The Royal Strikers

Chapter Thirteen: Prince of Nightmares

TheNewWorldFool: Hello, everybody! How are you all? NewWorldFool and CloudStrife07 coming at ya with a brand new chapter of The Royal Strikers. After various delays including being introduced to Final Fantasy XIV on my end, and now that we're back, HOOOOOO BOY do we have big news to share with you all! Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially playing in the big leagues, because THIS STORY NOW HAS IT'S VERY OWN, OFFICIAL, TVTROPES PAGE!!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!! Big thank you to Gamerbot2000 for putting the TVtropes page together for us. The link to the page can be found in the description on Ao3, my profile on fanfiction dot net, and in the messages/announcements on Wattpad!

CloudStrife07: It's honestly amazing to start seeing all of the different tropes that he have used in this story be listed, even find out about some tropes that we didn't even know about. It's going to be a lot of fun watching this story's TVTropes page continuing to grow as this story continues to be written.

NewWorldFool: Now then, let's talk business for a second. Being an author, albeit of fanfiction rather than any Caldecott Prize winners or whatever other awards books get, the Sendai Arc really spoke to me on a number of levels, for obvious reasons. When I write, I just want to entertain people with whatever comes out of my head, and to be honest, that's why I personally enjoy writing AUs, because thanks to the madness of the multiverse, literally anything goes, all thanks to the question "What If?" For example, in this case it's "What if Goro Akechi and Sumire Yoshizawa, the latter of whom is dating Ren/Joker, joined the events of Persona 5 Strikers, during which they meet the Shadow Operatives and the Investigation Team?" And the crap Natsume pulls in this arc... makes me all kinds of furious.

But that is ultimately irrelevant. We're here to have fun and enjoy a great story! So, on that note, let us start the game!

Chapter Thirteen

Prince of Nightmares

Upon arrival at Aobayama Park, the Phantom Thieves all gathered around to discuss their next course of action. With Sophia confirming that there is a Jail somewhere within Sendai, the group decided that the best way to start looking for the Jail's Monarch would be to check out the more popular sightseeing areas within Sendai.

Fortunately for them, and much more for Yusuke, they were already in the park where the statue of the late Lord Date Masamune stood. As they would search around for potential signs of a Monarch's presence, Yusuke would be given the privilege to witness the One-Eyed Dragon in his eternal glory.

So far, there haven't been any signs of a Monarch anywhere in the park, and it wasn't long before the thieves all found themselves standing before Lord Masamune's statue. The statue looked rather unclear of what material was used to craft it, whether it was made of bronze or silver. However, the fine details of Lord Masamune and the noble steed he rode on were most certainly not something to sneeze at. The muscular physique of the late lord, the careful details of his gusoku armor along with his crescent moon helm, the large katana he kept attached to his left hip, and those ferociously piercing eyes that declared to dominate and conquer all those that dared to stand before him. The late lord stood proudly on his noble steed, ready to lead his army into battle and watch over all of his faithful subjects.

"Oh, so this is the Masamune statue Inari was going on and on about." Futaba said, her eyes glistening with fascination.

"He looks so powerful." Ann added. "I think if he were to go into battle with us, he could cut down Shadows with a single strike of his sword."

Akechi placed his right hand on his chin. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he existed as someone's Persona."

"If someone actually does have a Persona like that, they'd be one terrifying Persona user." Ren added to the conversation. "I have happened to come across quite a few Personas named after historical figures; Yoshitsune being one of them."