Catch-22: The Start

By: M14Mouse

Summary: Yu knew the game was rigged. He didn't know the players yet but he knew. Now, he has a choice. To be an observer of a rigged game or do something that could effect the entire outcome. One thing for sure…he was no observer.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. This story is un-beta.

If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes,

and the quitting time.-Chinese Proverb

Gambler…can you hear me? The shadows are coming from the left corridor and approaching fast.

I can see them now, Oracle. The others?

They are safe. They are just ahead of you and heading toward the exit.

Good.

I swear…between you and Joker, you two are going to give me a heart attack. I don't think that I can take it.

Why? I have to keep you on your toes, Oracle.

You are a terrible person, support buddy. Just terrible. I don't know why I hang out with me.

I know why. I don't complaint about your anime.

Hush you. But on that note, you are in trouble when you get back. Mona and Queen have some very choice words to say to you. I think that Skull is kind of excited. It is your turn to get yell at for once.

I know.

It was funny. In the past, people have told him the opposite. They would say that he was such a good and polite young man.

He snorted.

As soon as he hit the corridor, he saw the shadows. Lucky for him, the shadows didn't see him. He drew his cane from his side and attack. The longer that he fought along the thieves, the more that he wished for his sword back. He was quick to realize that this world didn't see him that way.

In this world, he was as a gambler. The Master of cards and dice. The reader of body language and non-verbal cues. He was always one step from a wonderful win or a terrible lose.

He still doesn't know how he felt about that.

He took the metal knob of his cane and rammed into the shadow's mask. It screamed for a moment before it crumbled into dust with the force of his blow. His hands slipped into his pocket and pulled out a pair of dice. He rolled it toward the next shadow. His eyes closed before the dice finished rolling. He knew the results could disastrous if he left them open.

What are you going to roll today? A 2…a 5…maybe you are looking for lucky number 12. You are hoping for lady luck to share her fortune, boy.

This has nothing to do with this luck.

His persona's voice laughed.

No, it isn't. You think that I haven't notice your tricks. You have learned well. You are truly living up to your name sake.

He heard the distant sound of thunder. His fingertips ached and twitched. He tasted smoke and ash in his month.

Easy, Izanagi, easy. Soon. I will take off this mask and we can tear them apart.

The sound of his dice exploding sounded like an agreeable answer from Izanagi to him.

-One Year Ago-

Yu was beginning to see a trend here.

His journeys seemed begin and end with trains. He walked up the stairs from the train station to be greeted by rain.

He did wish the weather was a little better. He watched the people open up their umbrellas or ran for cover.

You will pose as a college student. You will attend Aoyama Gakuin University in Shibuya. This will allow us to look these mental shutdowns without your presence to cause any alarm.

Finally making me finish my schooling, Mitsuru-san?

No one that works for the Shadow Operatives without the proper education, Yu-san!

He almost laughed at the expression on Mitsuru-san's face. Like his parents and his uncle, she was very insisted on him finishing his education.

You still believe that these breakdowns have to do with the Apathy Syndrome?

It may. The effects sound the same but….

It has never happened like that before.

From their research, the mental shutdownswere different but there were common threads between the two. It was enough to bother everyone in the group. He wished that they had another chance to sit down before the reports of shadows attacks cause them to travel across the globe.

Mitsuru-san was in Kisumu.

Naoto was in London.

Aigis-san was in the States. He wanted to say Washington DC but he thought that she was in New York now.

Some of the other members he wasn't quite sure where they were at.

Keep your head down and your eyes open.

Report everything you see.

Most of all, make sure that you are ready for anything.

He felt his blade pressed against his side. He heard sound of thunder in the air. He felt the familiar presence of Izanagi humming in his head. He sighed as he opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain.

He was ready.

It was time to get to settled then…get to work.

End of The Start

A/N: I have been wanting to write this fic for awhile now because as much as I love Persona 5. (Still love 4 more...sorry.) Some things bother the crap out of me a lot. After my second play-through, I decided to hell with my other projects and start writing this one. I have a lot of surprises in store and I am excited. One thing, I will answer is this: Yu isn't using Izanagi as his mask. There are reasons...some will be answer in the next chapter and some much later. So, you can go ahead and try to figure it out but I am not telling...yet. Anyway, read and review if you wish.