Hello everyone, I know many of my followers will probably be annoyed with me starting a new story but it is just an idea that wouldn't leave my head.

Anyway, just so everyone knows, I've only actually read the first light novel for Campione so far but I just felt I had to start this so I decided to simply start it here.

The story starts between the first and second volumes of Campione and not long after the end of Persona 4: the Golden.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this introductory chapter, I was originally aiming to write about 5k words but it just didn't feel right to stop it anywhere else.

Well, disclaimer time.

I Do Not Own The Rights To Either Intellectual Property Contained Within This Free Access Fanfiction

Narukami Yū could do little more than open his eyes upon hearing his alarm clock go off.

He had failed to get a decent night's sleep because of one simple fact… he was starting at yet another new school this year.

Jounan academy was apparently one of the top schools in Tokyo and had required an entrance exam to gain admittance… he had apparently gained a perfect score on it so it was only natural that he would be accepted.

What caused him to lose sleep however was simple.

The previous year of his life.

He had met so many great friends, had learned the love of a younger sister (technically she was his cousin but that was a moot point), had helped save others and had gained the power to fight with beings beyond human ability.

He was pretty sure this new year was probably going to be much less enjoyable than his last one.

Especially given how the climax of his time in Inaba was killing a deity… it also didn't help that he just knew doing so had changed him in some fundamental way he couldn't quite pin down.

Finally getting himself out of his reminiscence he let his hand gently tap the alarm clock beside his bed, he had never been the sort to strike out at it when he woke up so that was perfectly natural.

So it was with bleary eyes that he proceeded to rise from his bed and prepare himself for the day, starting off with a quick shower before heading downstairs to where most parents would greet their children, the kitchen.

It was no surprise to Yū that no one was there to greet him. Even though he lived with his parents, they both tended to work long hours and rarely spent any time with him outside of their days off.

It reminded him of the time when both Uncle Dojima and Nanako-chan where in hospital… he never got used to it after that happened.

Letting out a sigh he quietly made himself some breakfast, it wasn't good to start the day on an empty stomach after all and he was a pretty good cook if everyones reactions to his bento's was anything to go by.

He at least had the simple satisfaction of knowing that he would NEVER be capable of the 'curry' Yukiko and Chie had made during the camping trip (or as Yosuke liked to call it, 'mystery food X').

That thought brought a sad smile to his face. It hadn't even been a week and he already missed his friends in Inaba so much that it hurt. All of his first true bonds had been made there, until then he was always just 'the quiet transfer student' that nobody paid any real attention to, but there he was someone important in the lives of those he met.

He hoped that this school would be similar but he knew from experience that city schools like this weren't nearly as kind to transfers as Yasogami High.

Idly looking at the clock he noted that he still had forty minutes till school started, if he walked it would probably take between one and two hours and if he took the train he would probably take half an hour, including his time to get to the station, wait for the train and get to school from the station at the other end.

Thankfully he would do any of them, it was one of the reasons he was so happy when Uncle Dojima had sent his old scooter over via a specialized courier.

With it the journey would probably only take ten minutes, fifteen if he hit bad traffic, but he would still give himself twenty just to be safe.

He didn't like being late for school at the best of times, let alone on his first day.

That still gave him plenty of time to finish getting ready, even if all he had to do was finish his breakfast and pick up his bag of school supplies.

A couple of slices of toast and a couple of sunny side up eggs were more than enough to give him the energy he needed for the morning, then he'd have his bento during lunch and maybe he might make some acquaintances… he doubted he would really be prepared to use the term 'friend' as loosely as he used to after last year.

Not now that he knew what true friendship was.

To him that word was now meant that the person was truly important to him and he was truly important to them, that they were someone that wasn't going to do something like forget about him and he wouldn't forget about them.

In a good way of course.

He knew some people he wouldn't forget, not because they were his friends but because they were monsters, Adachi was the prime example of that, someone who committed two murders before orchestrating the attempted murders of six others… for amusement.

That had been what really got him angry, the bastard hadn't done it for some misguided, higher purpose or sense of righteousness like Namatame who thought he was saving the victims by putting them somewhere the killer couldn't reach them, for that Yū could understand the disgraced politician… but to put others in danger for amusement just made him so angry it took every bit of his willpower to not kill the man there and then.

But he didn't kill him, doing that would've made him little more than a murderer, something he refused to become.

Sure he knew that there would probably be plenty of people out there that would agree with that 'type of justice' but he didn't think it was right to think like that, not after seeing how hard his Uncle had worked to try and bring the murders and kidnappings to a close.

Even if the police couldn't catch the culprit because he was hiding in another reality, it didn't change the fact that they tried their hardest to try and figure out the impossible case and were more than prepared to put the effort in to make sure the culprit was brought to justice.

Because he believed in the law.

Sure he didn't believe in all law enforcers, the situation with Adachi had shown him that even among the police there were monsters that felt no such thing as compassion or remorse… but he believed in the law and those that truly wished to uphold it.

And outside of their little stints into the TV world and owning deadly weapons that they used to fight shadows… the investigation team had all been law abiding citizens, though technically Naoto's gun was legally owned by her despite her age and she was legally allowed to chase criminals due to her occupation so she wasn't breaking any laws at all when they went into the TV world.

Sure he'd have preferred it if they hadn't needed to break any laws at all but between breaking the law and letting someone die he would choose to break the law and face the consequences once everything was settled.

Though admittedly, the laws didn't account for the supernatural so he did feel that there was a bit more leeway than normal given the circumstances… something Naoto seemed to agree with.

Shaking his head he let his eyes wander back to the clock and noting that he didn't have long to go before he planned on leaving, he decided that it was probably best if he arrived early anyway.

Sometimes it sucked being a transfer student.

XXX XXX XXX

"Who's the new guy?"

"Maybe it's the new transfer student I heard about?"

"What? Another transfer?"

"Yeah, apparently this one's a third year."

"Hm, he's kinda cute."

Yū found himself blocking out the rumours he could heard spouting from the mouths of the other students at the gate when he proceeded to park his scooter and secure it properly, something he didn't have to do in Inaba, the small community there wasn't the sort that a theft like that would happen so he only really had to make sure it was parked and had he had the keys on him.

Tokyo on the other hand was a completely different beast and he knew it, so he wasn't going to take any chances and was going to properly secure it to the best of his ability.

Given that that included a little Rakukaja and tetrakarn and it was actually probably the only thing that would survive if a nuclear bomb was suddenly dropped on the city.

Well, not really, but it probably would if he had used something like makarakarn instead.

That was something that made it clear to him that defeating Izanami had done something to him, that he was finding it not just possible, but effortless to cast Persona abilities in the real world, something he thought he wouldn't be capable of doing after slaying the goddess, let alone cast them without even summoning them.

But he was somehow managing to do just that, as if the fog that made calling the incarnations of his mind forth easier was still there… and he was pretty sure he had at least a hundred times more raw power to use for his spells given how little they cost for him to use right now.

For example, tetrakarn, an ability that used to cost him about a tenth of his power was now costing him so little it didn't even register in the grand scheme of things.

Honestly, it slightly worried him.

But he hadn't told the rest of the investigation team about it because despite how worrying it seemed to him, he didn't want to give them a reason to worry as well when he had literally left Inaba that very same day.

Honestly the only clue he believed he had about what had happened to him was a flash of pink and what he guessed was motherly love, but he had no idea what either of those actually meant towards his current situation.

But his instincts were telling him that they were related, the same instincts that made him feel that something was off when Kubo Mitsuo admitted to being the murderer, that told him to seek the truth when Namatame was in hospital, that directed him to suspect Adachi and finally… that led him to Izanami.

He hadn't realised it until after he left, just how much his instincts had helped him, from attempting to put his hand into the TV, to co-operating with Teddie, to interacting with his peers and allowing him to overcome a Goddess.

There was no doubt in his mind now that his instincts were probably his greatest strength and those instincts told him that the flash of pink and motherly affection was important.

"Good morning," he stated to the receptionist as he finally walked into the entrance of the school, "my name I Narukami Yū, I'm supposed to be transferring here today."

The receptionist took one look at him and gave him an affronted look, "I believe it was sent out in the brochure that dyed hair is not acceptable dress code."

Yū wasn't surprised at that greeting, he knew it very well from having read the pamphlet that dyed hair wasn't allowed in the school.

It was one of the reasons he had decided to bring his medical certificate.

"Please have a read of this before making your judgement on my hair colour," he requested of her in a polite tone of voice, indicating that he was being sincere instead of simply pompous.

The receptionist took the certificate in what he could only describe as a professional manner before having a quick read over it before her eyes widened.

"Oh, my apologies Narukami-san, I meant no offense by my accusation," she stated apologetically as she handed his certificate back, earning a soft smile off the grey haired teen.

"It's not a problem, you certainly are not the first to mistake my condition for dye," he stated with a smile. Honestly he didn't have a problem with the truth of the matter, that he inherited genes for premature greying on his mother's side, though he supposed Uncle Dojima was lucky and managed to avoid that gene.

He always did think his mothers hair was probably some of the most beautiful he had ever seen though, which is why he didn't mind being naturally grey at such a young age.

"Well Narukami-san, according to the class roster you are in class three two," she started, earning a smile off the teen.

"Let me guess, third floor, third door on the right?" he asked with a wry smile, earning a couple of blinks of surprise off the woman.

"Yes, how did you know?" her question was clearly based around her belief that he would need at least some form of guidance, possibly because new students would expect it to be different but then again, he wasn't most transfer students.

"I've been transferred to five different schools in the past six years because of my parents jobs, and most have the same basic layout," he admitted with a smile, earning a look of understanding on the woman's features.

Clearly she understood exactly what he meant.

"Well then, you'd better get on your way, homeroom starts in five minutes and the teacher will need to introduce you to the rest of the class," the smile on her face was clearly not happy, but it was also clearly genuine. He could tell that she felt genuinely sorry for him but it clearly wasn't pity, if he had to guess, he would say she didn't like the fact that someone as young as him had already been forced to move so many times.

Then again, he had hated this latest move more than all the others combined.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit, class was just as dull as ever… if not even worse courtesy of his time at Yasogami high… at least there there were teachers with personality, even if some of them were horrible.

Like Morooka and his obsession with preaching in a way that made everyone want to go against what he was saying, or Kashiwagi who always looked like she was trying to seduce every boy in the class.

Well, it wasn't that she looked like she was trying to seduce every boy in class… it was that she was trying to seduce every boy in the class.

Honestly if it wasn't for that and her degrading way of talking about other women, then she probably would've been a rather popular teacher, she certainly was attractive enough after all.

But when she is so aggressively forward and outright mean at the same time… well she put everyone in class off her incredibly quickly.

Well, all except Hanako but then again, Hanako had a similar reputation… but without the good looks to back it up.

Still, at least lunch break was here and he had to admit that he was looking forward to getting his home cooked meal, the only question was where to eat it?

The cafeteria seemed like the typical choice, sure Yasogami didn't have one but then again, that was a very different type of school to the large city ones like the one he was in now.

He could also stay in class and socialise with his peers, sure they certainly wouldn't do anything concerning his social links since he had already maxed all the possible arcana he had found in Inaba and gained the world arcana, but it would be nice to make new acquaintances.

But what he really wanted to do was eat his food on the roof.

It wasn't because it would be fresh air up there, he was in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.

It wasn't because it would have a good view, like before, it was in one of the largest cities in the world so all he'd really get outside of skyscrapers would be whatever was on campus.

He wanted to do it because that was where the team always met during school hours back in Inaba.

It didn't matter to him how he was living in the past, it was a very recent past after all and he was sure that despite how much it hurt right now he would eventually get used to it.

Plus it wasn't like they were never going to see each other again.

The fact that they all still had each other's mobile phone numbers meant they could easily keep in touch whenever they wanted.

It was just hard to go from meeting with them practically every day, to not seeing them at all.

What he didn't expect was to open the door to the roof to the particular sight he was greeted by.

The teenage boy was perfectly normal. The seriously dark haired brunette with hair framing her face courtesy of a pair of white bands wasn't particularly strange either. Nor was the younger brunette with two pink hair bands.

No, what was strange was the blonde girl that was clearly European and was currently latched onto the boy like a limpet while trying to feed him with a much too innocent expression.

The fact that the boy was obviously uncomfortable with her attention and the other two were currently glaring at them made the scene complete.

"Kusanagi-san! Please! Do not give in to that woman!" the dark haired girl pleaded, though Yū noted that she didn't sound even remotely heartbroken, so it was unlikely the boy had been double dating… so that probably meant there was some history between her and the blonde that made her want to protect the boy from her.

"Onii-chan…" the younger of the girls however growled out something completely different, indicating to him that she was probably the boy's younger sister and didn't like the way he and the blonde interacting.

What he couldn't understand was why she sound so angry at him when it was obviously the blonde that was being a shameless flirt.

Shaking his head, he tore his eyes from the ridiculous scene and looked for somewhere to sit. Thankfully, since the school was so big, it had far more room on the roof than Yasogami did, which meant he had no trouble finding somewhere to sit.

What did catch his attention though was when the dark haired girl turned her head away from the blonde and the boy… not because she moved, but because of her expression when her eyes met his.

Fear.

It was not what he felt, all he felt was confusion at seeing such an expression appear on a girls face simply because she looked at him.

It didn't make sense.

He couldn't recall ever meeting this girl before and even if he had, he wasn't the sort to hurt people so she shouldn't be scared of him.

So why was she?

Did he remind her of someone she knew? If so, what sort of horror had this person done to her to make her look at him in horror.

"Hey? Mariya-san? Are you alright?" he heard the boy call out, snapping the girl out of her catatonic state as she averted her gaze from his.

"Y-yes, Kusanagi-san," she responded weakly before continuing, "he just reminded me of someone I once met."

"Anyone in particular?" the blonde asked in a tone that sounded flippant but Yū could hear the underlying seriousness of the statement. Apparently whatever the brunette had been reminded of was a serious matter.

"Sasha Dejanstahl Voban," while he may have finally sat down, the grey haired teen hadn't taken his eyes off the people that had originally drawn his attention, even as he opened his bento to get at the homemade meal within.

Thus he didn't miss how both the boy and the blonde tensed and gained grim expressions, however the fact that the girl with the pink hair bands seemed completely lost about what the other three were talking about told him everything he needed to know.

They were in on a secret she wasn't and were trying to keep it that way.

Eating his meal, the newly transferred third year now knew one thing.

This year may not be so dull after all.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit that he planned on trying to find these three who seemed to be in on some secret.

However it was clear that whatever was going on, they had decided to leave as soon as possible, which in turn made finding them an almost impossible task in a city the size of Tokyo.

So he didn't try.

Instead he simply got on his scooter and drove off.

The problem was that he didn't want to go home yet, so what else could he do.

Ah, of course, he could go and watch a movie.

With his mind made up, he proceeded to travel towards the only cinema he knew the location of in Tokyo, ready to spend an evening watching whatever new release had come out.

XXX XXX XXX

"Are you sure?" a rather scruffy looking man with dark hair and rectangular glasses, dressed in a cheap suit asked Mariya Yuri as she sat in seiza position at her temple, her heart beating faster than normal due to the horrific circumstances.

A Heretic God was one thing to have rampaging in the city but to have two Campione in the same school as each other was another all together.

"Yes, he was definitely a Campione," she stated with the poise and dignity someone of her station was expected to possess despite her current unease.

"Do you know anything else about him?" the scruffy man inquired, unlike her, he seemed to be completely unaffected by the news, then again, he wasn't exactly normal at the best of times.

"Only his hair colour and that he looks to be around eighteen years old," she admitted, as she thought back on what she had seen of him.

That stare that she couldn't read, that complete lack of reaction towards Voban's name… she was certain he was either extremely powerful or extremely arrogant if he could dismiss that man's name so easily.

It was likely arrogance from becoming a Campione.

But an arrogant Campione is still a Campione and so far beyond human capabilities that a fly is closer to matching a human than a human is to matching a Campione.

Well, outside of a few notable exceptions anyway.

But even these exceptions were still little more than wasps to a Campione and they were few and far between, let alone numerous enough to be a danger to one.

"Well, let's see…" the dark haired man muttered as he looked at something on his phone, "ah, I think this person fits your description."

And so he showed the Hime-miko the profile that he had managed to get sent to his phone.

"Yes, that's him," she stated with utmost confidence, earning a small frown off the man.

"Name, Narukami Yū, age, eighteen, previous school, Yasogami High, Inaba," the man started listing off, "top of his year in exams, the star of the basketball team, member of the drama club, took three part time jobs, caretaker at the local kindergarten, janitor at the local hospital and private tutor to a middle school boy… also very social, an overachiever if I ever saw one."

"You don't look happy about that," Mariya stated calmly, honestly what she had just heard sounded like a rather reliable person, she just hoped he hadn't let his power go to his head.

"The problem is that he came from Inaba," the bespectacled man stated calmly, earning a look of confusion from the teenage girl, "last year there were three murders and five kidnappings there."

"That's horrible," Yuri stated in disgust at the facts she had just been told.

"The thing is, that the culprit was eventually apprehended but the method he used to commit the murders is still a mystery," he admitted easily, "we always thought it was just some random serial killer but now, knowing that this boy is a Campione… it's put some doubt in my mind about the credibility of that assumption."

"You think he may have used his power to do such things?" she asked him with a fear of the unknown Campione once more stirring in her blood.

"Maybe, or maybe the incident was caused by the God he killed," the messy haired adult said with a shrug, "it could even be that I'm looking too far into it and it was just some random serial killer with no abilities."

And thus the two went back to silence.

"Are you going to contact Narukami-san and see what organisations he has had contact with?" Mariya asked him seriously, after all, whenever a heretic god descended on the world there was always an organisation that noted their presence and while the History Compilation Committee may be the largest one in Japan, it certainly wasn't the only one.

And a Campione could possibly keep themselves under the radar through fear if they tried, especially against a smaller organisation.

After all, in a contest of angering all the worlds mages or angering a single Campione, the answer was always clear.

You anger the mages.

"I'll take to the chief first, see what she says," the bespectacled man stated calmly as he pulled out his phone and started pressing the screen to get his boss on the line, "with Kusanagi-san we chose you because of your relationship with his sister and because you attend the same school as him."

"For Narukami-san, we don't have any 'ins' like your connection to his sister, so it's probably better for a higher up to to see him, it's possible that she'll go and meet with him directly," and with a couple more presses he had finally finished getting his phone ready.

"I see," and so she waited for the man to update his superior and decide what his organisation would do next.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit, it was nice to watch a movie every now and then.

Even if it was so much better going with a friend.

Of course, the movie had finished over an hour ago and he had returned home after getting some fried chicken.

He was actually rather happy his parents didn't spend much time at home, it meant that he had the whole apartment to himself during most of his stay, which in turn meant he could do whatever homework he had in the lounge without any actual distractions.

Which was exactly what he was doing right now.

Pretty much every subject was so easy that he barely had to think about the answers, then again with his knowledge base and ability to understand things easily, it would be a bigger surprise if he struggled at his homework.

It was also a surprise when the doorbell rang at around half nine, making the grey haired teen look up from giving his work a final look over before he rose from his seat and switched to a persona with null sleep, just in case he met anyone that tried to knock him out.

What greeted him upon opening the door was someone about his age, with shoulder length red hair and a serious expression on her face.

"Narukami Yū-sama," immediately the transfer student knew something wasn't right, nobody referred to him in such a respectful tone, "my name is Sayanomiya Kaoru and I am here on behalf of the History Compilation Committee."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in whatever you're selling," he responded calmly as he prepared himself to close the door.

"I'm not here to sell anything," her response seemed almost annoyed but he barely noticed it, meaning they were hiding it rather well, "I'm here to ask you about certain event's that my organisation believes you have been involved in."

Yū found himself raising an eyebrow at this persons tone and the way they talked about knowing something to do with him.

"And what sort of events are you planning on asking about?" he asked, curious as to what he was dealing with right now.

"Event's that we believe may have occurred in Inaba," at that statement, Yū knew this wasn't just some salesperson, if they knew about him living in Inaba then it was likely that their organisation really was a genuine thing.

"Alright," the grey haired teen stated with a sigh, "why don't you come in."

"Thank you for your time Narukami-sama," he found himself once again wondering why this person was talking to him with such a honourable suffix but decided to ignore it in favour of one simple question that popped into his mind.

"Can I ask a question without you taking offence at it?" he asked, earning a nod off the person as they passed him.

"It's about my gender isn't it," the knowing way Sayanomiya said that sentence made it clear it was a normal occurrence.

"You are a girl aren't you?" he could see a small hint of surprise flash across their face before it was buried as if it had never been there to begin with, the sheer speed and efficiency with which the person did it let him know he was dealing with someone that was good at hiding their intentions.

"I'm surprised, most people ask if I'm a boy," the redhead said calmly, "but yes, I am a girl. I am curious as to how you realised so quickly."

"Back at my previous school I had a good friend who dressed as a boy and you reminded me of her," he didn't see any real point in keeping that fact away, it wasn't like it was going to make any difference to whatever this person wanted.

"I see," the woman responded, clearly understanding his belief that she was a woman now that he had told her.

Closing the door and turning around to face the woman he was surprised to see her standing next to a sofa without moving to take a seat.

"Feel free to take a seat, do you want any tea?" he asked her pleasantly, earning a much larger look of surprise off her, "is something wrong?"

As soon as he asked the look was gone and the calm and collected individual from before was once more looking back at him.

"My apologies, I was simply unprepared to be asked such a question," her tone was firm and completely calm as she explained her shock away so easily, "but, no thank you, I do not wish to inconvenience you."

Yū found himself frowning at her reason for turning down a cup of tea but decided to ignore it, the way this woman had been talking ever since she arrived had been incredibly formal so he supposed there was some rather important reason this organisation wanted to speak to him.

"So tell me," he decided to ask lightly as he took a seat facing the androgynous female, "what is the History Compilation Committee?"

"We are an organisation whose main purpose is to monitor and ensure that all supernatural activity in Japan is kept secret from the public."

Yū found himself frozen to the spot.

An organisation that deals with the supernatural and keeps it a secret from the public?

"And if you really are part of some organisation that deals with things like that, why have you come to me?" he really didn't know what to do right now, he thought only the rest of the investigation team actually knew about there being supernatural events going on in Inaba, but was he wrong?

"Because one of our associates at Jounan academy confirmed that you are a Campione," she stated with her usual air of calmness, "a God slayer."

Now he knew this wasn't a prank.

There was no way anyone would use such a ridiculous line if they were trying to pull a prank after all.

They would probably try and pull a Harry Potter and say 'you're a wizard Yū,' or something like that, but to say that he had killed a god meant that they actually knew such a thing was possible… though not necessarily permanent.

"How?" he didn't need to say anymore, the mere fact that he could be identified as having killed a god meant that they had some way of telling and he wanted to know what it was.

"There are some Hime-Miko with a skill known as spirit vision, I myself possess some skill in it, though the person that saw you possesses an unrivalled talent in the art, thus she was capable of identifying your nature on sight without trying," she informed him, making Yū nod his head in acknowledgement.

"So, why are you here? I'm not going to talk about things like that with those that aren't in the know so we shouldn't have any conflict right?" he asked, earning a furrowing of the redhead's brow.

"Tell me, am I the first member of a mages association you've been approached by?" Kaoru asked him earning a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"That doesn't' make any sense," her expression went from serious to obviously concerned upon hearing that piece of information, "if a Heretic God descended to the world then they should've been picked up by at least one association."

"I don't know about Heretic, but the deity I killed did split herself into four pieces and focus her power on creating and maintaining another world, accessible via TV's," he decided to try and help her out, apparently what he said made things fit into place for her as she let out a sigh of acknowledgement.

"Yes, I guess that could explain why we didn't pick up on it," she gave a nod and then decided to ask one simple question, "so what was the name of the God you killed?"

"Izanami-no-Okami," he could see shock appear on the redhead's face once more and it stayed there longer than before but was eventually squashed down by her calm demeanour.

"Well, I wasn't expecting your first god to be one like that," she admitted seriously, earning a small laugh off the male.

"Yeah and I wasn't expecting to meet a god but I did," he admitted with a shrug, earning a small smile off Sayanomiya.

"Well, I suppose it is my responsibility to let you know just what sort of position you're in right now," the HCC representative stated, causing Yū to raise his palm as a sign to wait.

"I don't know much but I do have a question before you start explaining things to me," he decided to ask, "do you have to talk so formally?"

"Does it displease you?" her response was measured and he found himself simply letting out a sigh at the way she said it.

"Well, no but I would feel more comfortable if you weren't quite so… formal," he admitted only to blink in surprise upon hearing a sigh of relief.

"I see, that's good, acting like that's a right pain in the ass," everything about her suddenly changed, her expression went from serious to relaxed, her posture went from rigid to loose, her tone went from no-nonsense to easygoing, all in all it was as if he was now talking to another person.

"So, since we're going to be more casual now, do you want any tea?" he decided to ask again, wondering if she had simply turned down his previous offer out of some need to appear completely serious about the subject at hand.

"Nah, it wouldn't feel right to have a King serve me tea," the flippant way she made her statement caught the grey haired boy off guard as he processed exactly what she said.

"Wait, what do you mean 'King'?" he asked cautiously, earning a grin off her in response.

"Exactly that, since no one can stand up to a Campione, it's accepted that they are the highest authorities in the world, higher than any government or corporation," the redhead told him with a grin, "makes me happy to know that you're a decent guy."

Yū found himself frowning at that, so these people just accepted Campione as a higher authority than them without even trying to fight back?

"But surely one person can't stand against an entire country," he said with conviction in his tone, earning a sad smile from the representative.

"The last time people tried to fight against a Campione… an army of fifty thousand was slaughtered in less than an hour and the Campione left without a single scratch… that was over one hundred years ago," the way she said it made it clear to him that she wasn't exaggerating the numbers, that an army of fifty thousand really was annihilated by a single person.

And he apparently held that sort of power.

"There are only two things that can fight a Campione," she didn't get a chance to finish her statement as he already predicted it.

"Gods and other Campione… right?" the nod of acknowledgement he received was completely expected given what he had just learned.

"Yeah, I'll admit, most Campione are the type of people you want to stay out of the way of but aren't particularly bad," the woman told him calmly, "there is only really one exception but he's considered to be the oldest and strongest Campione out of them all so fighting him is a foolish endeavour, even for another Campione."

"I see… so what else can you tell me about Campione in general?" he definitely needed knowledge if he wanted to understand his current position, that was one of the things that truly made itself clear in his mind.

"Well, their bodies are much stronger than a normal human's, they are quicker to heal and the most important part, the bit that puts them so far beyond regular mages… is the authorities they have usurped," her words made him furrow his brow at using the word 'authorities' in that sentence, "we call the magic of the Gods 'authorities', since it is a natural part of their nature and they don't need to learn anything to use them… the same applies to the Campione that usurped their authorities."

That made him think, what was he capable of doing if he wanted to? These 'authorities' were supposedly something that came naturally to anyone that held them so why hadn't he noticed these abilities before?

He decided to focus inwards, looking at his personae, only to stop focusing on them for once and instead looking for anything else within him that could possibly count as one of these usurped abilities.

A thick fog, a thousand curses, a storm of lightning, eyes that could reduce even the strongest of humans to within an inch of their life… all in all, he could now see every ability he had faced when fighting Izanami.

Which meant they had always been there within him, somewhere he never thought to look, like he had gained another heart, it was something that was obvious when you looked for it but wasn't noticeable if you didn't even consider its existence.

And he knew how to enact them all.

It was no wonder these mages were scared of Campione, using any of those powers would put him beyond practically every human around.

Hell, if it hadn't been for Izanami taking the group so easily to begin with and him unlocking his ultimate persona, which just so happened to be designed to defeat her and he was certain they would've lost badly.

They almost had even when she hadn't been taking them seriously.

"I see… I never thought about anything like that so I never noticed," he decided to let her know about his lack of consideration about his own power.

Even if his power did explain how he could use his personae without the fog.

Because he wasn't.

It now made sense, since he was now the source of the fog, all of his personae was constantly under its effects and therefore just as effortless to summon as they had been in the midnight channel.

"So, is there anything else I need to know?" he asked calmly, sure he may have been getting some rather unexpected surprises just now but he was more than capable of handling a lot more.

"That you're not the only Campione in Japan," that was to be expected, for her to have so much information on the people who killed gods there clearly had to be more than just him, "and it just so happens that the other one goes to the same school as you."

Yū had to raise an eyebrow at that information, he hadn't expected there to be another one so close to him.

"And how many Campione are there in the world?" he wondered just how high the number actually was for two such people to learn at the same school.

"Including yourself… there are currently eight known Campione in the world," the shrug she gave at that information made him blink, he had expected there to be more than that but quickly shook his head.

"There is one other thing," the redhead started, making him look at her rather calmly, "while you're now considered a King, there is one thing that the people expect of you… you are to slay any Heretic Gods that descend on the world."

"Huh? Sorry, but can you explain what you mean by Heretic God?" he definitely needed an explanation for that one, that much was for certain.

"Alright, how's the best way to put this… Gods come from myths and legends right?" he nodded, wondering exactly why she was trying to dumb it down for him, "well, these myths and legends are an actual place… well, not actually a place but…"

"A metaphysical area that exists within the collective human psyche?" he decided to have a shot at guessing exactly what she meant and given how myths and legends tend to be told by people… well he thought it would only be natural that if they existed anywhere it was probably linked to human conscious.

"Yeah, that's right," the smile she wore when she said that made it clear that she hadn't expected him to get it, much less on such a small amount of information, "anyway, sometimes Gods will grow tired of their legends and manifest in the real world, when they do they bring calamity, like how if a God of the ocean appears, there will be massive floods."

Yū nodded at that, she didn't really need to explain anymore but there was one thing he wanted to make clear.

"Alright, I understand what you're asking of me and I will help you deal with these Heretic Gods if they show up and cause harm to people," the emphasis he put on the word and made the redhead blink and look at him questioningly, "I told you before tha Izanami split herself into four pieces right? Well one of those pieces was left in the form of a human with no memory of anything except language."

"She became someone very close to me and then when she finally remembered her purpose and what she was… she tried to die to protect me, my friends and the rest of the world from her power running awry," he explained, earning a look of shock off the representative, "we managed to stop her and she continued to live on until we defeated Izanami."

"She left the world to learn how to control the power that she was forced to house when the other parts of her were defeated," he explained, noting the look of shock on the redheads face, "if a god like her, who just wants to live a normal life appears, I won't kill them, no matter how much anyone tries to make me."

"I understand, honestly I'm finding what you're saying really hard to believe but I won't argue with you since I wasn't there," she said with a shrug, earning a snort of amusement off the persona user.

"So do you have anything else you need to tell me?" he asked, earning another shrug off the representative.

"Nothing of vital importance that can't wait for another day," she said with a wry grin, "besides, surely all work and no play isn't any way to live," the way she nodded towards his homework that was strewn across the table, earning a shrug off the greying teen.

"I went to the local cinema and got some KFC before coming back so it's barely taken me an hour to do this," he informed her casually, earning a few blinks of surprise in return.

"Really? Damn, you must work fast," she admitted with a hint of disbelief in her tone.

"There was a reason I was the top of my year in my previous schools," the wry grin he wore when he said that only made her chuckle and shake her head.

"Well, if you're so damn good then why not give me a hand with my own?" she asked with a laugh.

"Sure, just don't expect me to do it for you," the god slayer said without dropping his grin.

"Well, I didn't bring it with me so we'll have to wait for another day," the way she shook her head made it clear to him that she hadn't expected him to actually accept her joking request for help, "if you have any more questions, feel free to give me or any of my associates a call."

He noted the business card she lay on his table, complete with several phone numbers and names adorning it.

"I'll be sure to do just that," he informed her as he pocketed the card, he would probably put the numbers in his phone later but for now he would just put it away.

"Well, I'll see you sooner or later Yū-san," and with a simple wave over her shoulder, the redhead left the apartment.

With her no longer around, it was time for him to do something he felt he had to do now that he'd learned something so important.

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through the numbers and selected the first that he would call and put it to his ear.

"Hey Yosuke, you'll never believe what I've just found out."

Well I hope this first chapter was enjoyable for you all.

I don't actually have too much to say here except that most of what I could say will probably be a spoiler so I won't.

Anyway, I would like to thank a pair of reviewers for informing me of where Kaoru goes to school, since in the original version of this chapter I had been unable to find out where she went and made it incorrect.

That has now been corrected.

So until next time:

Shadow Out.