Character Name: Yu Narukami
Series: Persona
Canon Point: Post Dancing All Night
Character Age: 17
Class: Hero
Background: [Megaten Wiki Link]
Personality: Mostly dignified and polite (mostly), Yu cares deeply for those close to him, and tends to radiate an almost motherly warmth. Refusing to turn his eyes away even against a goddess and the will of humankind, he chose to carve out his own way with his friends. There are many reasons the goddess Izanami said he represented Hope; and if you happen to become close to him or spend a few days alongside the silver-haired youth, it's not hard to see why.
In a series heavily bent on rumors, masks and the hidden layers of personalities, first impressions are not really kind to him, and Yu tends to look serious nearly all the time. The events at Inaba have worn away on it, but pieces of that old stoic personality still remain. What truly resides inside him is not completely noticeable at first. When things gets serious, he reverts to that quiet, almost emotionless boy. It's not that Yu does this on purpose; rather before meeting the Investigation Team, he never connected with others so deeply. To quote from Persona Q:
"My friends faced their own Shadows and came out stronger for it, but I never met mine. To make up for it, though, I've had my friends to help me mature. It's my companions that I draw strength from in all of this."
Through helping others, Yu finds more pieces of himself and enlarges his understand the world around him. Yu found an extended family with his uncle and cousin. The extent those bonds have on his soul and well-being are immeasurable, and finding himself alone in this new world will admittedly make him a little more withdrawn than he was before, but a promise to keep them safe will be more than enough to have his coperation.
Connections have become extremely important to him, and understanding how attached to those bonds and how much he cherishes them brings a clearer picture of his actions. In Arena, Elizabeth tries to fight him to understand that power, only to have him continue to rise up despite being defeated, to prove to her how powerful that bond is. She described it as a 'giant rising behind him' and it overwhelmed her.
He'll joke at his friends' expenses and tends to mess with them (Yosuke being the butt of his jokes rather often), but don't do the same or threaten them, he'll be quick to come to their aid. There's a darkness to him in that manner; he's EXTREMELY protective of them. There is no doubt that Yu would sacrifice his life over and over (and over and over) to endure countless pain if it meant one of his friends wouldn't have to. And, in return, he also trusts them with his own life and knows that they'll never let him down.
Even if he's become more open to speaking to even strangers, most of the time you'll find that Yu
listens and is willing to open up to even the strangest of situations and people. Sometimes he spaces out, and it might be brushed off as part of his 'cool, silent guy' stereotype, but the truth is he actually has a multitude of theories and ideas running in his head. This is even more apparent during Arena and Ultimax when we finally get to see his inner thoughts. It's not that his perfectly blank expression is meant to be insulting; rather it is just a habit he never really shook off. He doesn't even always realize he's doing it. When he finally does speak, it's...well, honestly Yu can be sarcastic and has a sometimes bizarre sense of humor which may throw people off during first meetings (this is a guy when told that he might get rain on him from holding the umbrella wrong, will reply "I'm sexier when soaked").
Did I mention he will eat random things he finds in the fridge? That'll make it easier to survive around in this new place, right?
When he does speak regarding important and pressing matters, his investigative mind can be surprisingly keen. He's wise beyond his years, and quick with comebacks. Yu will be threatening when he wants to be, willing to risk his own life to save one of his friends. But, once again, he may not always say what you think he'll say, and after a serious discussion, he might crack a joke to aid the mood. In a way, it's how he copes and makes situations bearable.
He can also be needlessly dramatic. Remember all those scenarios going on in his head? Well in Inaba be became the jack-of-all trades, talking with strangers, feeding cats, earning money at the hospital and as a part-time teacher, someone getting near perfect grades and sleeping enough time to make it to school every day and stay awake. So when something fails, or an issue presents itself that undoes his plans he will panic...inwardly. Outside, he is cool as a cucumber, but truthfully he's panicking and screaming. Which is why one day you might see him on the side of the street, out of energy, his face filled with bitter defeat. He dislikes the idea of losing and is pretty competitive.
If there's another strong quality about him, it is that Yu is brave. He has an Iron Will and is not afraid of a challenge, attacking shadows, or putting his own popularity at risk. This isn't to say he's confident to the point of having an inflated ego, but rather a desire to aid others to be successful too. Once a challenge is presented to him, it's hard for Yu to back down. Partly because he doesn't seem to care much for social stigmas, especially those present in Japan, partly because...well, he'll do it because he can. As Yu has traveled to many places and never really stayed somewhere for long, he doesn't care what the public thinks of him as much as how his friends do. Unfortunately, it's also bad when that bravery leads him to make questionable decisions.
The Investigation Team literally mean the world to him. Without his friends, he admits, he'd question his resolution. They are literally what makes him move forward. Despite his shortcomings, attacks at his own personal insecurities and expense tend to fall to deaf ears. You want to anger him? The quicker solution is to insult or harm his friends instead. And WOE UPON YOU if you harm Nanako, as he will probably cut you up in pieces. That's his berserk button, right there. With Yosuke, Yu's strongest friendship is forged. With Chie, he admires her strength and resolution. With Yukiko, Yu learns the value of family and how you can be self-sufficient while being part of a greater group. He admires her for her will and the tenacity. With Kanji, Yu appreciates his sewing and craft skills, and does not judge him on his choices. With Rise, Yu learned about overcoming what you may desire vs what society wants you to be. He doesn't put her on a pedestal because she's an idol, but treats her as someone equal to them. As a valued friend. To Rise, Yu offers a friendship without judgement, unmarred by stardom. With Teddie, Yu learns to appreciate life in general and to see past what you are. With Naoto, Yu sees a resolution to follow in the footsteps left by a family's legacy, and to overcome a burden that society attempts to impose on her.A promise to keep all of them safe will be enough to give Yu the courage to fight in this new place.
Yet it wouldn't be right to end this without talking about Adachi, Yu's antagonist, right down to the facets of the Persona they are both using. Adachi could have been like Yu, but chose a different, bitter path, embracing the shadows because he hated the world. Yet in the end, despite all that he did and the pain he caused in Inaba, Yu chooses not to end his life, but have him face justice. Yu forgave him, not out of pity, but understanding. In Adachi, he can see what
could have been.
And this, out of everything else, keeps him grounded.
POWER 1 -- WILD CARD PERSONA USER
(Note: I will be using this power as the 'umbrella skillset' for Yu's powers shown in the game.)
The Wild Card Ability represents the number zero. In the Persona universe, its infinite possibilities is represented by the arcana Fool tarot card, and lets Yu summon his alternate selves (called Personas) made manifest in flesh and magic. In the Persona universe, gods and demons are creations of humans - as long as humans believe in them, they exist. As a result, Personas are those gods and demons made flesh and used as a tool to fight (both good and bad.) As a Wild Card, you could say that Yu is a more powerful version of a normal Persona user, who can usually only manifest their closest alternate self compared to multiple aspects of a user.
In general, all Persona users get increased endurance and agility. Attacks that would normally kill or badly harm a powerless civilian might just be incredibly painful for them (so basically, the difference between bleeding to death from a sharp wind attack, vs feeling like someone punched you really hard in your gut). Depending on the persona used, these weaknesses, strength and sometimes resistances change dramatically. For the sake of this power description, Yu will only be using Izanagi, since that is who he will start out with.
To summon a persona, a physical representation of the Fool tarot card floats near Yu's hand, and he crushes it, triggering the summoning. This is accompanied by bright blue lights and blasts of wind at others nearby (not harming them, just for dramatic effect.)
Because of his current timeline placement, Yu has become extremely powerful and flexible with his main Persona; Izanagi. To keep things fair, Yu will only be coming to this world with Izanagi, but presented in how him and Yu are shown in Ultimax. Additional Personas and skills will be gained later, with mod permission. However, the pair work as a team, with Yu moving around attacking and letting Izanagi appear on the other side to attack a single foe, for example. You can view a video of this
here.True to his status as a wild card, a jack-of-all-trades, Yu doesn't have any particular skills that stand out, rather he is better than average in everything (as an example, his friend, Yosuke, is very fast. Yu is fast, but Yosuke would easily beat him in a race. On the other hand, most of his other friends would have trouble keeping up with the two of them.)
Because of Izanagi, Yu is immune dark (void or any other type of negative that falls into dark) attacks, able to resist electrical attacks (and one would assume a shock from rubbing his feet on the carpet, for example, or a bolt of lightning directly to him would leave him in pain but not dead) but he is weak to any attack that is wind related, and that will also drain his energy very fast.
A WALK DOWN ELECTRICAL AVENUEThe main bread-and-butter of Yu and Izanagi is able to use lightning spells, (named Zio in the game). He doesn't use them directly, rather he calls upon his Persona who attacks in his stead. The lightning can either come from the persona's hands or fall from the sky. In terms of pain, it can vary depending on the target's endurance. A strike of Yu's lightning would not outright kill a person.
THE SPELL LISTWith brief descriptions for each. Again, keeping in mind that by now Yu's had had multiple battles and events so he's become far stronger than when he first started out. The more spells he uses, the more tired he gets, with the spells that do more damage, draining him far more quickly.
ATTACK SKILLSZiodyne - A lightning spell that blasts lightning from Izanagi's hands and hits a single target, sometimes running the risk of electrocuting them
Mazionga - A lightning spell that blasts lightning from the sky and hits multiple targets (up to 3, but the more that are called down, the faster his energy drains)
God's Hand - A gigantic fist that appears from the sky that slams to the ground, causing sever pain for whatever poor target is under it. Usable on one target, this very quickly drains him physically if he uses it too much (unable to run anymore or move, to being completely defenseless against any type of attack if it is abused)
Myriad Truths - This almighty attack is what happens when physical and lightning spells intersect into a single, deadly attack. Keeping in mind that this attack takes a lot of power out of Yu, it is extremely devastating. A video of it can be found
here. As a side effect, this briefly turns Izanagi into its true form,
Izanagi-no-Okami.
SUPPORT SKILLSMarakukaja - A spell that increases the defense for a few people around himself. This would mean that attacks that would hurt a lot would only hurt mildly. This spell lasts for a minute, and can affect up to three people besides himself at most.
Matarukaja - A spell that increases the the attack strength for a few people around himself. This would mean that someone's attack would get a little bit of a boost (better, faster, strong). This spell lasts for a minute, and can affect up to three people besides himself at most.
Heat Riser - At the cost of more 'energy' for him to use, Heat Riser is a spell that increases attack, defense and agility of a user. Like having 100 cups of coffee. This spell lasts for a minute, and can affect up to three people besides himself at most.
Dekunda - A special spell that removes other spells and curses on a target. Imagine someone being slowed down by a spell, this counter-spell would remove that spell from working on that user. This can be used only on a person at a time.
THE BONUS SPELL???Well it's not really a spell, but because of what happened in Dancing all night, Yu can summon both Izanagi and Izanagi-no-Okami with a bass and double guitar-bass, and then there's a musical interlude. Yes, I am not kidding.
Here is a video. It does not do anything apart from "wow that's music why is this happening."
POWER 2 -- THE TV ' WORLD ' 
This power is inspired from his original world, but with its own twist. Yu is able to put any part of his body into a screen - be it a television, a computer screen, a phone screen and so on. The effect of energy and his hand touching the device shows up almost like a ripple.
However, this does not take him to another world like back home, rather it acts like a teleporter sending whatever body piece (or entire body) entered from one screen to another. For example, he could stick a hand in his TV screen and the hand would show up at someone else's screen, or give the middle finger to someone and then it would pop up physically on their phone's screen. He can put his entire body in and show up somewhere else, but he can only do this from one 'starter' device to one 'end' device - for example he couldn't stick one hand in one object and a foot in another and show up in two other different places.
The electronics do not have to be active for this to work, although it makes it much easier to control where he goes. Additionally, this power works best with items close to around him or that belong to people he knows and has formed connections with. Entering a TV he doesn't know would cause him to exit in another he doesn't know, increases his chances for being in the wrong place, for example. Entering his television into that of a friend would be much easier and less prone to accidents.
POWER 3 - BONDS
In the original game, this was a mechanic to gain better abilities (and Personas) as your character formed relationships and friendships with other characters. Yu's power of bonds is represented here as not only something that strengthens him, but, more importantly, now his relationship with others will strengthen them in turn.
The power must first begin with Yu forming relationships with others. As he does so, he will be able to impart part of his own innate magical power (sharing his electrical energy, if you will) towards them and give them a brief boost of ability on one of their skills.
This skill can only affects one user that Yu is with at a time, even if he's surrounded by a group of friends that he has formed bonds with. Yu also needs to have formed relationships with those characters for this power to work at all - trying this on a stranger would not work.
The stronger the bond, the more power could be exchanged, but this does work a lot like his spells - a large amount of power boosting would drain him immensely and leave Yu himself weak. Since it is meant to be a burst of power in its current form, it can only boost this person for a minute at most. The Bond only works for one of the character's powers. (once an initial bond is form, I will ask the player what power would be affected.)
The initial bond between a character and Yu is physically represented with a card of the major arcana tarrot magically emerging from the other's chest. They look like these
here. The cards serves no real purpose for the character apart from being a little trinket they can physically carry around.
If the card is broken of the user's own free will (for example, getting it destroyed by a battle from someone else would not count and another would emerge a little later, vs the character taking the card and breaking it in half in anger), the bond would be broken and would need to be started over.
Upon the first bond link established, Yu will need to physically touch a person for this boost of power to work. As they continue to work together, he will be able to power them up just from seeing them, then just hearing them until thinking about the person will be all he needs to do, knowing that they need help. This would take a few months of social bond building before it would be even possible for him to do, and the farther he is away, the more energy is drained from him. This means even if he is at the highest bond possible with someone, touching them to share his power would be still far more powerful than thinking about them to lend his strength.
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