This one’s a ‘What-If’ fic had Morenatsu been done like a Persona game. I’d prolly call ‘Shin Juukami Tensei: Personatsu’. This one has a lot of Persona elements, so those who haven’t played it may not enjoy it as much. I tried to fill in as much details to give readers a general idea about what could happen in the game while giving them enough space to fill in the blanks with their imagination.

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Wednesday was the first time they tried going into Magatsu Fuunari. They barely made it out.

It was insane, really, how the Shadows had seemed much stronger in that place than the rest. Emphasis on ‘much’. They had encountered three Primal Gigas and a Millennial Magus almost immediately upon entering the place, and Torahiko swore his ears were still ringing from that battle.

They had hit the Shadows with determination. Torahiko immediately Evoked, the warrior Yoshitsune appearing by his side to cast Mazionga, making electricity arc through the air. Soutaro called upon Kintarou, the small yet wild-looking Persona who raised its hand and sent Maragilao spreading through the Shadows’ ranks. Juuichi clenched his fist and summoned Mongaku, the huge Persona mimicking the bear’s movements as he used Gigantic Fist to grind a Gigas to the ground. Meanwhile, Kounosuke called upon Ikkyu to cast Masukukaja on them, making Torahiko feel lighter on his feet. They would not be stopped, not with them so close to catching the Culprit. They would finish what Hiroyuki had started. They would fight with all they had.

They were also being pushed back.

Even with Shin whispering in their minds, the cat doing his best to scan the Shadows for their weaknesses, it barely gave them an edge. Torahiko could still remember the Magus casting spell after spell, from hair-raising Ziodynes to skin-cutting Garudynes, almost as if it knew what their weaknesses were. Even as the tiger rolled on the ground to dodge a Garudyne, he could hear in his mind that Yoshitsune had been flinching at the wind assault, so he had immediately switched to Byakko, desperately casting Mediarama over and over in order to keep everyone alive.

And while he’d never admit it out loud, despite everything they’ve gone through, the tiger still felt wary about casting healing spells. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to heal others; in fact, he felt it was great that he could save their lives. It was the fact that part of his mind could feel how the spell mended the body that disturbed him so much. Torahiko could still remember the bile rising in his throat as Mediarama mended the crushed bones on Juuichi’s arms, aligning them back into place after a Vile Assault by one of the Gigas. The tiger had also felt the burnt skin and fur knitting back together on Kounosuke’s face after a fierce Agidyne from the Magus. And he almost wept in relief as the spell started repairing Soutaro’s bleeding stomach after getting hit by a Heaven’s Blade; Torahiko felt it was only a matter of milliseconds before the young lion’s life force gave out.

They had won, but just barely. The team tried pushing forward, with Shin guiding them away from the more powerful Shadows. As their appointed leader, Torahiko decided to try fighting the smaller group of Shadows instead, thinking this would at least give them some fighting experience. The tiger thought he had made a good decision, at least until a Ruthless Turret used a Power-Charge’d Deathbound and he had been unable to dodge. Torahiko wound up being dragged through Magatsu Fuunari by Juuichi with Shin guiding them back. The bear had been terse, snapping at Torahiko when the tiger claimed he could stand up on his own. The tiger thought he must have also banged his head at some point because he thought he saw tears forming at the bear’s eyes.

They were only a few feet away from the entrance when they were ambushed by Shadows and had to scatter, Soutaro and Kounosuke running off to one side while Juuichi slung Torahiko over his shoulder and ran to the other. Torahiko could hear Shin’s shouts; apparently, the others had rushed in to try and save them. He could hear the cat telling Kouya and Tatsuki where he and Juuichi were located. The tiger heard Juuichi curse, demanding why they left Shin alone at the entrance. A few tense moments later, Torahiko felt relief coursing through him as he heard Shin say that the others were just fine. Of course, the same could not be said for him and Juuichi. The last thing Torahiko saw before losing consciousness was Juuichi putting him gently on the floor with a determined expression on his face before facing the lone Primal Gigas that was pursuing them.

And that was just the first floor.

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The next day, Torahiko stayed in the classroom after the bell rang. He wanted to go to the Swimming Club but his ribs were still aching. He was slumped on his desk, looking out at the afternoon sky when he heard heavy footsteps approaching him.

Torahiko looked up. Juuichi stopped in front of him, wearing a worried frown on his face. Torahiko gave him a grin. “Hey, senpai. What’s up?”

“I wanted to ask when we will go into that place again,” the bear rumbled.

Torahiko sat straighter on his chair and paused to consider Juuichi’s question. Now that he was the leader, it was up to him to decide when they would go battle Shadows. “Maybe the day after tomorrow? I want to give the rest a chance to recover.” There was also the matter of spending time helping Botan-sensei with some stuff outside school. The tiger felt it was only a matter of time before he would max the Social Link with the boar.

Juuichi nodded, looking satisfied. “Kuroi and Takahara are also looking for you. They wanted to discuss tactics for the upcoming battles.”

The tiger’s ears perked up at that. He knew he wasn’t much of a thinker, preferring to let nature take its course. Before the responsibility of being the leader had been dropped on his shoulders, Torahiko had been happy to leave that sort of thing to Hiroyuki. Now, he had to handle how to keep the team together: learning strategies from Shin and Kyoji, dealing with procuring supplies and weapons (which he now left on the hands of Tatsuki, Juuichi and Kounosuke), and keeping the group’s grades from dropping (with the help of Shun, Soutaro and Kouya). He had been a little doubtful that he had what it took at first, but Torahiko managed to get the hang of the whole leadership thing eventually.

“Did they say what they want?”

Juuichi nodded. “They wanted to propose a new tactic. A reserve team, closely following the main.”

Torahiko thought it was a pretty good idea. He was about to stand up when he felt the bear’s gaze on him. Torahiko thought Juuichi looked pretty pissed about something, and tried to remember if he did anything to earn the bear’s ire. ‘Was it because I asked what color of fundoshi he usually wears when we were in the lockers last Monday? Or maybe it was when I replaced his bottle of honey with cooking oil? Or could it be when I called out Mr. Nishida’s bullshit and called him an old hack in class earlier?’

Deciding to remain firmly seated, lest Juuichi subject him to a judo throw, Torahiko gave the bear what he thought was an innocent grin. “What’s wrong, Juuichi-sepai?” In his mind, he felt Nata Taishi rising to the fore, the Persona clamoring for action.

The bear tipped his head, looking at him deeply for a few moments, making Torahiko feel that the bear could see into his very soul. “Which one are you wearing now?”

Torahiko gulped, wondering how the bear knew. “Nata Taishi,” he confessed quietly. He could see the bear looking more annoyed now and Torahiko couldn’t really blame him for feeling that way. When Hiroyuki…left and gave him the ability to switch Personas, Torahiko had a grand time constantly changing Personas, immediately feeling that some people responded better when he was wearing a different mask. It got his friends worried, and they had called him out for suddenly acting like a schizophrenic before Torahiko stopped the slightly addicting desire to constantly switch Personas.

Juuichi sighed. “Can I speak with the real you then?”
“Sorry about that. It was just a reflex, you know?” The tiger rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he switched back to Yoshitsune. “So, what’s up?”
Juuichi closed his eyes, his shoulders tensed. “Yesterday…regarding your decision to keep fighting those Shadows…what were you thinking?”
Torahiko shrugged, not sure where this was going. “Well, we needed the experience, right? What better way to get stronger than fighting stronger opponents?” He tried to give the bear a reassuring grin but it turned out to be a bad move.

Juuichi leveled him a glare. “But that’s too risky. Tora, you shouldn’t make a gamble like that. You,” the bear looked away, glaring at the wall. “You should conduct yourself with more care.”

“But we made it out okay, right?”

If it was possible, Juuichi’s scowl deepened. “Yes, but with me having to drag your half-dead body back to the entrance. It was only a stroke of luck that Aotsuki and Tatsu-san reached us in time.”

Torahiko leaned forward, looking up at the bear, trying to make him see that things weren’t as bad as he thought it was. “Yeah, and Shun patched me up just fine. Trust me, we can make this work.”

It was a few seconds before the bear spoke, and then it came out low and uneven. “Y-you should take care of yourself more. I – we, we can’t afford to lose you. You’re too important to us.”

Torahiko felt his throat constrict. It was a slip, but that had been more than enough. ‘All this time and I had no idea…’ He placed a hand on Juuichi’s arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, Juuichi-senpai. I won’t follow Hiroyuki anytime soon.”

The look of intense fear in the bear’s eyes mitigated whatever pain Torahiko felt upon the subject of Hiroyuki’s death. Way back when it all started, the tiger had been thrilled at the thought that they were saving the world and battling the forces of darkness. He had Hiroyuki by his side then, and even if it was corny, the tiger felt it was like fate that the two starting members would fall for each other badly.

It was like he was on top of the world and they were an unstoppable force of youthful fury, at least until the day Hiroyuki had sacrificed himself to protect all of them from the Culprit’s trap. Afterwards, they were left to try and pick up the broken pieces within their group. Torahiko barely had any time to mourn before he received Hiroyuki’s final gift, knowing he had to battle for both their sakes.
Torahiko mentally shook himself out of his reverie, standing up so he could almost look eye-to-eye at the bear. “I’m being careful, okay? It’s just…when I think that we’re so close to catching that bastard, it gets my blood boiling. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I need to finish what Hiroyuki started.”

“You still love him?” The bear’s words were more a statement of fact, rather than a question.

Torahiko nodded.

Juuichi smiled at him. Not one of his usual attempts that ended up looking like a bitter smile. This one was so bright with love and understanding that Torahiko felt his heart race for a moment. But when he looked at the bear’s eyes, Torahiko could also see the pain and loneliness in them and he felt his stomach contract into ice. “I understand.” Juuichi took something out of his jacket and placed it on Torahiko’s hands.

It was a metallic mug. It was of simple design; the only distinctive mark was a red number eleven on its side. Torahiko thought it looked well-used, judging from the dents and scratches on it. The tiger looked at Juuichi, eyebrows raised. “What’s this?”

The bear placed a heavy hand on Torahiko’s shoulder and gave a tight squeeze. Torahiko felt it was an apt description of everything between him and Juuichi. Painful. And only one of them felt it.

“That’s a symbol of my promise to you.” Juuichi’s hand dropped to his side, and the look he gave Torahiko was one full of steel. “I’ll to do my best to protect you so you can reach your goal, Tora.” The bear began to walk away with a determined air, even though Torahiko suspected he saw moisture forming on the bear’s eyes.

He ignored the mysterious voice speaking in his mind. It didn’t matter that the Chariot Social Link was maxed, nor that Juuichi’s Persona Mongaku Ascended to Benkei, nor that the tiger could fuse Heracles in the Velvet Room now. Torahiko slumped on his desk, unable to shake off the mix of pain, love, acceptance and longing on the bear’s face. He remained seated for what felt like hours, clutching the mug tightly in his shaking hands. It was only when Kyoji, who was wearing an all-too-understanding expression on his face, came to fetch him that Torahiko left, eyes downcast.