Persona: Shadows of Ambition

Part 3.5: First Bonds

Dreamscape – Cloud Boulevard

"So Dewey, how exactly do we get out of here?" Sayomi asked their new friend as it became apparent to Koichi that the portal they had entered through had since disappeared.

"Now that you mention it, I didn't cover an exit strategy if things went sideways." He said, resting his hand on the back of his neck as he realised how stupid that was of him.

The student rep sighed and shook her head. "You're seriously reckless you know." She then returned her attention to the Dreamscape's guardian and gave the cartoonish monkey a hopeful smile. "Can you help us get back? Time moves differently here so we need to go before people start worrying about us."

Dewey scratched the side of his head as he thought about it for a few moments before giving them a shrug. "I'm sorry my friends, unfortunately I don't know how you even came to this world, never mind how you leave it. How did you leave the last time? I know both of you fell from the Boulevard the first time we met."

"Yeah, we fell off and then landed back in our world..." Sayomi recalled, wishing not to relive the terrifying experience.

Both Koichi and Sayomi were then startled as the monkey snapped his fingers. "Then that's it!" He concluded as he suddenly grabbed the two by their clothes and began dragging them to the edge of the cloud platform.

"Dewey, what do you think you're doing?" Koichi asked, trying to remain calm as a deep concern grew about his new disciple's idea.

"If it worked once, then it'll work again. All you need to do is jump off and you'll be back home in no time!" He cheerily explained, completely oblivious to the collectively shared fear that humans have of falling to their deaths from great heights.

"J-Jump!? Wai-wait a minute here Dewey, we can't do that again!" Sayomi stuttered as he dragged them to the edge.

"Then allow me! Goodbye Master, goodbye Sayomi-Chan! Please return soon!" He said cheerily as he used his strength, far greater than what he'd expect to have for a creature of his size, and flung the two from the platform.

Both of the students quickly began to feel their bodies catch up with gravity and the two fell through the green tinted sky. Amid the class rep's fearful cries, Koichi decided there was no real point fighting the inevitable and while mid-air, he took a resting position, locking his hands around the back of his head and tried to enjoy the trip back to Earth.

His friend, in between her screaming sessions, looked over and saw his resting form. "K-Koichi why are you s-so laid back right now!?" Her face was a mix of confusion and terror as she spoke.

Koichi shrugged. "Isn't like it's gonna hurt us. We've been through this before remember? By the way, you might wanna hold onto your skirt." He said. Sayomi looked down to where the air blowing past them was staring to make her clothes flap.

Her hands clamped down on the skirt quickly as her face grew red. "Aah don't look!" she cried out and Koichi shrugged as he averted his gaze. "You better not have seen anything!" She told him sternly as they continue to fall.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything important." He said while holding back a laugh. As much as he wanted to, he had the feeling that even though the situation was a little funny, his humour would definitely be taken the wrong way.

Tuesday Evening

"Oof." Koichi lets out as he coughed. The impact with the ground outside for a second time since he came to Kuronai was rougher than he expected. Though as he rolled onto his knees and stood up, he soon found out why.

Both he and his classmate weren't back on the roof like they thought they would be. Instead they now stood outside its front gate. The sun was just beginning to set as he looked around. A few students were leaving out of the front gate but it appeared if no one had seen or cared about their sudden appearance.

Koichi returned his attention to Sayomi, who held her stomach and looked queasy. "You okay?"

She gave a thankful nod. "Just not used to that kind of thing... I'll be okay." The class rep said, hoping to reassure his concerns. Since this was the second time she'd come out of the Dreamscape looking worse for wear, it might look a little concerning. "We seriously need to find a new way back out of there though."

Her classmate nodded. "Yeah, I'm not a fan of free-falling till we hit the ground either. I'll see if I can figure out something for next time. But speaking of ways out, guess it's not just the roof."

Sayomi grimaced. "Yeah... you're right. What's so special about the roof and outside the gates though..." She tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully but soon gave up in a shrug. "Who knows?"

"We can figure it out later, for now, I think it's best we get outta here." Koichi said, Sayomi nodding along as the two started to walk back down the hill from the school. The pair continued walking in silence until they reached the junction at the bottom of the hill that led into the town's commercial district. "I've gotta head to the store before going back home, just a few things I need to pick up, so you can head off without me."

Sayomi nodded as she stopped her stride beside the crossing and turned around to face her new friend. "Oh, okay then." She said, a little surprised to be parting ways. The class rep reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out a smartphone covered by a flowery patterned case. "Um, since we're going to be investigating the Dreamscape together, we should exchange numbers. Just so we can keep in touch!" She raised her voice to clarify as Koichi stared blankly at her for several moments.

He tilted his head slightly and shrugged. "I would... but I don't own a phone." He put bluntly.

Saymoi felt her mouth drop slightly agape at his admission, only able to respond with a "what?"

"Yeah, I don't own one." He shrugged while keeping up his blank stare. "Up until this exact moment, I've never needed one. My family isn't big on technology."

"Oh, I see... Guess you're from one of those strict traditional types of families. Don't worry about it, I'll just come find you if I need to." She said as he gave a confirming nod, turning toward the street that lead towards the shopping streets.

"Sure thing. I have to go now, so take care on your way back!" He departed with a short friendly wave while the class rep smiled.

He was quite different from any other classmate she'd met, a little strange, especially when considering everything that had happened to them in that parallel world. But he seemed kind despite his quirks and she hoped that they could be great friends in the future. "See you tomorrow Koichi-Kun!" She called out as he walked away and she turned to head home for the day.

The young man smiled as he walked along the street after leaving Sayomi, he was happy to have met someone who could make sense of the Dreamscape alongside him that was at the very least, also a human. Dewey seemed to be a bit of an eccentric character considering he was a calm and rational sounding being. Either way, this was only the beginning of his journey and the Dreamscape had undoubtedly many mysteries to be solved. He was just thankful that he wasn't the only one on the case. Without Sayomi and Dewey to back him up, Koichi felt like he might have no chance at all.

In that moment, as he walked along the path, he felt his body freeze up while he was mid-stride and the sky darkened, a deep blue tone setting over everything he could see. The world around him ground to a halt in that moment, time around him seeming to cease altogether. He felt his whole body pulse for a moment as a familiar voice echoed, seeming to emanate from deep within him.

"I am thou... thou art I." The voice that sounded exactly like Agatha's said. "Thou hast forged a new connection." Her voice spoke again as Koichi felt that pulse return, yet this time is was far more invigorating than anything he'd felt before. It felt like the energy ran through every fibre of his being. "Let it guide you on the path and create the network to your future!"

Then like the strange occurrence had never been, the sky returned to normal and the soft winds blew. Cars that had halted at the crossing accelerated and turned the corner. Koichi stopped for a moment, needing time to catch his bearings. If it wasn't because of his experiences with the supernatural prior to this latest incident, it was sure to have freaked him out. "Maybe those two could shed some light on this next time I see them." He muttered, thinking back to the Velvet Room and its denizens. Cryptic though they were, hopefully they'd be able to explain this new phenomenon.

Soon enough Koichi had made it into the local convenience store and worked away, picking up what small items were written on the list in his hand. He groaned as he stared at the list. "Mastuko, your handwriting is so bad..." The young man grumbled quietly as he attempted to decipher the near illegible characters written down.

He was steeped in thought when a voice called out to him. "Hey, you're Koichi-Kun right? Remember me? It's Yasuo from this morni-" As he laid a hand on Koichi's shoulder, the young man was surprised by the inhumanly fast reflexes that the other young man displayed. As quickly as Yasuo had put his hand on Koichi, it had been trapped in the other's tight iron-like grip. Yasuo clenched his jaw as he resisted the urge to cry out. "H-hey... I'm s-sorry for whatever I d-did... could you please let me go now." He said, his voice a much higher pitch while resisting the pain now coursing through his arm.

Koichi shortly after turned and saw his classmate standing behind him begging for release. The young man's usual blank expression was intense until he registered Yasuo as a non-threat. At which point, his face softened back into Koichi's casual gaze and he returned Yasuo's hand back to his classmate. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry about that. I auto-counter any unexpected contact, you didn't know that though so it's my fault." He said and expressed his apology with a short bow.

He was surprised as Yasuo broke out in a laugh. "Man, that was a pretty scary situation just now, but I'm glad it's nothing! I'll keep my hands to myself in future. Wow, you Ozawas are pretty terrifying when you want to be." He soon returned to being cheery and Koichi relaxed seeing as he was okay.

"Oh, I guess you've met Matsuko then." Koichi said without so much as a second thought.

"Yeah, I was watching the gir- uh, I mean, the tennis team train during lunch and she was like a demon."

He simply shrugged again. "Sounds like my Sister."

"Wha- you're agreeing with me? How bad is she really dude? Because I'm totally dreading having our next PE class now." Yasuo asked, hoping in that moment there was a merciful god and that it wouldn't be for a while that he'd have to face the wrath of this intimidating new teacher.

"Hmm... let's see... She's not the strictest teacher I know... but she does idolise our Grandfather. So to put it in terms you might get; you know that famous TV chef that goes ballistic all the time? Yeah, he's like a butterfly compared to Matsuko." Though he had just told Yasuo his honest opinion, he watched as the light died from his classmate's eyes and a visible sense of dread could be seen in the place of all his hopes and dreams. So he decided to do his best to lighten the mood. "But if you think that's bad, try having her as a sister." He gave the other young man a light grin just to indicate he was in fact making a joke, even if there was some truth to it.

Yasuo burst out laughing. "Wow dude, you've got some serious balls saying that about your own Sis. You're kind of a joker aren't you? Oh, almost forgot to ask, how's Kuronai been treating you so far, everything good?"

He nodded. "Yeah, everyone's been welcoming... I get the feeling our English teacher doesn't think much of me though. Better start studying more I guess."

Though he was about to slap Koichi lightly on the shoulder, Yasuo refrained from doing so after learning the lesson the first time. "Haha. Don't let it get to you too much. Miyuki-Sensei is a little full of herself. But if you ever need a study partner, I'm your guy. Same if you need help with anything else, you can come to me!" Yasuo pointed to himself and flashed a confident grin. "I've gotta run now but find me any time, Broseph!" He nodded as he made his way toward the cashier to pay for the goods in his basket.

"Yeah, that might be fun." He returned to nod as Yasuo, after paying, exited the store. Fun, huh? Guess it wouldn't hurt. As he thought that, he thought about the time and looked to the darkening street outside, he needed to finish up soon himself. "Okay, let's try this again." He mumbled as he opened up the list and attempted to decipher the writing on it.

The Velvet Room

After an uneventful evening, Koichi retired to his room and soon fell into a deep sleep, only to find himself sat in a familiar room as the melodic aria of the soul played in ambience and the wide bloodshot eyes of a familiar figure grinned at Koichi.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor said, leaning toward the young Fool opposite him. "My, it seems these past few days have been quite eventful. Well done on awakening your dormant power."

Agatha soon stepped in once Igor gave the go-ahead. "As Master Igor said, well done. The events in the Dreamscape have pushed you to awaken the strength hidden away in your soul. This strength enabled you to manifest an avatar from your will. It is known as a Persona. Yours is known as the Wild Card."

As Agatha finished her explanation, Igor flipped over the top card of the Tarot deck and like before, the card shown was that of the Fool Arcana. "Just like you and that card on the table, the potential inside your Persona is infinite, Koichi." Agatha told him as he took in everything he was hearing.

"I'm curious to see how this will play out. With the power of the Wild Card in your hands, many roads lie ahead, many paths to travel. Many destinies left to discover. Both I and Agatha will be interested to see where your ambitions lead." Igor stated as he folded his hands neatly on the table.

"Yes, the Wild Card it truly what dreams are made of..." Agatha muttered as she slumped her head into her hand and gave a long sigh.

"I see... Then that's what this power is... I can find my way through both the mysteries of the Dreamscape and whatever lies ahead. But what was that feeling... back when I was saying goodbye to Sayomi?"

"I'm glad you asked." Igor said as he gestured to the Fool Tarot on the table. "Agatha if you will."

"Yes Master." She nodded and resumed her more professional demeanour as she turned to face Koichi. "You see, your strength as a wielder of the Wild Card and as a Dream Walker, are both dependant on the strength of your heart. Something that is only increased by the strength of your bonds to others."

Igor waved his hand over the Tarot and the image of it changed to a short video-like playback of Koichi's agreement to help Dewey keep the Dreamscape safe and his budding friendship with Sayomi as they parted ways at the junction.

"Through your interactions with two new and unlikely friends, you forged the first bond of the Fool Arcana and obtained a portion of its power. As your bonds with friends become stronger, you'll obtain new power and even grow what you already have. And as those bonds grow, you too will find yourself to have grown." Igor finished the explanation, he looked toward Koichi once more and grinned as the young adolescent felt himself slipping back into the depths of sleep. "We look forward to seeing your continued growth through these bonds."

(April 12th) Wednesday Early Morning – Sunny

The very next morning, Koichi's alarm went off much earlier than usual. As he woke and turned off the device at his bedside, he quickly dressed into a set of white and blue sweats and made his way down into the combined lounge/kitchen space where Matsuko was already waiting in her own exercise outfit by the door, looking like she was about to head out herself.

"Oh, didn't think you'd be up so soon. Guess that means you want to tag along, right?" She said as he walked down the stairs to greet his older Sister.

"Morning. Yeah, even set my alarm for six AM so I wouldn't miss you. Even that wasn't enough to get the drop on you." He smirked as he joined her by the door, slipping on a pair of running shoes as the older sibling gave her laces one last check.

The two were soon out of the door and as Matsuko locked, up she started chatting. "Didn't expect you to come on my morning run today but judging by what that Miyara kid was saying to me about you, I take it you're starting to take things more seriously again."

As she finished locking up, they walked out onto the street and moved to a steady job while they warmed up. Koichi nodded. "Yeah, figured it couldn't hurt to get some cardio in again. There's some pretty dangerous fighters in the Club, so I need to be able to move a lot faster than I have been." His thoughts also turned to the dangers of the Dreamscape and what almost happened when he went up against Dewey's Persona those two times. Though that wouldn't be a worry now, he still couldn't risk being sloppy while inside the Dreamscape.

"Alright, that should do it." Matsuko said as they turned the corner. "Wanna have a little race?" Her face turned to a grin as a competitive fire burned in her eyes. Koichi nodded as they kept their jog. "Alright, you're on little Bro. The race is from here to the top of the local Shrine. I just found it on yesterday's run. Try keep up or you'll never get there." She finished before without warning, she broke out into a sprint and left Koichi little time to react and keep with her.

"Hey! Matsuko, at least play fair!" He called after as the gap between them increased all the way to the finish line at the top of the Shrine.

The grounds seemed well kept, though there didn't seem to be any Priests or other caretakers about currently. Likely because it was currently the crack of dawn where only salarymen on their way to work in the big city, salarymen on their way back from the big city after having too much of a night out and people like Matsuko who were health nuts, were out and about at such a time. Koichi would have to put himself into that latter most category however as for him, he was doing this for the explicit purpose of not almost dying the next time he wound up in the Dreamscape.

They took a moment to gather their breaths and Matsuko passed Koichi one of the water bottles she had previously clipped to her waist. "Here Koi, keep hydrated. As funny as it'd be to watch you collapse from exhaustion, I'd not be much of a big Sister if I didn't look out for you every so often."

He nodded and took the drink. "Thanks. You're a real demon when it comes to sprinting though. You sure we're related?" He said with a short chuckle.

Matsuko lightly jabbed him in the arm. He recalled Yasuo's unaware touch and his auto-counter instinct kicking in the day before. When he was more relaxed like this and knew who it was, so long as he was okay with the contact, his instinct to automatically respond with violence didn't activate. Koichi was still a little angry with himself he did that to a classmate but he was glad there was no permanent harm done.

"We're both Mom's kids aren't we? You're a little old to start thinking dumb crap about demons being real aren't you?" She gave him a mock concerned look as she tried holding in laughing at the thought of her Brother being one of those people.

"Nah, just one of my classmates is real scared of you, that's all."

"Oh?" Matsuko grinned, Koichi could feel the malintent radiate from her as she continued. "Who's that? I'll be sure to put the scare on real good whenever I teach them."

In that moment, Koichi made a decision based on a question he asked himself. Should he sacrifice Yasuo to the sports demon he called a sibling just to see what manner of chaos it could cause? His answer fortunately came quickly. "His name's Yasuo Ishihara. We're actually having a PE class with you today."

"Hahaha! Wow you sure sold him out quickly. Bet you figured I'd give you a whole lotta laps if you didn't tell me!" The two siblings chatted for a few minuted more before Matsuko looked to her Brother and offered a genuine smile. "Hey, thanks for tagging along today. I know we've had our struggles and I haven't exactly always been around to take care of you, but I'm still trying my best. So it means a lot to see you're still happy to hang with your big Sis sometimes."

Koichi nodded. He knew what she meant and the past wasn't something either of them looked on too fondly. "Yeah, any time. After all, we're always there for each other when it really matters. Kuronai's started to feel like a good change too."

"I'm glad to hear it. Seems you're getting popular with the other kids too. Who was that girl you were hanging out with after school again?" She smirked, hoping to throw him off and mess with him.

"The class rep, she's been helping me out while I get my bearings." He said flatly. Matsuko internally cursed. Due to her own woes in dating, she had hoped to find something to take out her frustrations on, Koichi having a non-existent love life certainly wasn't helping matters. At least they could be lonely in solidarity, she thought. The PE Teacher stretched out and looked down the long stairway flanked on both sides by a small forest. "Alright. Race you back home?" She asked, looking like she hadn't just ran the insane circuit she had.

Koichi looked at her like she was a madwoman. He'd barely managed to run the distance the first time and though he knew that he would eventually regret it Koichi nodded. "I'll make sure to beat you this time!" He laughed and then, like the last time, he felt everything around him freeze and the world cloud over in deepest blue.

"I am thou... thou art I." The Agatha's voice said. "Thou hast forged a new connection." She spoke again as Koichi felt the pulsing feeling invigorate him with energy "Rejoice, at the advent of the Strength Arcana! Let it guide you on the path and create the network to your future!"

Like before, after a few moments, everything returned to normal and Koichi was left to face against Matsuko at their new start line under the Torii gate. "Okay, you talk big, let's see if you can back that up." Matsuko said as they started their race back home.

Unfortunately for the Fool, he was quite unsuccessful and Matsuko won by a hefty lead.

New Bonds Acquired:

Arcana 0: The Fool – Koichi's friends: Level 1

Arcana 11: Strength – Matsuko Ozawa: Level 1

|SOA|

Persona Compendium: Arcana 0, The Fool – Sinbad – Also known as Sinbad the Sailor, was a fictional mariner and hero. He sailed across the seven seas on many famous voyages. Though he may have began his legend as a merchant, more recent tales anoint him the role of a heroic adventurer that conquers the seven seas and its many dangers. His legend grown, Sinbad became a daring figure who's exploits were sung of by many sailors, raising his legend to immortality.

That's chapter 3.5 and I'm sorry it took as long as it did for me to get around to writing this again. I promise the next one won't take as long to do. I was working on other things that I needed to do and real life also got in the way. I also forgot to include the Compendium for Sinbad, I also had to rewrite it since I forgot to save what I had from last time, sorry about that. To make amends I'll let you all in on a funny little fact about the first chapter of SOA. Koichi's name is written 69 times in the first chapter. This wasn't intended and I've only just found this out myself but I laughed at it when I saw it while looking up his name on the word finder earlier. That's one way to assert your dominance as the protagonist I suppose.

Joking aside, I enjoyed working on this and getting back into this slowly using this .5 chapter and hopefully soon I'll get out the next part as we dive back into the plot. I also want to know what my readers thought of how I worked in the whole Social Link/Confidant thing into the actual narrative and if you'd want me to keep going with that. I might just do it for the first and final bonds of each Arcana though so it doesn't get repetitive. Not that much happened with the plot here but I enjoyed writing the character moments too and getting to know some of the main characters more here too. That's all from me so I'll leave off here and hope to get another chapter out to you soon as we pick up the plot. Until then!

[Preview]

Focusing on the mystery ahead while trying to balance out his new life, Koichi returns to the Dreamscape alongside Sayomi. Together with her Dewey, the Fool will journey deeper into the Dreamscape and the darkness hidden within.

Next Time: Nightmare