get something and Naoto was in our van changing our of her dress.

Ann: I feel bad making Boss take the train back. It’s really getting colder.

Futaba: He’s a tough guy, he can handle it... As long as he hasn’t forgotten to lock the door again.

Naoto: I wonder what is taking Akihiko san so long?

Mitsuru: I don’t know... But I have an idea.

>And it looked like her idea was spot on.

Sorry for the wait. Mitsuru packed this really well.

Mitsuru: (hand to her face) In hopes you wouldn’t find it.

I can see why. You’re practically indecent.

(artist hands out) Then again, the scars on your body are clearly an art that displays the many battles you went through in your life.

Akihiko: (surprised) Uh, thanks?

>I don’t know whether I should be happy for Yusuke or jealous of Akhiko.

(coming out of the van) In any case, we should head inside the Palace now.

Mitsuru: Right. We want to see what the Metaverse is like so the operative we’ll be sending will be ready.

Okay, then. Off we go.

Nav: Beginning navigation.

>The familiar red wave passes us. When it was over, the Wilton Hotel was still the same, however, the top of the building had been replaced with a large mansion that looked like it was made of polished marble and the roofs were made of gold.

Kanji: Yikes! I thought the triplet’s Palace was gaudy.

Same thing with Kanashiro’s Bank.

And Madarame’s Museum.

And Shido’s Cruise.

Mitsuru: I see your clothes have changed. Is that part of coming to this world?

It is. Kinda put your whole “Dark Hour” to shame, doesn’t it?

Akihiko: No doubt. Koromaru never turns into something like you.

Mona: Am I worth the wait?

So this is the distortion in Sugimura’s heart. I’ve always known he had it, but never had the courage to come here.

Well we’re all here now. We can do this together.

You’re right. Thanks, everyone!

>We all nod.

Akihiko: So what now?

Normally, we just go in a ways before we make a route to the Treasure. See what we’re dealing with.

Just be careful in there. I’m detecting Shadows up ahead.

Naoto: We will.

Let’s go.

>We went inside the Palace. The inside of the first room looks like the lobby, but everything was different. The wallpaper were a black and gold diamond design with golden yen signs in the black diamonds. There were also large portraits of an arrogant Sugimura as well as sculptures of him. It was almost blinding. And just as Oracle predicted, there were Shadows that were dressed like gangsters with guns.

Panther: This guy must watch The Godfather a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised of the cognitive beings here woke up to find horse heads in their beds.

>One of the Shadows heard us.

Shadow 1: Hey! What yous guys doin’ here?

Skull: Nothin' much...

Just he to make sure your boss get’s what comin’ to him.

Shadow 2: Is thatta threat!?

Shadow 3: Yous mooks betta be ready!

?????? ????????: Stand aside!

Shadow 4: Y- Yes, boss!

>With that, the Shadows part to show who I can only guess is Sugimura’s Shadow. He was dressed in a black suit with white stripes running up and down under a dark blue dress shirt with a white tie, a red rose in the jacket pocket, a white scarf, a toothpick in his mouth, and a black fedora with a white ribbon. And like all the other Shadows we’ve faced, he had golden eyes.

Shadow Sugimura: Haru, my dame, so you’ve finally come back to me.

Noir: Never! I’ll never come crawling back to you!

Shadow Sugimura: That’s shame. And here I was hopin’ you’d finally came to your senses. What with your ol’ man six feet under, it must be pretty lonely running the company all by yours self.

Noir: I don’t need you. I have my friends with me to help me when times are tough...

Especially when you’re the reason.

Shadow Sugimura: (angry) You little bitch. I was ready to forgive you, but instead, you sealed your fate. As well as the fate of your friends. Men, show these fools what happens when you cross me.

Shadow 1: Right! You heard the boss, you bums! Let’s take care of these punks!

Oracle: Those guys aren’t very original. Oni maybe strong, but all it takes are a few spells and that’s it.

Joker: Then it should be easy enough.

Fox: Mind if I join in?

Joker: Go right ahead. I love it when we fight together.

>We both smile.

Mitsuru: I would like to join in as well. This might be the only time I can see how powerful Shadows in the Metaverse are.

Akihiko: Same here. It’s been too long since I’ve done something like this.

Joker: I don’t know.

Don’t worry. I just saw beauty in Akihiko’s scars. You will always be my muse... No, my god of inspiration.

Thank you, Yusuke.

Oracle: If we’re done with the touchy feely stuff, here they come!

>One of the Oni tries to attack, but we dodged it.

Joker, Fox, Mitsuru, and Akihiko: Persona!

>Arsene uses Maeiga, Goemon and Artemisia both use Mabufula, and Caesar uses Mazionga. The Oni were either Frozen or Shocked.

Joker: Let’s attack the ones that were Frozen. Just be careful of the ones that are Shocked.

Mitsuru: Right, everyone, charge!

>With my dagger, Fox’s katana, Mitsuru’s rapier, and Akihiko’s fists. The Oni were left completely weakned. Luckily, none of us got Shocked.

Oni 1: We ain’t done here. Ready, fire!

>The Oni all use Snap on us. Thankfully, they weren’t that effective.

Mitsuru: That attack wasn’t something I’ve seen before.

Joker: Actually... I can do better. I have Fox to thank for the the Skill Cards he gave me before tonight.

Fox: Consider them an early Christmas present.

>Arsene uses Charge. Goemon uses Masukukaja. Mitsuru and Akihiko simply waited to see what was going to happen. As did the Oni.

Oni 2: Heh! What are yous gonna do? Your attacks can’t even scratch the surface of our skin!

Don’t underestimate what you can’t understand because of your boss... ARSENE, NOW!

>Arsene uses Riot Gun. The Oni were all gone.

Kanji: Way to go, Joker!

Joker: It may not be as powerful as Satanael’s Riot Gun, but it’s pretty useful when it needs to be.

Shadow Sugimura: (already in an elevator) Grr! Useless idiots. No matter. As soon as that dumb blonde, Joe Yuuki, wins the tournament with my ‘help’, I’ll be more powerful than any of yous can ever be.

>With that, the elevator’s doors close and went up.

Skull: Hey, wait!

Kanji: Don’t run away, dammit!

>Skull and Kanji ran to the elevator. However, there was an electronic lock on it that only responds to a password. Then, they notice something.

Skull: Hey, Joker! Come take a look at this.

>We came to look at the sign they were talking about.

Panther: It’s a map of the building.

Akihiko: What does it say?

Oracle: It looks like the Treasure is on the top floor. That mansion on the roof. But it also looks like the only way to get there with this elevator. It’s the only floor it goes to.

Queen: You mean there’s no other way to get there?

Oracle: Nope. And we can’t use this elevator without a password. Which means we have to explore this Palace for any henchmen who might know what it is. Now I’ve already got this map memorized. We can come back here another time.

Queen: I just hope we do have time. The tournament has already begun and me and Joker are competing.

Crow: And I won’t be here either. I’ve already packed my things and will be departing in the morning.

We’ll find a way. Don’t worry, we can do this.

Thanks, Joker.

Yes. Thank you.

Joker: Then it’s settled. Mission start.

>With that, we leave the Palace. We’ll be back soon and we have a tournament to win. Wish us luck.

Pictures and sprites came from the following:

Anime Amino

Hex