Author's Note: Hello, this is Prince Arjuna. First of all, thank you for clicking (and reading) this story, Soul's Gamble, a Persona 3 fanfiction, or rather a Crossover fanfiction of Persona 3/Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, starring Male Protagonist (Minato Arisato) and Female Protagonist (Hamuko Arisato). But, while both Minato and Hamuko may share the status as main characters, Hamuko will be the viewpoint character of this story while Minato will act as a supporting protagonist.

So, for the earlier part of the story, Soul's Gamble will be rated T, but soon, it's eventually going to be an M rating.

I hope you guys enjoy reading Soul's Gamble, and in case if you find some errors (narrative structure or grammatical errors), feel free to tell me about them.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Shin Megami Tensei series, including Persona series. They belong to Atlus.

A moment ago, she was sleeping soundly at the backseat while her parents were at the front. She remembered hearing her father, who was driving the car, shouting and her mother screaming before she heard a very loud, explosive sound after a long screech of brakes. And then everything around her shook violently, and she was unable to do anything as her world turned literally upside down.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that the vehicle they were currently in had turned on its side, making it difficult for her to move from her current position, despite her small frame. Being a small child she was, she started to panic, calling for her father and mother who were seated at the front. There was no response. They were still seated in their seats, red liquid dripping from their bodies, unmoving and eyes closed. Shards of glass and metal were seen covering their limp bodies.

She knew that they wouldn't wake up. Not after this. Not tomorrow. Never.

She just remained there, frozen in place as she continued to look at the broken forms of her parents. She still could recall the time when they were having a pleasant dinner together a few hours ago at Iwatodai. That would be the last time they had fun together, because it didn't look like they're going to wake up anytime soon. As she remained seated there, she saw the flames starting to eat the front of the car. Soon, they would reach her and she would end up like her parents too, frozen in stillness.

Despite of what happened, no tears came to her eyes. Perhaps she was still too much in shock to actually believe what had just happened. Or perhaps she had already accepted the fact that her parents were no more, and she would be following them soon afterwards. There would be no need to waste more tears to spill.

Even so, why did her body tremble?

Was it fear? Perhaps it was. It didn't matter anyways.

She looked at her parents. The flames were about to reach them anytime soon. She remained there, wondering to herself. Did it hurt? From the way she could see it, probably it did. She shook her head. She hated being hurt. Even if she had to follow her parents, she didn't want to be hurt. Being hurt wasn't pleasant at all. But then, she looked at her mother's face. Her eyes were closed, as if sleeping soundly. While she might have experienced pain a while ago, now she remained still. That way, she wouldn't be hurt anymore. Probably it wasn't that bad either.

The flames were getting closer. She closed her eyes, welcoming her end despite her growing fear. She could feel the heat prickling on her skin, and the smell of burned flesh started to linger in the air. She didn't want to see it. It was bad enough to see her parents' broken forms, bloodied and unmoving in front of her. She definitely didn't want to see them being eaten by the approaching flames.

A whimper escaped her lips. Despite accepting her fate, she was still very afraid. While she knew that it was inevitable, she knew that she didn't want to die. The air was getting hotter, causing her to choke and gasp, trying hard to breathe properly. The flames hadn't reached her yet, but she had already experienced pain from the approaching fire. She wavered. She opened her eyes and saw the bodies of her parents being engulfed in flames.

Before she could let out a scream, she heard a noise. She immediately looked at one door which was facing up before her eyes met a pair of cobalt-colored pupils. A young boy, probably around her age, whose hair was blue as the sky, was staring at her from outside the vehicle. Then she knocked on the window. Apparently, that was where the noise came from. After knocking, the boy struggled to open the door, and surprisingly, the door opened.

"Hey there, you alright?" the boy asked, reaching out a hand towards her. She blinked several times as she looked at the hand before she looked at the owner of said hand. "C'mon, we have to hurry. You don't wanna die, right?"

Hearing the boy's question, she flinched. Now everything was clear to her. Despite of what she felt after seeing what happened to her parents, in the end, she wanted to live.

"I… I don't wanna die…"

She reached out to the offered hand and grabbed it. The boy pulled her out of the car and hurriedly tugged her away from the burning vehicle. Even without looking back, she could feel the heat from the flames that were consuming the vehicle, along with her parents, biting into her skin. She let out a sniffle as she let herself being pulled by her blue-haired savior.

The boy was slightly taller than her, and he was wearing a jacket and a pair of shorts. She noticed that the boy only had one shoe as they ran. He probably lost it a while ago before he saved her from the burning car.

Then, she realized something. Everything around them seemed weird. The sky was sickly green and the full moon in the sky was yellow. There were cars around them, but they were not moving, and she swore that she could see some strange objects inside those cars. They somehow looked like coffins. The air around them felt damp, which made it hard for her to breathe. Even so, they continued to run before they saw something not too far from them.

"Quick, hide!" the boy ordered, shoving her towards one of the cars around them. She yelped as her back touched the car. The boy also went towards her, crouching next to her. He looked anxious.

Before she could even voice out a complaint for pushing her like that, she realized the boy's intention. He pushed her so that they could hide themselves from something. She could hear the sounds of gunshots and explosions. Both she and the boy looked at each other before they nodded. Slowly, they took a peek in order to see the source of the sounds.

There were two things that they saw. One of them was… she didn't know how to describe this one, actually. It was a creature (for the lack of a better word), clad in shadowy cloak and had a skull-like, draconic head, white in color. She could see a few chains hanging from the creature's body and the creature was holding a long sword with serrated edge. It was weird, because she couldn't see the hand that was holding the sword.

The other one was a girl with blonde hair. Unlike the shadowy creature, the girl seemed human, but something seemed off about her. For one, the way she moved seemed too mechanical to be human. She could see steams coming out of her body before she aimed her hands towards the shadowy creature. Apparently, the blonde girl was firing something using her fingers towards the creature she was fighting against.

The creature roared before it swung its long sword onto the blonde girl. She tried to block the attack, but the sheer force from the blow managed to push her several meters away from the creature. She managed to regain her footing, but it looked like she was injured. After regaining her footing, she glanced at the approaching shadowy creature before she closed her eyes and shouted something.

"Summoning Persona!"

The sounds of glass breaking filled the air as another creature emerged from thin air. Unlike the shadowy creature the girl was fighting against, this one was glowing majestically. Same like the girl, this creature, which looked humanoid enough but not human enough to be called a human, also seemed to be rather mechanical in nature as something emerged from its head. It was a lance with electricity flickering on its tip. As soon as it appeared, the majestic creature zoomed towards its opponent, aiming to pierce it using its electrified lance.

Both she and the boy had to duck in order to avoid the debris caused by the explosion from the collision of both creatures. She shuddered, her heartbeats erratic. She couldn't understand all this. There was a creature fighting a girl who didn't seem to be human, and the girl was summoning another creature to fight that creature. It was too much for a young girl like her to handle.

Then, she felt someone squeezing on her hand. She realized that she was still holding the boy's hand. His hand was warm and slightly bigger than hers. She looked at him, and the boy gave her a gentle smile. One of his cobalt-colored eyes was hidden behind his blue hair.

"We'll make it, believe me," the boy said, nodding before he took out something from his pocket. Then he handed it to her. "Take this. It's…" he hesitated. "…for protection."

Gingerly, she took the item that was given by the blue-haired boy. It was a silver key with a rather intricate design. There was nothing special about this key, but as she held it, she felt something strange inside her, something warmer. It was a pleasant feeling, something that she never expect to experience again after seeing her parents being eaten away by the flames. Slowly, she brought it to her chest as she closed her eyes.

Finally, she could feel something coming out of her eyes. She could feel her tears rolling down her cheeks. Unshed tears finally poured out as a myriad of emotions started to wash over her.

But she wouldn't be able to experience the pleasant sensation for too long as she opened her eyes, and spotted the shadowy creature that was battling the blonde girl a while ago, was already near them. She froze as she looked at the creature's visage. A pair of empty, black eyes was staring into them, as if boring deep into their very souls. The warm feelings she experienced a while ago instantly vanished, replaced by fear and terror. She opened her mouth as if trying to scream, but her voice stuck in her throat. She was unable to move as the creature stared down on them, particularly her.

The boy, on the other hand, moved in front of her, spreading his arms, standing protectively in front of her, as if trying to defend her from this shadowy creature before them. But she could clearly see his hands shaking. Of course he would feel afraid. No one was without this feeling. But instead of being frozen in fear like her, the boy stepped forward, standing defiantly in front of this creature, meeting its deathly gaze.

If only I can be this brave…

She wished that he could be as brave as this boy. She wanted to move. She wanted to step forward, standing beside the boy and face this nightmarish creature together, no matter what outcome. And yet, despite her best effort, her legs refused to move, as if those limbs had been rooted deep into the ground.

As for the creature itself, its focus shifted to the boy who was standing protectively in front of her. Those black eyes stared unblinkingly at the boy as if in amusement before it raised its sword over its head, preparing to cut down the boy that stood in its path. It let out a throaty growl when it started bringing the blade down.

A buzzing sound and a flash of blue interrupted the creature from doing the deed as the majestic creature the blonde girl summoned earlier rushed towards it, striking it right onto its metallic head. The attack managed to push the shadowy creature away from them, before the blonde girl from earlier came into view.

Somehow, the girl was missing her left hand, and from the stump where her hand was severed, wires and metal bits could be seen. A long gash could be seen across her torso, and her face was marred with soot and dirt. And yet the girl seemed unfazed by her severed limb and her injuries as she looked at the creature that had already picked itself up after being attacked earlier.

Both she and the boy were stunned as they looked at the girl. Despite the damages on her body, she found out that she was beautiful. The girl glanced at them before she focused on the creature that started charging towards her, letting out a hellish roar.

Hearing the roar made her shudder. It somehow triggered something deep inside her. There was fear. There was hatred. There was longing. The dirge-like roar seemed to remind her of something, something that she couldn't understand yet due to her youth. And yet she knew that it reminded her of the end of everything. Yes, she already knew it. That creature was the end of all things. People despise it. People loathe it. People yearn for it.

Would that creature be her end?

"Hey, we need to get out of here!" the boy's voice caused her to be aware to her surroundings once again. The boy was holding her left hand. The key that she was holding in her right was pressed against her chest.

Hesitantly, she nodded. In order to survive, they needed to get out of this place.

It would be better if everything was just a dream.

But before they could do anything, they heard another roar. They looked at the creature that was battling the blonde girl, and gasped when they saw the creature overwhelming the girl, grabbing her head in one shadow-like hand. She was suspended in the air before being tossed aside like a ragdoll, slamming her against the pavement. Due to the sheer force of the throw, the ground cracked upon impact.

After defeating the girl, the creature turned around to look at them. Once again, the boy stepped forward, acting like a shield again to her. She shuddered as she held the silver key in her hand like a sacred rosary. Slowly, the creature approached them. Silvery mist seemed to come out of its mouth.

She closed her eyes. The boy continued to stand defiantly as the creature continued its advance.

And the sound of breaking glass was heard.

"Activating sealing procedure…" a melodious voice spoke out. "Palladion…" the robotic creature appeared once again. Unlike last time, it was wreathed in purple glow. Slowly, the blonde girl that was slammed against the pavement earlier got up, countless wires and metal bits could be seen from her body.

The creature turned around, and was about to dismiss her and the robotic creature that she summoned before a blur of purple zoomed towards it. A lance skewered through its body, and the impact was enough to send it towards the boy and her.

It happened too fast and before she knew it, the shadowy creature had disappeared, and instead, the lance had pierced through her body and the boy's body. Strangely, she felt nothing as the lance pierced through her chest. There was no pain. There was no blood either.

She felt a discomforting sensation, though, as if something was trying to invade her very being. Slowly, she was overwhelmed by the sensation. Her head felt heavy as she started to lose her consciousness. Was it her end?

I… I don't want to die…

She could feel tears coming out of her eyes as she lamented over the possibility of dying here. And the last thing she saw before she fully lost her consciousness was the boy's weary but determined smile.

I don't know what happened to us, and despite the lance piercing through our bodies, I felt no pain. Instead, I felt something invading my very own being. It felt like being denied privacy as it started to get me exposed to it fully.

I shook my head. Somehow, I felt like I was going to lose my consciousness anytime soon. And it seemed this girl, a girl around my age, auburn-haired, pale-skinned, very pretty, was starting to lose consciousness as well. The tears I saw pained me. I knew it. She was afraid.

Before I lost my consciousness, I made a silent promise to myself.

I would not allow those tears be shed again.

…

"Hey, Hamuko… Hamuko? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, of course I'm listening!"

The auburn-haired girl almost yelped when her companion poked her on her cheek. Both of them were currently in a café.

"Geez, you did it again…" her companion, a girl whose hair is midnight black and pulled back into a ponytail let out a sigh. "You're always like that, y'know? What were you thinking, exactly?"

The auburn-haired girl whose name was Hamuko showed her companion an apologetic smile. "Ehehe, sorry, sorry…" she said. "I somehow remembered something…" she looked down as she took out something from her pocket. It was a silver key with a rather intricate design. Scratches could be seen on the key, but there was no sign of rust on it. It was clear that Hamuko seemed to be taking a good care of it the entire time.

"Oh?" her ponytailed companion tilted her head before she grinned. "Ah… I see I see… so you're thinking about your knight-in-shining-armor again, huh? My, oh my…" she said, covering her mouth as she tried to stop herself from giggling.

Hamuko, on the other hand, blushed. "S-stop it, Mamiya!" she protested. "I-it's nothing like that!" the shade of red on her face seemed rather unhealthy for someone like her, unless if one of her ancestors was part tomato.

"Oh?" Mamiya smirked teasingly. "If it's nothing like that, why don't you enlighten me, Hamu-chan?"

"Uuu…"

Mamiya laughed as she saw Hamuko's pouting face. "Hahaha, you're so cute, Hamuko! That's why it's so fun to tease you, y'know?!"

"S-stop teasing me, Mamiya!" the embarrassed girl said as she tried her best to hide her reddened cheeks, but it was a futile attempt as Mamiya's grin widened. Coming from her, it was never a good sign.

"It's your fault to be this cute, Hamuko…" Mamiya said.

"Meanie…" Hamuko pouted.

Luckily, Hamuko's mood significantly improved when her drink arrived. The teasing was soon forgotten and both Hamuko and Mamiya started having a pleasant conversation.

"So… you're transferring out soon, huh?" Mamiya said after she took a sip of her cappuccino. "We're gonna miss you, y'know?"

"Yeah," Hamuko nodded. "Looks like the things are getting complicated right now back home…" she said. "Better start moving out, I guess. And I'm going to live at a dorm, and it'll be my first time," she beamed.

Mamiya just smiled as she looked at Hamuko Arisato. They had known each other since middle school. It could be said that they were best friends.

"But… why Tatsumi Port Island?" Mamiya asked. "I mean… it's… umm…" she awkwardly scratched her cheek. She knew the relation between Hamuko and Tatsumi Port Island, a manmade island not too far from Tokyo, and the relation wasn't all that good. She was afraid that it might bring some bad memories to Hamuko.

"It's okay," Hamuko shook her head. "I already got over it. I mean, it's sad…" she closed her eyes. "But I still live, and I have to move on. So, that's why I moved on." She could vividly recall the details of that fateful day, a day when she lost her parents in a traffic accident. She knew that it was more than just a mere traffic accident, but she was unable to remember anything about it. "And… I think if I go there, maybe I can find a clue about him…" she said, holding the silver key in her hand tenderly.

"Your knight-in-shining-armor, huh?" her companion said. "Well, you sure are dedicated one, ain't you?"

Hamuko smiled bashfully. "I just want to thank him for saving me, that's all…" she admitted. "He was there when that accident happened, and he saved me. If it weren't due to him, I might have died that night." She tried to recall the feeling of his hand touching hers. It was warm and pleasant. Whenever she felt down, she would clutch the key against her chest, remembering the warmth that she felt at that night.

And she also could remember that gentle smile of his. It was quite a vivid recollection because she was still too young at that time, probably six or seven years old, but she still could recall the comfort she felt upon seeing such a smile.

"Oho~" Mamiya smiled teasingly at her best friend. "Someone got a crush here~" that was enough to cause Hamuko to blush again, and Mamiya giggled. "Well, besides the key, what else you remember 'bout this knight-in-shining-armor of yours?" she asked, propping her head with one hand, closing one eye while the other looking at the auburn-haired girl.

Hamuko closed her eyes. She didn't remember much about it, but one thing for sure, the boy who saved her was blue-haired. She somehow wondered to herself whether it was possible to have natural blue hair.

Meh, who was she to complain, anyways? Her red eyes were too conspicuous to be called normal. Even so, it really wasn't that impossible. The same could be said about blue hair.

"Hmm… it's been ten years already. So, I dunno if he can even remember me," Hamuko sighed. "We were just children at that time. And people change, you know?"

Mamiya frowned. "What's up with this sudden pessimism, Hamuko? This isn't like you!" she crossed her arms under her rather busty chest, letting out a haughty huff. "Hamuko I know will always think positive no matter how unlikely she's gonna succeed!"

Hamuko rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or a subtle insult, Mamiya…"

"Even so," Mamiya looked at her best friend. "Hamuko will never give up…" she grinned. "I never saw Hamuko giving up, not even once. Don't let me see her doing such stupid thing, you hear me?"

"Mamiya…" Hamuko's gaze softened as she smiled. "You know how much I'll miss you soon, right?"

"Verily…" Mamiya nodded.

And so, both Mamiya and Hamuko continued chatting with each other. As they chatted, the auburn-haired girl saw something fluttering in the air not too far from her.

A blue butterfly, which seemed pretty normal, and people would readily dismiss it as a normal thing like other butterflies that entered their views. But Hamuko noticed something as she saw the insect fluttering away from her.

A feeling of familiarity, something that reminded her of things that might or not might have happened, and she had to suppress a flinch as she recalled an event that shouldn't have happened yet.

Or probably it had, she couldn't tell.

"A butterfly, huh?" Mamiya suddenly spoke. "Speaking of butterflies, have you heard about something called 'butterfly effect'?" she asked.

"Enlighten me," Hamuko grinned. She already knew about it, but she would like to hear it from Mamiya herself.

"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wings can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world…" Mamiya said. "With just a small change, a predetermined outcome will be greatly changed as well. Imagine what happened if Tarō Asō lost during the election to be the Prime Minister, or if Samurai Japan Baseball Team joined 2008's Olympic, or if Mr. Mutou hadn't eaten that suspicious-looking morsel last week…"

Hamuko scowled when she recalled that certain event about a particular History Teacher being sent to hospital due to food poisoning. "Well, on the plus side, we didn't have to submit the reports he asked us to do, right?" she said. "And what a way to explain things, Mamiya. As expected from the school's ace…"

Mamiya scrunched up her face. "A title which was rudely and unceremoniously taken by you," she made a face. "And you even dared to decide to transfer out instead of staying so I can beat you in exams. Well, from what I heard, Gekkoukan High School is quite a prestigious school, and it's said that it's owned and supported by the ever renowned Kirijo Group. And considering how good you are, I bet you'll do it alright over there..."

"Yeah, I hope so…" Hamuko said.

"And I wish he's over there too. I want to meet him and thank him for everything he did to me ten years ago."

Even without her realizing it, she held the silver key, the very thing that connected her with that boy, against her chest, close to her heart.

In a realm that exists between dream and reality, the proprietor of the Velvet Room, Igor was sitting on his seat, arranging Tarot cards on the table in front of him. Within this realm, time holds no meaning. Past, present, future, those concepts may as well never exist in this very room.

"Ah…"

The imp-like old gentleman put down the last of his Tarot cards on the table as he looked something that entered the room.

"Welcome back, Master Philemon…" Igor spoke, his voice soft and melodious. "How may I serve you?" he clasped his gloved together as the blue butterfly that suddenly showed up a while ago glowed before a man replaced its place.

It was a rather tall man, clad in white suit. Most of his face was obscured by the butterfly-themed mask he wore. The only thing that seemed normal about this man was his ponytail.

"Igor…" Philemon spoke. "It has been many times I have told you that you are my most loyal and trusted servant," he said, walking closer to the tuxedo-wearing old man. "I even trust you to be in charge of this very realm, a realm that can be used to harness human's potentials. I even consider you to be my closest friend."

"I am honored, Master Philemon," Igor responded, his tone sounded the same as before.

"Soon, there will be people who will be bound by the contract and become the guests of the Velvet Room," Philemon continued. "Even so, it does seem that the fate of our… guests this time has been predetermined beforehand. I have seen it. I am not mistaken. In one world, a boy sacrificed himself to save the world. In another, it was a girl who did the sacrifice. There was also a world where neither did the sacrifice, and the world was doomed."

Igor listened to his Master intently and carefully, his hands still clasped together.

"No matter what happened, one of them had to perform an ultimate sacrifice in order to spare the humanity from its folly. The players had been changed, and yet the endgame was still the same. That is why I did certain adjustments. The same players as before will be used, and yet the arrangement will be different. In order to achieve the world where the sacrifice is unnecessary, certain changes shall be done…" Philemon explained. "They deserve it, a better ending…"

"Why would you be willing to do such thing?" Igor asked, curious. "Before, you never got yourself involved much."

"My old friend," Philemon began. "I might be a god, but even I could learn something new from the past events…" his fingers traced on the surface of his mask. "After banishing Nyarlathotep deep into the deepest pit where he will never have to bother with humanity again, I learned that sometimes, what is good for humanity as a whole might not be good for certain people. Why would people have to sacrifice their own personal happiness for the sake of mankind as a whole? Humans are born inherently selfish, so we may expect protests whenever they are forced to do selfless actions which cost their own happiness. I have seen a young man losing everything in order to protect the world. Even when he tried to be selfish for once, unwilling to let go those that are precious to him, he was punished for committing such an innocent sin. That is why I decided to make sure that the very same thing would never happen to our newest guests."

"Ah…" Igor said in understanding. "But you do know what will happen, Master. Everything will become more unpredictable after this. Just because of the small changes you had instigated, everything will never be the same. Everything will become more chaotic."

Philemon smiled.

"A nice change of pace is good for one's mind, old friend."

END OF CHAPTER 01