Personatown: A City of Marvels

[madimpossibledreamer]

I've had this done ages ago and only just now posted it.  I'm going to try to keep posting to catch up on stuff that's already written in between Shadowed Suspicion updates.  Fun to write, partially because more characters show up and the vision of how exactly superheroing works in this city got detailed.  (Good news for a certain reader, too-I'm getting P4 and hopefully 2 and 3 as well, so maybe that'll jumpstart my muses again.  It's kind of sad that they don't have any JJBA games for the Vita, but I can cross my fingers and hope.

Main Points:
Persona Superhero AU
Summary: Yosuke wakes up and decides it's errand time for a vigilante.
Word Count: 3751
Rating: K
Note: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE PERSONA SERIES.  READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Dedicated to City of Heroes.  Paragon City will live on through its heroes.

 

            The city is burning.  There's mostly only rubble left, and a rain tries to clear away the smoke and ashes, scrubs away frantically trying to find the city underneath all the ugly stains, but there's nothing left to salvage.  Every drop tastes bitter.

            A man, visor, trenchcoat and all, stands in the middle of the ruins.  He jerks suddenly, as if awakening.  He glances around in shock.  He knows he's not supposed to be here.

            Nothing is white.  Nothing is pure.  Nothing is untarnished by the fire that now reigns in the city.  It's the only lively thing left.  Except for the man.

            He can't be here.  Why is he here?  There isn't even the sound of wind to keep him company.

            He knows the city, knows how it should be, but merely touching a lump of smouldering metal causes it to crumble away.  It should burn, but he feels nothing.

            Never again.

            Suddenly he's clamped to a metal bed with girders of steel.  He jerks, bile rising in his throat, conscious enough to feel the agony but not much else.  He's pleading.  He's been pleading for hours, until he can barely make intelligible words anymore.  They ignore him like they're made of metal, but beneath those coats they're all too human.  Why won't they listen?

            He feels one of them stab him, and a liquid flow into his veins.  It's acid.  Now he's moving, but not of his own volition.  It's his body throwing him around now, the agony making him squirm.  He tries to scream, but even that's been taken from him.  His mouth foams as his insides boil.  During the jerking, his head slams into the bed once, twice, three times, and blissful darkness follows.

            Never again.

            It's someplace recognizable, someplace that should be safe.  But he doesn't feel safe.  He's begging, pleading again, this time for a shadowy figure not to go, not to leave him.  He'll try better, he'll work harder, if he's just given a chance.  But no.

            The figure turns and punches him, and he falls, cut in two as if he's made of paper.  He's crying now, and the figure turns to leave.  He grabs ahold of the shadow's clothes, a last-ditch effort to keep the figure here, with him.  The one who'd been safe, who'd supported him, who'd been an anchor.  Who'd loved him.  And that was all a lie?

            The figure turns, and he blinks the tears out of his eyes, and it's his own face, staring back at him.  With red eyes and a twisted expression.  "You know, nobody really loves you.  You've just got a nice piece of ass.  That's all."  He's punched again and falls, falls, falls, into endless darkness.

            Not true.

            Suddenly there's a figure in a trenchcoat and visor, floating cross-legged and keeping up with him, without even moving.  He's falling so far and so fast, but he keeps up effortlessly.  "I can protect you.  I can help you.  Never again.  Never alone."

            "I agreed a long time ago," the figure finally speaks, managing a grin despite himself.  The wind catches him.  He stops falling.

         †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      †      

            Yosuke sits up, shivering slightly.  For a moment, he can't figure out where he is, and that thought alone has him a little panicked.  Then he shakes his head.  "Stupid."  He's on the couch in the apartment, neatly tucked into a blanket.  Which means…

            Yeah.  There's a head of grey hair barely visible against the other end.  The new guy fell asleep on the floor.  Great, now Yosuke feels like a jerk.  Souji's nice to talk to, a great cook (and far too modest, but then, maybe the girls like that), and doesn't even really complain.  He practically pushed Yosuke into the shower to calm down (how the guy knew was beyond Yosuke), and found some old book of Hanamura's to read while he waited patiently.  They'd finished the evening by watching some old B-movies and making fun of them.  Well, enjoying them too, but some things can't just pass without comment.  He wasn't sure when he popped in the DVD that his new neighbour would be all that interested, but apparently he is.  He doesn't say much, but when it does, it's hilarious.  It'd been a while since he'd laughed that much.

            He glances at the clock.  4.23.  Way too early, but with nightmares like that, he doubts he's getting much more sleep.  The brief fear's gone now, but he's restless.  He's better off getting the other stuff in his day out of the way now, and maybe taking a nap later, if he's lucky.  It's still dark out, but he's no slouch in a fight, even if he's just fighting using his bare hands.  And he's no stranger to living in a city, so he knows the rules.  One of them, really, is don't go out at night, but he might, just maybe, be looking for a fight to get the jitters out. 

            He slips into a black hoodie, jeans, mask, and work boots.  A 'superhero' identity, so he can wander around to all the places he needs to go and not get accosted by other superheroes, supervillains, SEBEC, or the police.  Hastily, he writes a note explaining he went out on errands and thanking Souji for all his kindness.  He signs it, and last minute decides to include a wink, too.  Then he grabs his bag, and he's gone.

            There's one other guy on the bus¹, but he makes it obvious that he's aware of what's going on and won't hesitate to knock people around, so the guy doesn't try anything.  Most heroes frequent Rosa Candida, but Yosuke's been a loyal customer of one particular fabric and costume shop for many years.

            The only real worry was whether the inhabitants would be worried and force him to eat something or stay until it got later.  Then again, that was just the danger of shopping at a store where the owners actually cared about their customers.

            The sign said they were closed, but he tapped at the door politely and entered.

            Dim lights flickered in the house—so someone, at least, was up.

            A rush of air.  Instinct.  Without a thought, Yosuke was already dodging out of the way.  As if in slow motion, he could see a fist pass by, complete with ripples of disturbed air.  Being Jiraiya sure is cool sometimes.  "Dude, I hope you don't punch out all your customers."

            "S-senpai?"  The deep voice is confused, and with a smile Yosuke knows that he's gotten through.  "What're you doing here?"

            A bark interrupts Yosuke before he could answer, and he crouched down to scratch the adorable puppy on the head.  He'd be a big breed when he was grown, though likely a mutt.  The owners, specifically the son, were slowly training it to be a guard dog.  And also, secretly, because the son thought the pet was cute, though he'd deny it gruffly if anyone asked.  "Hey, Beast," Yosuke greets the dog, petting it as a small tail whumped against the floor.  "I've got business, what else?"

            "Oh."  The tall blond scratches the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.  "I dunno, I thought you might have wanted to talk about…stuff."

            "I have an interesting new neighbor.  And I’m single again."  Both stated as facts without emotion.  "But I'm not especially in the mood to talk about either this early.  And you're probably even less articulate than usual this early."  Yosuke straightens.

            He earns a scowl and punch in return, and doesn't bother to dodge.  He deserves the bruise that would probably form.  The man yawns, blinking and attempting to form a coherent thought.  "What did you do to your costume this time?"

            "I didn't do anything, what are you talking about?  It's never my fault."  Yosuke grins.  "It smells like sewer.  And electricity and probably has a little blood on it."

            Kanji sighs.  "You're too reckless, senpai."  The fact that they've known each other for a long time shows in the fact that Kanji doesn't try to belligerently lecture any more than that.  He does yank the bag out of Yosuke's hands, and Yosuke wrestles it back to take out the smaller bag with the costume inside that he'd planned on leaving at the superhero costume shop the whole time.  "Look, just be quiet, wouldja?  Ma didn't sleep so well last night.  Now, you going to clear out, or…?"

            A soft voice calls out from another room.  "Now, don't be rude.  Are you sure we can't offer you anything while you're here, Hanamura-kun?"

            "Aw, man.  Look, you're too nice, you old hag!  You should be asleep."  Most people whisper that Ms. Tatsumi is just too lenient with her punk of a son, but what she'd known long ago and what it'd taken Yosuke a little while to notice was that her son didn't mean any of it.  He was harsh on the outside, and he would definitely beat up anything that threatened his mother or friend, but other than that he was as dangerous as a particularly docile rabbit.  They do wander into the other room, and she's busying herself with a teapot.

            She laughed quietly in response.  "Now, Kanji-kun, you should be more polite to your friend."

            "It's okay.  I have other errands I've got to go do.  Thank you for your offer of hospitality, though!"  He bows and hopes he's saying the right things, because he can never memorize all of that stuff.  Luckily, he doesn't have to, because the Tatsumis are both intimately familiar with people who have their heart in the right place and just don't have the words for it or speak without thinking. 

            He earns a smile and a gruff nod from what is probably the closest friend he has.  "Just be careful, senpai."

            "Are you kidding?  I'm always careful."  He winks, and then it's back out onto the street.  It's begun to rain, just a light blanket of wet.  He chuckled, staring at the sky ruefully.  Of course that would happen.  Back onto the bus with him, even if he'd have to wait long enough to get well-covered by water.  After that, it's off to Satomi Tadashi.  The theme would be stuck in his head the rest of the day, not that he really minded.  "The eternal ally of those who fight,/Our city 's friendly drug store."  And that definitely applied to him.  He suspected the sister running his usual haunt, in Konan Ward, knew that he wasn't a hero, persay, but turned a blind eye anyway.  He could use a few more medicines—not that he didn't have a little healing ability, but his energy was better used for other things.  Some unmentionables and food were good supplies for long stakeouts or trying to complete all the coursework.  A couple Cielo Mists and 1UP sodas would probably provide enough caffeine and stuff to drink for a while.  While he was at it, some more ramen might be a good idea, just in case.  He'd get stuff to put in the fridge, too, but that was best saved for the last stop, and Junpei tended to eat anything he'd put in the refrigerator without even asking.  Sometimes, rooming with someone who ate even more than you did was a bit inconvenient.  And if he bought all the food that he or Junpei or both might eat in a week, he'd never be able to put everything inside his bag, and he doesn't particularly want to weigh himself down.  He prefers free hands, too.

            The next stop wasn't that far.  Before he gets anywhere close, though, someone starts shouting 'Hey you!'  When he turns, he's fairly ready for a fight—after all, who else would be wandering around at so inadvisable a time?

            Reporters.  Of course.  The lady in front is vaguely familiar—she tends to write a bunch of articles, or something.  And wear…well, probably somewhat inadvisable clothing, if she does't want to be stared at.  Those hearts are awkwardly placed on the jacket.  Who'd designed the thing, anyway?

            Behind, another lady with long, curly hair is lugging a camera and an apologetic smile.

            "You're a superhero, right?  Are the police having much luck with the Midnight Murders?"  He doesn't really want to be rude, but he's really tempted to ask her how she expects him to speak when he's got a microphone she's practically shoving into his mouth.  He restrains himself, and is really, really glad that he wore the nondescript costume today.  Nobody'd pay too much attention.

            "Aren't you better off asking the police that?" he asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised.  "And I've never heard of them."

            "What?!"  The lady looks shocked.  Well, some people may live and breathe information, but if it has nothing to do with SEBEC he doesn't tend to pay attention.

            "Well, either it's not my kind of thing, or it's probably above my pay grade.  I just started out this hero gig thing, you know."  His tone comes out more irritable than he expected, but he quickly softens it with a goofy grin.  He must be tired enough that the sarcastic comments in his head are beginning to actually come out.

            The reporter sighs.  The camerawoman rolls her eyes.  "Don't mind Maya.  Sometimes she gets so excited about the big picture that she forgets to look at what's plain in front of her."

            "Yuki!  How could you?"  Well.  They were amusing.

            "As much as I'd love to hang out with two beautiful ladies and chat about your story, I probably should be going."  They were definitely pretty, and he wasn't too particular, but at the same time he'd just gotten out of a relationship that apparently was one of the worst things that had happened to him—and that was most definitely saying something—and wasn't looking for another one.  He had to be careful, anyways.  Being interested was one thing, but he didn’t want to accidentally trip into another SEBEC trap.  She'd done a good job piquing his curiosity, which was a necessary characteristic, he supposed, when one was a journalist, but he couldn't risk getting too much attention in this guise.

            "Oh?  Is there a fire?  Occult sacrifices?"  Maya immediately perked up from her playful pout before.

            He sighed heavily.  "Sadly for your pen, no.  Even superheroes have to do errands, you know."  He winked, and to his surprise, she winked back.  That didn't happen often.

            "Alas, my conceptions have all been shattered!  Superheroes are human people like the rest of us!"  That startled a laugh out of him, and he waved, considerably more cheery, as he walked away.

            He takes a deep breath before opening the glowing door in the alley in front of him.  He didn't really get uneasy, or anything…the place was just weird.  And the main guy…not in charge of the room, persay, because that was some other dude he'd never seen, but the guy managing it in the owner's absence…that guy was kind of disconcerting.  But then, if any Persona-type superheroes wanted to get stronger, they couldn't avoid the place.  The cards within weren't necessary to use powers, but they were pretty important if you wanted to get stronger or have a power-up or something.  At least they played music all the time, and the songs were gorgeous.  He could listen to them for hours (and, in fact, had) whereas the Junes song got a bit old after a while.  Pretty, cheerful, catchy, yes, but it could drive you insane if you listened to it long enough.  Half the reason he'd gotten headphones in the first place.  He'd gotten along with Nameless pretty well, and the guy had even let him touch the piano to play a little, even though it wasn't his best instrument.  For a little while, Long Nose was speechless.  Both of which were probably firsts.

            He grins cheerfully.  "Hey, Nameless-san."  The blind piano player adds a flourish to the music in response, smiling gently, but otherwise concentrates on the music, which Yosuke can completely understand.

            It's a stage in soft blues, with good acoustics and a piano and microphone set up for Belladonna (who has the weirdest hair, seriously).  Occasionally, out of the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees a glowing blue fluttering butterfly moving around the entire area, but it's never there when he actually looks straight at it.  Just part of the décor, probably.  It is a weird, otherworldly place probably not even in the physical world that caters to superheroes, after all.  The Demon Painter's hanging out splattering paint in weird shapes again, and Isabella smiles softly at him.  She's quiet, but firm, and he prefers dealing with her better than Igor Long Nose anyway.  She is somewhat attractive, too, but he's got more of a sense of self-preservation than when he was younger.  He's up for a lot, but dating people whose status as a human or even as someone real is questionable is a little more than he feels like dealing with.  He's already got enough on his plate, and relationships are just a distraction from his real mission anyway.

            He trades for a Magician and a Fool.  The Fool's a good power-up to be prepared for anything.  He hasn't gotten Magician in a long time, which actually gets a raised eyebrow from Long-Nose, but with a guy like Izanagi and his team looking for him, it can't hurt to have a non-subtle attack power-up, just in case.  The Ace of Cups is good just to boost his already impressive intuition, and he grabs a couple of those, just in case.  Ace of Pentacles would be useful for another escape, should he need it (and again, it didn't hurt to be prepared).  Six of Pentacles is good for errands and contacts, and he needs to get the most out of both right now.  Three of Wands is just generally a good card for him, as he's enjoyed a long run of success recently, so he picks up two of those.  Eight of Wands would help for his illusions, but he only picks up one since he still has a pretty good stash of those left.  Finally, he debates and decides that he should take another Major, Empress.  It's a hope that he won't have to use Diarama on himself anytime soon, but it's hard to be sure, and it's just generally better to be prepared.  He'd wonder what Igor did with all the spirit gems he'd earned in the course of his raids, but it's probably better not to ask.  He'd rather not know.

            If Izanagi had wanted, it'd be simple to stop by the Velvet Room and ask whether Jiraiya had been by, but the costume wasn't for the inhabitants of the Velvet Room.  They're bound by some sort of mystical contract that they're not allowed to break anyway.  The costume was just for walking around town.  It'd be too dangerous for heroes, villains, and vigilantes alike, anyway, if anonymity wasn't part of the service.  It's said that everyone who enters the Velvet Room sees a different room inside, anyway, but he neither knows whether that means there's a thousand different rooms with different inhabitants nor really cares.  They're a useful source for helping him with his mission, and that's all he really needs to know.

            He's close to making another 'level', which means he can unlock more possibilities for his powers, but he's not there and by this point he doesn't feel like looking for a fight anymore.  Which probably means he should pick up some breakfast and head home to take a nap.

            When he gets back to the apartment, he has to juggle a little to get to his keys.  He hears movement inside, and the sounds don't seem as clumsy as Junpei, so he assumes Souji's still inside.  It's a good thing he brought a change of clothes, because there's definitely someone there and no matter who was inside it would raise awkward questions.  A clerk in the konbini didn't even blink when he'd ended up changing in the facilities.  They had an oath of silence, too.

            He wasn't sure what he'd find when he got home.  He didn't want to deal with Junpei right now.  The guy was cool, definitely, but they could get on each other's nerves every now and then.  And his roommate would probably be nagging him, since he'd said no yesterday afternoon.  Even if it was Junpei who hadn't asked him earlier, the guy would still make it out to be all Yosuke's fault.

            He opens the door and a now-familiar bob of grey hair is visible.  Souji's face is worried.  "Do you always take a walk this early in the morning?"                                                                                                                                           

            It's Yosuke's turn to frown.  "Didn't you get my note?"

            Confusion replaces the worry.  "I…did, but you were pretty mysterious."

            Yosuke laughs.  "Mysterious?  I thought 'errands' was pretty concrete.  Do you feel like breakfast?"

            "You can cook?"  Yosuke thinks he should probably be insulted by how shocked his new neighbor was, but he just laughs again.

            "Yeah, if I've got time to kill, extremely detailed instructions, and don't particularly care that I'll mess up a lot before I get it right."  He sits down the bag from the convenience store and goes to put the rest of the bags in his room.  He'd already dropped off the stuff for Jiraiya off at a secret location in order to prevent anyone from finding it on him or in his room, so it wasn't much, but he didn't particularly feel like sharing most of his purchases with Junpei right now.  "You're welcome to everything in the bag.  Wait, no, not everything.  Leave me some."

            "Too late.  You can't take that back.  You already offered all of it as the host."

            Yosuke pops his head out of his room.  "Awwww, man, does that mean I have to go out again?" he whines, and then can't help the sleep deprived giggles.  He's more tired than he thought.

            "Well, maybe I'll save you some," Souji relents, and Yosuke's pretty sure that's a hint of a smile on his face.

           

Chapter Notes:
1.  I'm actually not certain whether or not Sumaru City actually has a bus system.  I'm actually not sure of how you move around in the city, since your character's a little blue piece that you move around.