Persona: Shadows of Ambition

Part 1: The Fool's Journey Begins

The darkness receded to the corners of the room as it was lit up softly by the lights overhead, a calming melody that appeared to belong to a piano began to play, followed shortly thereafter by a comforting solo of vocals, despite there being an absence of either pianist or vocalist. The room was simplistic, having only the barest of decoration. Each of the walls were lined in deep blue velvet, to which the furniture and decoration also conformed. Inside the room appeared to be a flat table covered by a blue velvet tablecloth and atop it rested a deck of cards while a neat stack of papers sat parallel to it. Three seats were also present in the ambient room, each held a person, each sat at a different edge of the table.

A young man sat tiredly as he rested his arms upon the soft covered table before him. His clothes had a smart appearance about them, he wore a white button up shirt, the top few buttons undone and grey business pants. His hair was short and dark brown and his eyes carried the same colour as he stared at the man before him.

More accurately, he was staring at the unnaturally long nose extending toward him. Sat opposite the adolescent was an old man, his body bizarrely shaped and out of proportion, with his lengthy and pointed nose being his most prominent feature. He had two long pointed ears to compliment his nose and his hair was long with a smooth grey colour, only growing on the back and sides of his head. He wore what appeared to be a black business suit, his hands resting within a pair of white gloves. Opening his eyes, the bizarre old man stared intently at the young man, bulging and bloodshot, they would unnerve even those with the highest of guts. The young man that sat opposite his elder took a deep breath in as the latter opened his mouth, wondering what words might be spoken.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The elder man began with a calming tone, smiling brightly at the addressee before continuing. "A place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Before I continue, allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Igor and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"As it is for me, I shall be your liaison for when my Master is absent, you may call me Agatha." Another voice spoke, cutting into the conversation, directing it at the young man. Turning his head to the right, where the other seat had been positioned, he saw what appeared to be a young woman sat by him and Igor.

Agatha, as she had introduced appeared to be a woman in her mid-twenties with long platinum blonde hair tied back, her eyes appeared to be a bright yellow as she gazed at the young man, adjusting the small oval frame glasses that rested idly upon her nose as she did so. Shifting in her seat, the young man looked at the attire she wore, a black blouse behind a well fitting blue business suit jacket, the composition finished by the gold buttons that held it together. To further compliment the attire, she wore a blue pencil skirt that while made to fit, appeared to be uncomfortable for the fidgeting attendant.

"My apologies for Agatha's behaviour and her lack of manners, she hasn't yet adjusted to her new role." Igor told the young man with a bowed head, prompting Agatha to follow, also bowing her head in apology to him. "Now. As I said before, this place exists between dream and reality, separating the two completely, until recently that is. There has been a tear in reality not too long ago that is allowing not only the mind, but the matter of one to slip into the Dreamscape from the real world, which leads to… unfortunate consequences. Though for now, that isn't something for you to concern yourself with. Generally, only ones who have formed a contract can visit the Velvet Room, though from time to time, one such as yourself may enter here. Perhaps you will sign a contract of your own some day. Perhaps a hint of what lies in your future will be acceptable compensation for Agatha's behaviour before you leave." Igor told the young man with a calm voice as he removed the first card from the deck before him, handing it to the young man in question without revealing it to either himself or his servant.

Taking a hold of the card, the young man turned it over and briefly looked at the contents. Printed upon the card was The Fool, a Tarot of the major Arcana, and though the young man didn't realise it's meaning, it had signified the beginning of his journey, a Fool's Journey.

(April 8th) Saturday Evening – Cloudy

An engine belonging to a small moving truck rumbled softly as the vehicle rolled forward slowly before easing to a halt. The young man that had resided in the Velvet Room now sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle, his eyes had been shut for quite some time. His clothing was far more casual than it had been while speaking with Igor, a green unzipped hoodie was worn over a plain white t-shirt while the teenager wore a pair of washed out blue skinny jeans and black sneakers.

As the engine cut, he gave a tired yawn, slowly opening his eyes to see his new surroundings. It appeared to be a quiet neighbourhood they had arrived in. Though he couldn't see everything around him due to the low light, the house that the vehicle had parked outside of was lit up, illuminating the building to show that it appeared to house quite a lot of space. Turning his head to the driver's side, he saw a woman in her late twenties at the wheel that had features similar to his own, dark brown hair held back loosely in a ponytail, a light complexion and dull green eyes. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of tan shorts, which exposed the light muscular tone of her body. As she set the handbrake, the woman gave a tired yawn as she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to see the waking young man.

"So, you're finally awake. Right on time too, we just got here. Hey Koichi, you still half asleep? I said we're here." The driver said, her voice sounding tired as the teen she addressed, Koichi, shook himself awake.

"Sorry Sis, guess I'm off somewhere else." Koichi apologised as the two disembarked from the moving vehicle and made their way to the front door of the house.

"Can't blame ya for that Koi, it's not been that long since everything at home happened, still feels a little unreal even now. Maybe getting outta the City and moving here will do us both some good though. I got a call from the movers while you were sleeping, just about everything's already in the house aside from what we brought along in the moving van. Here's the key, start unpacking boxes and that while I get everything out from the van. We've got a night ahead of us to get the house ready. Be glad you don't have to go to your new School till Monday." Koichi's Sister smirked, handing her younger sibling the key as he headed back toward the van.

Opening the door, Koichi stepped in, removing his shoes and for the time being, before walking bare footed through the house. Looking around the first room, which housed a couch along with multiple boxes and a few additional seats, he gave a sigh. "Alright, might as well start here." He muttered under his breath as he began to unpack and ready the lounge into a suitable living space.

Hours into the night, Koichi gave out a relieved sigh as he fell backwards onto his bed. He and his Sister had finally finished unpacking and the former was relieved to be finished with his labour for the day. He now wore simple darkly coloured nightwear as he reclined on his sheets.

His room was rather bare, having only a few framed pictures on the wall and his night stand while a Television was set up in the corner, a dark green beanbag chair set down in front of it. As he lie there, looking up to the ceiling, the door slowly opened and Koichi's Sister walked into the room. She appeared somewhat smartly dressed, wearing a dark purple low cut shirt along with a smart looking pair of trousers and a tight black jacket over the ensemble, her face now appeared refreshed compared to how she had appeared earlier while driving. Additionally, it appeared as if she had improved her looks further by applying light make-up to her face.

"Koichi, you remember how I told you that your principal was an old friend of Mom's? Well I'm off to get a drink with him, talk about your transfer, and my new job while I'm at it. He was pretty nice when we were younger. I don't know how long I'll be so go to bed whenever you feel like it, just make sure you can get up in the morning." His Sister explained to him before turning and heading to the doorway.

"Hey, Sis. I hope you're right about this place being a fresh start, we could use it. Besides you might actually have some luck in your personal life while you're here." Koichi smirked mischievously at his older sister who groaned at his suggestion.

"For the last time my love life isn't that hopeless! Last time I checked you weren't picking up girls like they were collectibles so you can't say anything either." She retaliated with her own grin, a mild aggression in her words as she shut the door and headed out to meet with her Mother's old acquaintance.

"Man she's got a really weird concept of romance, maybe she goes round trying to catch them with a big net or something. That'd actually explain why she can't seem to land a date with anyone." Koichi gave out a small laugh at his own joke as he shifted on his bed, turning onto his side to retrieve his MP3 player and the earphones he had them plugged into. "Guess I can pass the time till I'm sleepy."

Koichi placed his MP3 player beside him as music began to start playing through his earphones. As he sat there, he gave another tired yawn and gradually with each song that passed, Koichi drifted to sleep. Within his mind, he saw nothing but darkness, he heard nothing but the cries of countless people asking to be saved. Then, amidst the black, he saw a shining light, a beacon of hope to the disembodied voices surrounding him. As it came closer, it looked to be a large man with golden brown skin and a prominent muscular figure. Long white baggy pants clung to the figure's waist and a colourful vest hung loosely around his shoulders while a turban rested upon the figure's head, a sheet of cloth obscuring his face as he drew a large scimitar from his side, pointing it toward Koichi as the masked man eyed him.

"I am thou." Was all the figure could utter as Koichi opened his eyes and shot up from his bed, looking around and getting his bearings, he found that he had fallen asleep while listening to his music and that there was now a cold sweat on his forehead and he looked around the now dark room.

'Huh, guess it was just a dream, shouldn't worry about it too much.' Koichi thought as he let out a relieved sigh and returned to his slumber.

(April 9th) Sunday Morning - Sunny

Light from the late morning sun shone in through the window in Koichi's room as he roused from his sleep. Making his way to his closet, he changed into the casual clothes he had worn the day before before making his way downstairs and into the lounge. There he saw his Sister lying on the couch, her head resting on a pillow.

"Morning Sis." Koichi waved as he headed toward the kitchen.

"Mornin'..." His guardian groaned as she turned onto her back. "Keep your voice down too, I got drinking a little heavy last night. It's all Hiyora's fault."

"Don't you have to go into work today though? Besides, you only drink heavy when you've had a bad time, usually that means you struck out again." Koichi reminded his downed Sister as he walked over, eating a sandwich.

"Don't remind me." His Sister gave another groan as she sat up, only moments after, her phone began to ring. Giving a sigh and holding it up to her ear, she began to speak to the caller. "Matsuko here." She spoke lowly, not willing to give herself any greater of a headache than the one she already had.

"Ozawa-San! I'm glad I could reach you, I didn't think you'd be awake after last night, seeing as you could barely stand. You really need to moderate yourself you know, being a Teacher and all." A new and rather energetic voice exclaimed on the other end, loud enough for Koichi to unintentionally eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Not so loud Hiroya, I'm still recovering, besides it was your fault I was drinking so heavy, things were going well with that guy at the bar before you started telling that story from when I was three." Matsuko responded, slightly irritated that he had set off her headache. "What's with the formality anyway? I guess it's fine, but whaddaya want?"

"I was calling to make sure you remembered to come into work today, there's a small staff orientation meeting to introduce you to everyone, the other Teachers are excited to meet you. Then there's the small matter of your Brother. Bring him in too, I want to see him, nothing too formal, just a friendly chat since it's been along while." Hiroya explained as Matsuko grumbled quietly.

"Alright, we'll be over soon. I don't really get why a new PE Teacher's gonna be anything to talk about though, at least Koichi isn't getting any kicks outta this." She Added while eyeing Koichi, who retained a stoic expression as he finished his breakfast.

"Good, I'll gather the Teachers soon. I'll look forward to seeing you soon then, goodbye." Hiroya finished.

"Yeah." Matsuko added before hanging up. Turning to Koichi, she gave a small smirk. "I guess you heard that right? At least I'm not the only one getting roped into going to the School today. Koronai isn't too big of a town that we need to drive around, but the Academy's at the other end of town so it's a bit of a walk. We better get a move on then."

"Alright, guess I can look around the town a little while we're at it, nothing better to do I guess." Koichi replied as he and Matsuko headed to the door to begin their walk to the Academy.

Sunday Afternoon – Sunny

Heading out into the streets of Kuronai, the two siblings began on their way to the School, beginning by traversing their way through the neighbourhood. While the houses around them were simplistic and built similar to their own home, the entire neighbourhood had a modern sense to it as Koichi observed his surroundings properly for the first time, now having the opportunity to see the town during daylight hours.

As he and Matsuko turned the corner and exited the street, they came to what appeared to be the main road through what appeared to be a busy town if the traffic in and out of the location was anything to go by. Opposite their street stood a busy park shaded by many trees and housing a small lake in it's centre. Beyond the park, the land sloped down, becoming a grassy valley that groups of people appeared to be lying down on, looking toward the clouds overhead.

At the foot of this valley, the grass appeared to make way for a vast beach of golden sand. Though it was still early spring, the weather was still nice enough for various people to gather and enjoy their time there. As a fresh breeze blew toward the two, Koichi took a breath in, taking in the scent of the salty air from the Ocean.

Beside him, Matsuko grinned, noticing her Brother taking in the details of the new location. "The town's just by the shore so there's usually a lot of people coming in from the city. I heard that grassy slope by the park's popular too, they say you can just relax and look at the clouds and you'll fall to sleep with how peaceful it is. Anyway, let's get going, the School isn't too far off." She casually mentioned as the two headed down the footpath.

After ten minutes of walking beside the main road through the town, Koichi noting the array of rather unique shops scattered through what appeared to be the centre of the town, the two finally made it to the Academy. Situated atop an incline, the School had been built near the edge of a cliff. Despite the fall risk, the cliff's edge appeared to be fenced off. The building itself was a pristine white and appeared to be a modern structure. While Matsuko walked in without taking a good look at the building, Koichi stood taking in both the structure and the surrounding foliage. Though one of his traits he kept to himself, he always liked to stand back for a moment and appreciate both the natural and artificial beauty to the world when he could. Koichi quickly decided that this was a moment to do so.

Paying no attention to anything other than the surroundings, Koichi stared off to the side, admiring a colourful flowerbed as he walked into the School grounds. Because of this he didn't notice someone walking towards him until it was too late. Whoever had been walking in his direction also appeared to have not been paying attention but appeared to be much more frail as when Koichi came to his senses, the individual in question had fallen onto the ground.

Offering his hand out to what appeared to be a female student around his age, Koichi saw that she had scattered several books on the ground upon their collision. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." Koichi apologised as the young woman took his hand and the former helped her to her feet. Proceeding to gather the scattered books, Koichi quickly handed the stack back to the girl with a smile. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight with the beautiful sight." He said casually as the student lowered her head. "Whoever planted those flowers definitely knows what they're doing." He added, clearing up any confusion the girl might have.

"You'll have to thank our Principal for that, he moonlights as a botanist when he can get away from the office." She said with a smile. Taking a closer look at the girl, he saw how simplistic and classy her appearance seemed.

From her long, straight black hair and hazel eyes which blended well with her light skin tone to the uniform she wore. The black buckle shoes and tights she wore appeared simplistic while her pleated skirt was plaid, dark green and navy in colour. In contrast to the darker colour of her lower body, the shirt she wore was a plain white, a ribbon of the same plaid colours as her skirt wrapped around her collar. Over the shirt was a form fitting navy blazer, the logo of the School stitched into the breast pocket. A simple diamond shape, flat at the top and bottom, hollowed out with a smaller diamond shape in the centre and coloured in the same dark green that the rest of her outfit utilised. From what koichi could tell, this was the standard uniform of the female students of Kuronai Academy. Though unlike the usual students, the one in front of him wore a dark green armband around her arm, indicating that she was of some importance within the student hierarchy.

"I'm sorry too for not looking where I was going, I was reading heavily into my books again. Wait, I've not seen you around here before have I? Are you a new student?" She asked, Koichi giving a firm nod. "Oh, where are my manners? On behalf of the School let me be the first student to welcome you, um..." She trailed off as she began to extend her free hand to him.

"Koichi Ozawa." He replied, taking her hand and firmly shaking it.

"Nice to meet you Ozawa-San." She greeted him properly with a sincere smile before she noticed something behind him. Returning her attention to Koichi she gave a sigh. "I hope you'll enjoy it here. Sorry but I can't stay, otherwise I'd give you a tour. I have to go now, so I'll see you around School." She said with a disappointed expression as she bid him farewell before quickly leaving.

"Guess I should get going too, wonder how long Sis' gonna be in that meeting." Koichi voiced his thoughts as he wandered into the Academy for the first time, searching left and right for direction to the Principal's office as he did so.

Sunday Afternoon – Sunny

Having been escorted in by the Secretary to the office, Koichi now awaited his Sister and Principal who had arranged a talk with him once the staff meeting was concluded. Since his arrival in the office, it had been a good half an hour. Even for Koichi, the amount time he had spent waiting and observing the room had begun to bore him.

Though his patience was wearing thin, it wasn't too much longer until the pair entered the room. Hiroya, the Principal of the School looked to be a tall man in his early forties with neatly trimmed brown hair and green eyes. The suit he wore was a modest brown colour and he had a light blue tie around his neck, appearing perfectly tied from Koichi's perspective. Looking at Matsuko, she appeared to have an embarrassed look on her face, most likely a result of the meeting.

"So I think that went well, the other Teachers seem to really like you." Hiroya began as he walked over and sat down in his desk, pleasantly smiling at Koichi as soon as he had settled in the chair.

"Yeah, though some of them seemed a little too friendly to me, it made me uncomfortable." Matsuko commented, her face appearing unsettled as she spoke.

"Oh I wouldn't be worried about that, some of the other Teachers just get excited to meet new staff. It's nice to see you again Koicchan. Oh my apologies, Koichi-San, the last time I saw you was a long time ago and your mother enjoyed calling you that so I started too, a force of habit I suppose." Hiroya began, Koichi shifting uncomfortably at the mention of his old nickname. "I guess it's been that long that you might not remember me, I'm Hiroya Igarashi, Principle of Kuronai Academy. You see I did want a friendly chat today, but that's only partly the reason. You see, this School has a failing sports program and when I had heard that your sister was a pretty good Gym Teacher, I offered her a better paying job here so as long as she coached the failing sports teams too."

Koichi gave a shrug. "So? What's this have to do with me?"

"While the Tennis team is more Matsuko-San's forte, we could only afford to fund one other sports club and we had the students decide. I'd heard from your mother a few years ago that you'd managed to become a black belt in Karate, you were preparing for your third Dan before you had to move right?" Principal Igarashi asked, both Koichi and Matsuko beginning to suspect where this was going.

"Yeah, Sorta just learning until I can finally go for it, but what's this have to do with that, you don't want to throw me in with a bunch of beginners, right?" Koichi confirmed, seeming hostile to the idea that Hiroya was proposing.

"It is a Karate club and there is a dedicated black belt instructing them but he isn't as experienced as you. I want you to join though because the club needs bolstering, one instructor has a hard time teaching all of the students, I'm hoping you'll be able to improve the club as a whole. As for any competitions the club might have, that's down to your coach to deal with and put you through your paces." He explained quickly before seeing the blank expression on Koichi's face. "You don't have to decide right away though, take some time to think about it and then let me know what you're doing. That's all I wanted to talk about, so you're both free to go." Hiroya finished with a pleasant wave as the siblings left the office.

Out in the hall, Matsuko had already noticed the look on his face, his head low and appearing to be in deep thought. Placing her hand on his shoulder, Matsuko spoke up. "You don't wanna do ya? Stop thinking about what's already happened and put those skills to good use already will ya?"

"I know, but after then it threw me off, maybe I'm not cut out to teach, you know." Koichi replied with a morbid tone.

"You're forgetting that I'll be coaching you again like I used to. I might've stopped to focus on my career but now I can do both at once, that means it's my job to make sure it doesn't happen again. Anyway, stop worrying about things that might happen, it's not like you to do that. Let's get going, We've gotta shop for some food since we don't have any in."

After Matsuko ended her sentence, Koichi shook off his brooding look and gave a nod. "Sounds good, I'm in the mood for some Curry tonight, make sure it's packed with a good amount of spice."

Sunday Evening – Clear

After a filling meal, Koichi had made his way to his bedroom where he slumped down onto his bed and gave a tired yawn. "Damn, today's got me all worn out. Guess I should get an early night with it being my first day tomorrow." He voiced his thoughts before shutting his eyes as he began to drift into a deep sleep.

As with the previous night, the dream he had entered was far from normal. He stoop atop a large cloud that had a green hue. Looking around the area he saw that it was a huge landscape formed from nothing but clouds, even the air was filled with a thin veil of green fog. While Koichi could see quite clearly through it, he noticed what appeared to be large structures made of the strange clouds, but he couldn't see what purpose they might serve from his current position.

Looking further around the mysterious terrain, Koichi took notice of a strange creature. It appeared to be a humanoid form made of shadow wearing a strange mask with hollow eyes and a hollow face which bore a ghastly expression. Koichi's worry of what the creature was escalated as it noticed and began to advance toward him. As it came closer, Koichi saw the horrifying visage clearly.

"What the hell is this place and more importantly what the hell is this thing!?" Koichi asked in panic as he put up his arms to shield himself from the creature should it attack.

As the shadowy creature shambled toward him, it opened it's mouth, displaying a set of sharp teeth and saying only two words. "Trespasser… Die!" It roared as Koichi shut his eyes for a moment, knowing that it would be over in but a few moments and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Instead of a premature death however, Koichi opened his eyes as the calming melody of a piano began to play followed by the serene singing he had heard before. Looking at his surrounding, he saw that he had somehow been called back to the Velvet Room and wore the more business-like ensemble he had in his initial visit.

As before, Igor looked at the young man with his wide smile, while Agatha wore a relieved expression as she looked at Koichi. "Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor greeted once again. "My, it seems that you have a most interesting path ahead of you."

"I bet you're wondering where you were and why you ended up back here." Agatha took over from Igor. "As my Master told you on your first visit, there is a tear between the conscious world and the unconscious world. What you saw was the Dreamscape, where the mind resides during sleep, where dreams are created as well as nightmares. Recently, others have been pulled physically into this world to meet their gruelling end. However, you are different."

Igor cleared his throat and glanced at Agatha to cease speaking. "I apologise once again, Agatha still needs to learn better manners. As she said though, you are special, a Dream Walker if you will. Someone who can traverse the Dreamscape and walk freely through the clouds of other's minds, see their past, their dreams and even their ambitions, influence them in any way you will."

As Igor finished his sentence, he nodded to the Velvet Room Attendant, giving her a chance to speak. "Because of this, you're seen as the target for the shadows, such as the one that attacked you. You aren't safe in your sleep so my Master has decided to award you something, so you may reside here until you awaken."

Igor waved his hand across the table, a large silver key with a two faced mask engraved into its end materialised in front of Koichi before descending onto the table, prompting Agatha to speak up once more. "As we said before, only a Guest of the Velvet Room, one who has forged a contract, may visit this room. In entering the Dreamscape the way you did, you unknowingly signed an unspoken contract with us, which fortunately saved your life. This is the contractor's key and it means that you are our Guest in the Velvet room from this night on."

"Then for now our business is concluded, I am quite curious how you will handle what is to come and what you will do when you awaken to the dormant power within you." Igor added as the light in the room faded and left the latest Guest to his sleep.

Though to Koichi, that appeared to be only seconds, shooting up from his bed and gasping for air for a moment, looking around his room for a few seconds before steadying his breathing and regaining his composure.

'The Dreamscape huh? Don't wanna have to go back there anytime soon.' He thought, having calmed down as he looked at the clock beside his bed, it read 6:30AM. 'Better get ready then, shouldn't be too long till I have to head off to School. Sis said that I had to come to the Faculty room when I got there. Alright, it's a new day, let's see where it takes me.'

|SOA|

So that's an end to the first part of this new fic I'm working on, this was all about just initial setup and introducing some of the characters, while some of them are going to be supporting cast, others have the role of main and confidant/social link status to put it simply. There's still several other characters of my own to introduce, some important and others not as important but in the next chapter, which is uploaded directly after this, there will be an OC contest for the other Arcana I haven't already made characters for since it's always good to get some input on your writing from others and seeing as this is the first time I'm writing a Persona story, it does help with the learning curve especially if those more familiar with the franchise are involved.

Now a bit of background on how I'm going about this. I got into Persona 5 earlier in the year which I fell in love with and I've had this slowly in the works for several months now, I've done a decent amount of research and I'll likely continue to do so throughout my writing of this to try and keep everything to the general unspoken rules of the Persona games as best I can while trying to write out something similar to the Animations when concerning general content but if there is something out of place anyone picks up on then let me know about it. Since it's my first time writing a fic for this particular franchise help and any critique is much appreciated. That's it for me so thanks for reading and because I want something different and a little whimsical, the previews are going to be done through dialogue between different characters with a little fourth wall breaking and self awareness tossed in there for each chapter so I hope it at least gets a smile out of some readers, later!

[Preview]

Matsuko: "Hey Koichi, get in here, we're doing a preview or whatever."

Koichi: "Preview, what's going on, you're not accepting jobs off of strangers again are you?"

Matsuko: "But he was paying a lot of money for us to just read off of this script. So just follow it will ya?"

Koichi: "Fine. So looks like next time I'm gonna be going to school meeting a few important people and getting forced into something, then after that I'm gonna be visiting the Dreamscape again. Great, just what I wanted to happen..."

Matsuko: "Your boring tone's really bad for this ya know. Maybe I'll get somebody else on for the next preview. Anyway come see what happens next on Persona: Shadows of Ambition. Take it away Koichi."

Koichi: "In the next part, The Fool Awakens. Wait you're gonna be doing more of these!?"

Matsuko: "I can't help it, we seriously need the funding and the money's good."

Koichi "Why do I bother asking?"