Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Saki Konishi was dead. 

That was only the start of it. 

She woke up in a limousine, her ears ringing and a pounding headache settling in behind her eyes. It took a moment for her to adjust to the dim light inside the car. Another moment to adjust to the sensation of her own body, which felt strange and foreign. Another moment to take in the sight of the three people sitting before her - an elderly man with a long, crooked nose, an older woman with platinum-blonde hair and a teenage girl wearing a blue hat. 

“Where am I?” she asked, already knowing that she wouldn’t like the answer.

“You have found yourself in a realm beyond your understanding,” the elderly man said. “My name is Igor, and it is my solemn duty to welcome you to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter…” 

“I’m dead…” Saki said, looking between the three people seated before her. “Aren’t I?” 

“You are neither living, nor dead,” the older woman said. “You currently exist in a state between the two. On the precipice between your world and the afterlife.” 

Saki stared at her lap. She was still wearing her school uniform. “I died. I don’t… remember how, but I definitely died.” 

“It seems you did not keep all your memories when we reconstructed your soul,” Igor mused. “My sincerest apologies. I did my best to keep as many memories as I could, but… the more traumatic ones are harder to maintain.” 

“What happened to my body?” Maybe that was a strange question to ask, but Saki’s mind was racing. If she stopped for even a moment to think about anything else, her reality would sink in. She couldn’t deal with that right now. 

“I asked Margaret to retrieve your body from where it was found,” Igor answered. The older woman nodded curtly. “We are storing it on your behalf.” 

Somewhere in this limousine, they were keeping her body. 

Her body. 

Something sick rose in the back of Saki’s throat. 

“Ms. Konishi, I would like to make you an offer,” Igor said. “Currently, the Velvet Room has two attendants: Margaret and Marie.” He gestured to them; the older woman was Margaret, which meant the younger one was Marie. “With your permission, I would like to make you the third.”

Saki’s throat felt tight. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even breathe. 

“I died,” she repeated. It felt like the only thing she could say, like a stuck record, looping the same thing over and over. “Someone killed me.” 

“Master…” Margaret seemed remarkably calm, like this was something she dealt with every day. Maybe it was. “Perhaps Ms. Konishi would appreciate an explanation of the terms of her contract before she agrees to anything.”

Marie stayed quiet, eyeing Saki suspiciously. 

Igor nodded in agreement, summoning a contract out of thin air. “Should you agree to serve as a Velvet Room Attendant, you would be assisting our Fool along the course of his journey. Additionally, if you are successfully able to uncover the identity of your killer, bringing him to justice and seeking a resolution for his victims, you will be given an opportunity to be resurrected back into your human body.”

“So, you’re holding my body hostage?” Saki snapped, regretting it as soon as the words left her mouth. She doubled over, pressing her forehead into her knees. “Sorry, sorry… I just…” 

God, what was she supposed to do? 

She was just one girl. 

“Ms. Konishi, you misunderstand my motives.” Igor’s voice stayed frustratingly calm. It made Saki want to punch him and cry, probably in that order. “I may be powerful, but I am bound by the rules of the game. There is only so much I can do. The Fool’s Journey must play out, and Sacrifices must be made. I am doing what I can to shift the tides of the story in your favour, but even then, I must work with the parameters I am given.”

“You can’t just give it to me,” Saki concluded. “I have to earn it.”

She could hear the smile in Igor’s voice. “You are a remarkably sharp young woman.”

“Too sharp for my own good, maybe…”

Saki’s head was still spinning on its axis, but the road ahead was beginning to come into focus.

She couldn’t run away from this. 

The thought was both terrifying and liberating. Her whole life, she’d had choices taken out of her hands. She’d been the dutiful daughter, and when that didn’t work and money got tight, she became the family scapegoat. She’d been robbed by the boy she thought was her soulmate, only for him to run away from her when they were supposed to run away together. 

Someone had taken her very life and she had been powerless to stop it. 

“What if I say no?” she asked, lifting her head to look Igor in the eyes. There was something sharp about them, but it wasn’t unkind. “What if I refuse to sign? What happens then?” 

“If you refuse, the contract is voided. You move on to the afterlife, and whatever awaits you. As far as you will be concerned, the story would end there. You will never know if your killer was brought to justice or if he went unpunished. You will have peace, but not closure.” 

Saki’s heart was beating rabbit-fast in her chest, but she didn’t feel like prey under those cold eyes. 

She felt like a predator, staring down another predator. This wasn’t intimidation, but a mutual recognition of strength. Igor understood something about Saki; some secret part that she kept hidden.

Maybe that was why he made her this offer. Maybe that was why he was so sure she’d say yes. What other choice did she have? She sure as hell wasn’t going to roll over and do nothing. Not while her killer was still out there. Not when he could still hurt someone else. 

Igor raised an eyebrow. “Ms. Konishi? Have you come to a final decision? You may take as much time as you need to consider my offer, of course.” 

Saki’s head was still spinning, but she had already made her choice. 

“I’ll sign it,” she said. “Give me the damn pen.”

Igor summoned a feathered quill - pure white and beautiful - which he handed to Saki with a small smile on his face. “Very well, Ms. Konishi. I am honoured to have you as a resident of my Velvet Room.”

Saki scrawled a signature across the bottom of the contract. Once the ink was settled on the paper, she found herself feeling oddly relieved. At least she had an idea of how to move forward. 

Find the Fool. Help him take down her killer. Get her body back. 

It wouldn’t be easy, but Saki was determined.

“The Fool is not due to make his first appearance for a few days,” Igor said. “You may take this time to rest, adjust to the Velvet Room and to explore the TV World. Margaret and Marie will teach you what you need to know. We are here to help you, Ms. Konishi. Though I’m sure you cannot trust us yet, I hope you will grow to trust us with time.” 

Saki managed a jerky nod. “Thank you.” 

Margaret smiled at her warmly and Marie crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. 

Saki wasn’t sure that she’d ever adjust to the Velvet Room, but she’d do her best and hope that was good enough.

Time seemed to move strangely in the Velvet Room. It had supposedly been days since Saki’s death, but it felt like not much time had really passed. As a Velvet Room Attendant, she did not need to eat or sleep, which gave her more than enough time to contemplate her situation. 

It was strange. Though she felt like a different person, sometimes, Saki didn’t look all that different from before. It was like she had been frozen in time on the day that she died. She still wore her school uniform, the same as she had on that day, and her hair still had that subtle wave that she worked so hard to achieve that morning, wrestling with a hair iron in the bathroom while Naoki complained that he needed to shower. 

The only thing that had changed were her eyes, which had shifted from a light brown to a pale golden hue. Apparently, this was a common effect of staying in the Velvet Room for any extended period of time. Margaret’s eyes had taken on a similar golden hue, though more vibrant, and she assured Saki that it was nothing to worry about. 

Marie’s eyes hadn’t changed, though, and she’d been there for longer than Saki. 

There was a lot about Marie that Saki didn’t understand and he had learned that it was easier to not concern herself with those things. 

Her time wasn’t solely spent waiting, though. Margaret had been teaching her about Personas and gave her a copy of the Compendium, which she could use to fight the monsters that roamed the TV World. It was considered a separate tome from the Fool’s Compendium and already contained a few Personas, unlike the Fool’s Compendium, which was blank. Apparently, Margaret had also curated her own Compendium, though that was mostly to better understand the Personas, rather than having any intention of fighting with them. Marie had shared a few of her Skill Cards, which Saki was able to use to improve the Personas listed in her Compendium, reading herself for the moment she’d need to use them.

It was quiet, in this other world. If Saki wasn’t so full of steadfast determination, she was sure the silence would have driven her mad. She’d never been too fond of quiet – associating it with the tense stares and hushed whispers that would follow her around Yasogami. 

Turns out, when people were talking about you, they did their best to not be heard. 

Saki began to wander the TV World after a day or so. It gave her something to do. Something to occupy her frantic mind. Eventually, she found an area that looked like Central Street. Even her parents’ store was there. She had the strangest feeling it would be important, somehow, and started returning time and time again, hoping for…

… something. 

Some clue about her murder, perhaps, or a hint of when she’d finally meet the Fool. 

Of course, she found nothing for the first few days. She almost gave up hope. She would return to the Velvet Room with frustrated tears in her eyes, sure that her efforts were meaningless. 

Then, she heard voices coming from the Twisted Shopping District.

One of which was a familiar voice. 

“I knew it! This is the liquor store Saki-senpai’s parents run!”

She knew that voice. It could only belong to one person. 

What the hell was Hana-chan doing in this world? He was going to get himself hurt, especially with the Shadows roaming about! Saki had to do something, and quickly.

Rounding the corner, Saki lurched to a stop, Compendium in hand, just in time to see Yosuke staggering backwards, losing his footing as a Shadow emerged from the fake liquor store. Behind him was a bear-thing and that silver-haired boy he had introduced her to, the latter of whom immediately moved in front of Yosuke, holding an arm out to shield him from the monsters.

After that, everything happened so quickly. 

Saki was about to call out to them – to let them know she could help – when a Persona card appeared in the silver-haired boy’s hands. There was a bright and brilliant flash of white light. An armored figure – a Persona, Saki realised – appeared behind the boy. He sent down a crackling Zio at one of the Slipping Hableries, knocking it to the ground. Snapped out of her stupor, Saki surged forward, pulling one of her Persona cards from her Compendium.

With the help of La Llorona, Saki was able to down the other Slipping Hablerie using a Zio. From there, the silver-haired boy took a swing at the Shadow with his golf club – why the fuck did he have that? – allowing Saki to finish off the fight with another Zio directed towards the remaining Shadow. 

Her chest heaving and her heart racing, there was only one thought on Saki’s mind as she levelled her glance at the two boys and the bear creature. 

Was he the Fool she was looking for? 

Chapter Text

Saki wasn’t sure how she expected the boys to react to seeing a dead girl. Was there even a right way to react to something like that? If there was, she had no idea what it would have been. 

The bear… thing didn’t seem to know who she was and showed no reaction besides vague interest. 

The silver-haired boy staggered backwards, surprised now that the adrenaline was wearing off, but not especially fearful of Saki, looking at her with more intrigue and confusion than genuine fear.

Yosuke, on the other hand, took one look at Saki, turned on his heels and ran…

… down the street and right into the Twisted Shopping District’s version of Konishi Liquors.

“Damnit!” Saki grabbed the silver-haired boy by his wrist. “We have to go after him! This place is dangerous. He can’t be here!”

“You were dead. Everyone saw your body. How are you…?” 

“I don’t have time for this!” Saki exclaimed, pulling the boy towards the liquor store. Bear-Thing followed after them. “I swear to God, if he acts like this my fault, I’ll literally kill him.” 

“That’s pretty harsh…” Bear-Thing mumbled. 

“Shut up!” Saki snapped. “What the hell are you, anyway?”

“I’m Teddie!” Bear-Thing said. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of mean?” 

“I’m not mean, I’m–” Saki cut herself off. “Look, do you want Hana-chan to die? Because if he meets his Shadow Self, he’ll be the one found hanging from telephone wires. Trust me. It’s happened before.” 

“Shadow Self?” Bear-Thing – Teddie – repeated. “You mean like the Shadows that you and Sensei fought?”

“Worse,” Saki said. “Shadow Selves are manifestations of people’s fears and insecurities. Something that rips at them inside. Something that they would never admit to themselves or anyone else.” 

Silver-Hair looked worried. “And if the individual encounters their Shadow Self…?” 

“If they can’t accept it, the Shadow Self transforms and goes berserk. Hana-chan will die.” 

“What makes you think Yosuke has a Shadow Self?” Silver-Hair asked, as they entered Konishi Liquors. 

“Have you met Hana-chan?” Saki hissed. “Keep your voice down.”

Silver-Hair – she really needed to get his name, when they weren’t about to be dealing with all of Hana-chan’s repressed issues, given form as a great, big, bloodthirsty monster – obliged, following Saki’s lead as they moved through the twisted version of Konishi Liquors. 

The lights were off, making it hard to see through the overturned shelves and stray broken bottles that lined the ground. Distantly, Saki wondered if it was like this because she was dead – if Konishi Liquors had fallen apart without her there to help pay the bills and hold everything together. 

“You’re very different from the last time I met you,” Silver-Hair said, breaking the quiet. 

“Yeah, well, I’m off the clock, aren’t I?” Saki scoffed. “I’m not going to play nice when I don’t have to.” 

Silver-Hair raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, which was fine, because Saki didn’t want to talk anyway.

Saki saw a flash of golden yellow and grabbed Silver-Hair by the collar of his shirt, yanking him behind a shelf. “Stay quiet,” she whispered. “Don’t let him hear you.” On the other side of the aisle, Teddie cowered, curled up in a little bear-shaped huddle. Silver-Hair peered past the edge of the shelf, seeing Yosuke standing next to a mirror version of him with bright, golden eyes. 

“Who the hell are you?” Yosuke’s voice cracked. “What is this place?” 

“I thought you wanted a bit of excitement,” Shadow Yosuke laughed. “Poor Saki, dead on the telephone wires, and all you cared about was having a good time with your new friend. That’s why you wanted to come here, right? To entertain yourself? To have something interesting to do in this shitty, dead-end town?” 

“That’s not true! I love Saki!” Yosuke covered his mouth, mortified at the confession, then steeled his resolve. “I do! I love her! I came here to… to… I wanted to help her get justice!” 

Shadow Yosuke cackled. “Seriously? She died, and all you care about is your own feelings? How selfish can you get?”

“She’s not dead, though!” The desperation in Yosuke’s voice rose with every moment. 

“Nope! And she’d rather be stuck here with monsters like me than go back to the real world with you,” Shadow Yosuke taunted. “That says a lot, doesn’t it?” 

Yosuke’s breathing turned ragged and panicked. “You’re wrong! You’re lying!” 

Shadow Yosuke stepped closer to Yosuke, standing over him. “Truth is, Saki never liked you. And you knew that, didn’t you? But you’re selfish and insecure, so you couldn’t accept it. Changing her schedule so you could work with her, assigning her to stock the same aisles as you, asking her to work the cash registers with you… anything for a second of her time, right?” Shadow Yosuke’s laughter was cold and harsh. “How pathetic can you get?”

“How did you… how did you know about all that?” 

“I know everything about you… because I’m you, Yosuke Hanamura. I know every dark, terrible corner of your heart. I know that a little part of you was glad Saki died, because it meant no one else could ever have her.”

“That’s not true!” Tears welled in Yosuke’s eyes. “You’re lying! I don’t think any of that!” 

Oh no… Saki could sense the power growing in Shadow Yosuke with every denial. 

This was going to be bad. Very bad! 

“I’d never say that about Saki-senpai! I loved her!” Yosuke shouted. “You’re not me, you bastard!” 

Shadow Yosuke began cackling as a bright light enveloped him. “I am the Shadow… the true self. You’ll regret lying to me, Yosuke… lying to yourself…” 

“Damnit, Hana-chan!” Saki grabbed Silver-Hair by the wrist. “We have to fight it! You have your Persona, right? Can you back me up?”

Silver-Hair nodded resolutely, and Saki pulled him out from behind the set of shelves, staring down Shadow Yosuke. “If you want me this badly, come and get me!”

Shadow Yosuke was large enough to knock back shelves, sending bottles crashing to the floor, filling the Twisted Konishi Liquors with the sound of shattering glass and the sharp, lingering smell of alcohol. 

Saki looked up and up and up, eventually meeting the eyes of the Shadow Self’s monstrous form. His bottom half was frog-like, decorated with a grin, permanent grin, while his top half flailed in place uselessly. 

“I’ll kill you first, Saki-senpai…” The Shadow Self’s voice was warped and distant, even though he was mere feet away. “I’ll get to see you die this time… even if I have to kill you myself!”

Silver-Hair was quick to move, summoning his Persona behind him and letting out a cracking Zio, knocking Shadow Yosuke to the floor and allowing him to attack again with a Cleave. Realising the Shadow Yosuke could be handled easily with Electric skills, Saki summoned La Llorona, but before she could attack, Shadow Yosuke blew her and Silver-Hair back with Winds of Oblivion. When Saki regained her footing, she realised that Shadow Yosuke was powering himself up with a Power Charge.

Damnit… 

“Take him out before he kills us both!” she called out, powering up Silver-Hair with a Tarukaja and praying that would be enough. Thankfully, it was, and Shadow Yosuke was thrown backwards, hitting the wall with a heavy thud and collapsing into a defeated heap before returning to his humanoid form in a burst of light.

Saki knew that accepting a Shadow Self was the only way to get it to leave you alone for good. Yosuke didn’t seem in any condition to do that, though. In fact, he seemed downright catatonic, huddled up in a little ball next to Teddie, his arms up around his head and his whole body shaking.

“Yosuke!” Saki managed to pull his arms away from his head, with Yosuke offering little resistance. “Yosuke, you have to listen.” 

“We never should have come here,” Yosuke mumbled. “This was a mistake. This was all a mistake… you’re supposed to be dead. You can’t be real. None of this is real. This is just a bad dream… and I’ll wake up, and you’ll be gone again.” 

“I am real, Hana-chan,” Saki said. “Maybe a little… worse for wear, but I am real.” 

“... was he right?” 

“What?” 

“Do you hate me?” Yosuke asked. “Did you… wake up here and think at least I won’t have to see him again?” 

Saki couldn’t hold back the disgust that painted itself across her face. “Seriously? I got murdered and you think you were the first person I thought about?” 

“... it sounds bad when you put it like that,” muttered Yosuke, at least having the decency to seem ashamed. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t blame you if you did hate me.”  

“I don’t hate you, Hana-chan. I never hated you. Not really. I thought you were kind of annoying, but…” Saki already felt like she was fucking this up. Her gaze flicked over to Shadow Yosuke, who was staring at her with wide, yellow eyes. She had to get this right, or the Shadow Self would go berserk again. “I knew you liked me, and that was fucking weird.”

“... it was?” 

“Of course it was! I mean, you were my manager's son, so I couldn’t exactly reject you. I had to play nice all the time, and it was exhausting.” 

Yosuke seemed to understand that much. “I would have listened, if you rejected me…” 

“Would you? Really? Or would you have kept going after me?”

The shame on Yosuke’s face was obvious. “Saki-senpai…” 

“Look, I had a boyfriend the whole time I knew you, but I couldn’t say anything because I knew you’d freak out about it, and I needed that job at JUNES. It was the only thing that paid our bills. Not that my parents ever understood…” Saki shook her head. “I’ve had a lot of time to think, the last couple days. About you and…” 

“I think I understand,” Yosuke said. “I was so sure you’d eventually like me if I just… kept on trying. You were the first person – the first girl – to be nice to me when I moved here, and I just… latched onto that, I guess. That bastard was right…” 

“He’s just a part of you,” Saki said, offering a hand to him. “A terrible, ugly part, but only a part.”

Taking that hand, Yosuke rose to his feet and looked over to his Shadow Self. “I hate that you’re a part of me, but… I guess denying that isn’t helping either of us. When you get down to it, all of this terrible shit is a part of me, so… you’re a part of me.”

Saki watched as Shadow Yosuke dissipated into a Persona, settling in Yosuke’s chest. Suddenly, Yosuke’s knees went weak underneath him, and he fell to his knees, doubling forward and trying to steady his heaving breaths.

“I– I’m exhausted,” he muttered. “Fuck. I’m so exhausted.” 

“We should leave this place,” Silver-Hair said. “Konishi, could you show us to the exit?” 

“Yeah, I can do that,” Saki said. “I can’t come with you, so make sure Hana-chan gets home for me, okay?.” 

Silver-Hair nodded, moving to put Yosuke’s arm around his shoulder and bracing the rest of his weight, lifting him to his feet. “Will do. Thank you, for everything.”

As they started the journey back from the Twisted Konishi Liquors, Teddie handed Silver-Hair and Yosuke a pair of glasses each, which would help them see in the fog of the TV World. Saki hadn’t known there was fog – perhaps her golden eyes had given her the ability to see through it? 

Once they were closer to the Central Hub, Saki spoke up. “Before you leave… I have a favour to ask.” 

Silver-Hair raised his eyebrow. “Yes?” 

“Have you met Igor yet?” 

“Once,” Silver-Hair said. “He said my journey would begin soon… I assume that this is the beginning he was talking about.” 

“That’s right,” Saki said. “After I died, Igor offered me a deal – if I help you find my killer, I get my body back. If I want justice, I need your help.”

Silver-Hair’s eyes were achingly kind. “I can do that. Anything you need, Konishi. I want to fix this just as much as you do.” 

Saki didn’t doubt his words for even a second.

Thou art I… and I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Sacrifice Arcana…

Sacrifice Rank 1!

“One last thing… what’s your name?” 

Silver-Hair blinked. “You don’t remember?” 

“A lot of things have happened since we were introduced,” Saki pointed out. 

“Ah… fair.” Silver-Hair held out a hand. “Yu Narukami.”

Saki shook his hand. “Saki Konishi, but you knew that.”

Escorting Yu and Yosuke to the exit of the TV World, Saki felt an odd sense of… relief. She finally had a way forward. Things could only get better from here, right?

“Uhhh… Saki-chan?” 

Right the Bear-Thing… urgh…

“Why are you still here?” Saki snapped. “Go back to… wherever you came from.” 

“... I live here?” Teddie said. “This is my home! It’s your home too now, right? Does that make us neighbors?” 

Saki made a face and stormed off to the Velvet Room’s door, despite Teddie’s protests.