Sumaru Prison.... or so it's called, but it's set up as a hangout place for a certain set of delinquents from Kasugayama High School. You slide off of your motorcycle and head inside with Lisa.
There's a quartet of friends, including a tall visual-kei looking guy with blue hair, standing around a couch as a girl from Seven Sisters High, cracks open a soda and starts drinking from it. Food is strewn all across a nearby coffee table.
"Whew.... Thank you for the food," the girl says with a smile. Miyabi Hanakouji - A Sevens student in class 2-C, nicknamed "Kozy." She edits the school newspaper and is investigating the emblem curse.
The visual kei guy stares at her. ".........Gah!" He shakes his head, then turns to one of his friends with a threatening glare. "H-hey! Is this chica really one of my fans!? That ain't right!" The visual kei guy— Eikichi "Michel" Mishina. A 2nd-year at Kasugayama High who has it in for me. A narcissistic gang boss as well as lead vocalist in his band.
Two of the other members of Eikichi's group rush over to him.
"C-calm down, Michel-san!" Ken says nervously.
"Y-yeah," Shogo adds. "If we wait just a little longer, I'm sure ████ will show! Er... Oh crud...!"
Eikichi turns his head sharply towards Shogo. "Hey... What's this about ████? What are you three scheming?" Eikichi's trio of friends shake their heads.
It's right around now Lisa's lost her patience and speaks up, announcing her presence. "Huh... So that's what this is about?" The two of you walk down the spiraled stairs and towards the gang of Kasugayama students.
Eikichi starts. "████?!"
You flick your lighter idly, letting Lisa do the talking for now. For her part, Lisa cracks her knuckles menacingly. "Michel Eikichi, I take it?"
Eikichi, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere, immediately goes for a charming smile. "Yeah yeah yeah! Do I got you, babe? Allow me to introduce myself as the genius artist Michel, spreading love to ladies around the world? Hooooooo!"
Lisa's hands drop to her sides, staring at Eikichi in bafflement. "What... are you smoking?"
Eikichi snarls. "What was that, you little—?!"
"Um... Please forgive us!" Shogo pipes up, interrupting the fight in action. "We used Kozy-san as a hostage to lure out ████-san!"
"You know how you were pumped to start a band, Michel-san?" Takeshi adds. "We were looking for members.You were the only ones, so..."
"We thought ████-san would be a good fit," Ken finishes. "And he's reliable, so we thought you'd be happy to have him aboard..."
"Y-you guys...." Despite the stoic expression on his face, you get the impression Eikichi's touched. "You knew what would happen if you violated Bro Code and you still..."
"Yes, sir!" Shogo, Ken, and Takeshi say in unison. "'Cowardice is unbefitting of a real man!' We'll take whatever punishment you have in store!"
Kozy sighs. "Um... So that stuff about telling me the mystery of the emblem curse... Was that all a lie? If so, then I'm going to go." She starts to leave, stopping when she gets near Lisa.
Lisa, for her part, sighs deeply. "We should go too, ████. This is so stupid I might cry."
Eikichi points at you dramatically. "Hold it, ████!" You flick your lighter again. This ought to be good.
"I hate to stoop this low..." Eikichi continues. "But for the sake of my bros, I can't let you go that easily. For my honour as the Death Boss, I'm dragging you into my band!"
Because clearly your opinion doesn't matter here?
Lisa throws up her hands and shakes her head. "'Death Boss!?' More like 'Undie Boss!'" All three of Eikichi's friends jerk in surprise and horror at once, but Lisa's on a roll now. "I've heard the rumours! You became Boss by pantsing people, didn't you?" Lisa giggles even as Eikichi's friends attempt to surround and placate him.
"U-Uh-oh... Michel-san!" Ken cries out. But Eikichi's past listening.
"Undie...."
Eikichi's expression is growing darker and darker, and— there's a feeling, so sudden and intense that you jerk back in surprise. ".....!?"
"Wh...What's happening...!?" Lisa whispers next to you, an intense expression on her face. So she feels it, too.
A blue light surrounds Eikichi all at once. "Don't! Call! Me! Undie! My name is Eikichi Mishina! EIKICHI! MISHINAAAAA!"
It's Kozy's turn to jerk in surprise- possibly at the livid expression on Eikichi's face, because it didn't look like she'd sensed whatever it was you and Lisa did. But you didn't have time to worry about Kozy right now.
"Come, Deathbringer!" Eikichi calls out dramatically, and a creature that looks as much motorcycle as he does man comes forth, seemingly from Eikichi.
"I am Rhadamanthus... the judge of the netherworld," the creature calls out. "I shall sever your foes' sins with my blade of judgement!"
A spell— and you know it's some kind of spell, something with water— hits Lisa all at once. Even as she falls to her knees, a creature rises from inside of her— a creature with red wings and some kind of red, heart-shaped bow. You jerk in surprise, somehow more stunned that when Eikichi had done this.
"Aaaaaaaagh...!" Lisa screams out. And then she looks at the creature she called forth and breathes in sharply. "Haime... Seriously?"
"I am Eros..." the creature from Lisa says serenely. "My golden arrows kindle love's flames... I shall be your strength, my other self..." Lisa collapses entirely, unconscious.
Eikichi's gaping at her. "H-h-how can you use it too!?" he demands of Lisa's unconcsious form, flailing.
You turn to face Eikichi. From inside of you, a voice calls out.
"Fear not... Take my hand..."
You collapse to your knees, clutching your head. "......!" This time, it's you that summons a creature— one that looks part-lighter, part-man. A lighter... somehow, your mind flashes to the lighter inside your pocket right now— your most treasured possession.
"I am thou... Thou art I... From the sea of thy soul I cometh..." Vulcanus proclaims. "The bearer of the inferno that burns away impurity, Vulcanus!" Together, you and Vulcanus summon magic of your own— a fire spell, Agi, and hit Eikichi with it. Eikichi collapses to the ground— and as Vulcanus fades back into your mind, so do you....
Images flash through your mind— butterflies (black and gold), a group of children wearing festival masks at a shrine (Featherman-themed), the shrine— Alya Shrine, a young teenage girl in a sailor fuku at the offering box, and—
You're standing in a place— a golden place, with a butterfly etched into the ground. You... Lisa... Eikichi.... and a golden butterfly that transforms into a man in a butterfly mask. You raise your fists in preparation, but the man in the mask is calm.
"Welcome to the gulf between consciousness and unconsciousness..." he says serenly. "My name is Philemon. Have you forgotten?"
Forgotten?
Lisa glances down at the ground, concentrating. "Phile... mon...?"
Philemon looks over at her, at all of you. "The power you hold is called Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you, the gods and the demons you harbor. The self suffused with divine love... The self capable of demonic cruelty... People live by wearing different masks. Your current self is only one of these inumerable masks. Your Persona is also among your countless selves."
Eikichi breathes in sharply. "That's... me...? What are you...?"
Philemon glances at Eikichi, then speaks again. "From here on, you will face a fearsome entity which threatens your existence. From time out of mind, beyond oblivion... The land of Sumaru is now a netherworld where rumours are reality. The battle is begun..."
You and Eikichi glance at each other before your gazes slide back to Philemon.
"I summoned you here to tell you this," Philemon says. "Now go, and with your Personas break the chains of karma laid against you..."
Sumaru Prison and Joker [IS]
Sumaru Prison.... or so it's called, but it's set up as a hangout place for a certain set of delinquents from Kasugayama High School. You slide off of your motorcycle and head inside with Lisa.
There's a quartet of friends, including a tall visual-kei looking guy with blue hair, standing around a couch as a girl from Seven Sisters High, cracks open a soda and starts drinking from it. Food is strewn all across a nearby coffee table.
"Whew.... Thank you for the food," the girl says with a smile. Miyabi Hanakouji - A Sevens student in class 2-C, nicknamed "Kozy." She edits the school newspaper and is investigating the emblem curse.
The visual kei guy stares at her. ".........Gah!" He shakes his head, then turns to one of his friends with a threatening glare. "H-hey! Is this chica really one of my fans!? That ain't right!" The visual kei guy— Eikichi "Michel" Mishina. A 2nd-year at Kasugayama High who has it in for me. A narcissistic gang boss as well as lead vocalist in his band.
Two of the other members of Eikichi's group rush over to him.
"C-calm down, Michel-san!" Ken says nervously.
"Y-yeah," Shogo adds. "If we wait just a little longer, I'm sure ████ will show! Er... Oh crud...!"
Eikichi turns his head sharply towards Shogo. "Hey... What's this about ████? What are you three scheming?" Eikichi's trio of friends shake their heads.
It's right around now Lisa's lost her patience and speaks up, announcing her presence. "Huh... So that's what this is about?" The two of you walk down the spiraled stairs and towards the gang of Kasugayama students.
Eikichi starts. "████?!"
You flick your lighter idly, letting Lisa do the talking for now. For her part, Lisa cracks her knuckles menacingly. "Michel Eikichi, I take it?"
Eikichi, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere, immediately goes for a charming smile. "Yeah yeah yeah! Do I got you, babe? Allow me to introduce myself as the genius artist Michel, spreading love to ladies around the world? Hooooooo!"
Lisa's hands drop to her sides, staring at Eikichi in bafflement. "What... are you smoking?"
Eikichi snarls. "What was that, you little—?!"
"Um... Please forgive us!" Shogo pipes up, interrupting the fight in action. "We used Kozy-san as a hostage to lure out ████-san!"
"You know how you were pumped to start a band, Michel-san?" Takeshi adds. "We were looking for members.You were the only ones, so..."
"We thought ████-san would be a good fit," Ken finishes. "And he's reliable, so we thought you'd be happy to have him aboard..."
"Y-you guys...." Despite the stoic expression on his face, you get the impression Eikichi's touched. "You knew what would happen if you violated Bro Code and you still..."
"Yes, sir!" Shogo, Ken, and Takeshi say in unison. "'Cowardice is unbefitting of a real man!' We'll take whatever punishment you have in store!"
Kozy sighs. "Um... So that stuff about telling me the mystery of the emblem curse... Was that all a lie? If so, then I'm going to go." She starts to leave, stopping when she gets near Lisa.
Lisa, for her part, sighs deeply. "We should go too, ████. This is so stupid I might cry."
Eikichi points at you dramatically. "Hold it, ████!" You flick your lighter again. This ought to be good.
"I hate to stoop this low..." Eikichi continues. "But for the sake of my bros, I can't let you go that easily. For my honour as the Death Boss, I'm dragging you into my band!"
Because clearly your opinion doesn't matter here?
Lisa throws up her hands and shakes her head. "'Death Boss!?' More like 'Undie Boss!'" All three of Eikichi's friends jerk in surprise and horror at once, but Lisa's on a roll now. "I've heard the rumours! You became Boss by pantsing people, didn't you?" Lisa giggles even as Eikichi's friends attempt to surround and placate him.
"U-Uh-oh... Michel-san!" Ken cries out. But Eikichi's past listening.
"Undie...."
Eikichi's expression is growing darker and darker, and— there's a feeling, so sudden and intense that you jerk back in surprise. ".....!?"
"Wh...What's happening...!?" Lisa whispers next to you, an intense expression on her face. So she feels it, too.
A blue light surrounds Eikichi all at once. "Don't! Call! Me! Undie! My name is Eikichi Mishina! EIKICHI! MISHINAAAAA!"
It's Kozy's turn to jerk in surprise- possibly at the livid expression on Eikichi's face, because it didn't look like she'd sensed whatever it was you and Lisa did. But you didn't have time to worry about Kozy right now.
"Come, Deathbringer!" Eikichi calls out dramatically, and a creature that looks as much motorcycle as he does man comes forth, seemingly from Eikichi.
"I am Rhadamanthus... the judge of the netherworld," the creature calls out. "I shall sever your foes' sins with my blade of judgement!"
A spell— and you know it's some kind of spell, something with water— hits Lisa all at once. Even as she falls to her knees, a creature rises from inside of her— a creature with red wings and some kind of red, heart-shaped bow. You jerk in surprise, somehow more stunned that when Eikichi had done this.
"Aaaaaaaagh...!" Lisa screams out. And then she looks at the creature she called forth and breathes in sharply. "Haime... Seriously?"
"I am Eros..." the creature from Lisa says serenely. "My golden arrows kindle love's flames... I shall be your strength, my other self..." Lisa collapses entirely, unconscious.
Eikichi's gaping at her. "H-h-how can you use it too!?" he demands of Lisa's unconcsious form, flailing.
You turn to face Eikichi. From inside of you, a voice calls out.
"Fear not... Take my hand..."
You collapse to your knees, clutching your head. "......!" This time, it's you that summons a creature— one that looks part-lighter, part-man. A lighter... somehow, your mind flashes to the lighter inside your pocket right now— your most treasured possession.
"I am thou... Thou art I... From the sea of thy soul I cometh..." Vulcanus proclaims. "The bearer of the inferno that burns away impurity, Vulcanus!" Together, you and Vulcanus summon magic of your own— a fire spell, Agi, and hit Eikichi with it. Eikichi collapses to the ground— and as Vulcanus fades back into your mind, so do you....
Images flash through your mind— butterflies (black and gold), a group of children wearing festival masks at a shrine (Featherman-themed), the shrine— Alya Shrine, a young teenage girl in a sailor fuku at the offering box, and—
You're standing in a place— a golden place, with a butterfly etched into the ground. You... Lisa... Eikichi.... and a golden butterfly that transforms into a man in a butterfly mask. You raise your fists in preparation, but the man in the mask is calm.
"Welcome to the gulf between consciousness and unconsciousness..." he says serenly. "My name is Philemon. Have you forgotten?"
Forgotten?
Lisa glances down at the ground, concentrating. "Phile... mon...?"
Philemon looks over at her, at all of you. "The power you hold is called Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you, the gods and the demons you harbor. The self suffused with divine love... The self capable of demonic cruelty... People live by wearing different masks. Your current self is only one of these inumerable masks. Your Persona is also among your countless selves."
Eikichi breathes in sharply. "That's... me...? What are you...?"
Philemon glances at Eikichi, then speaks again. "From here on, you will face a fearsome entity which threatens your existence. From time out of mind, beyond oblivion... The land of Sumaru is now a netherworld where rumours are reality. The battle is begun..."
You and Eikichi glance at each other before your gazes slide back to Philemon.
"I summoned you here to tell you this," Philemon says. "Now go, and with your Personas break the chains of karma laid against you..."