Fanfic / The Pros and Cons to living a triple life

The Pros and Cons to living a triple life is an ongoing Crossover AU fic between Persona and Kingdom Hearts, written by Warner and Shire_Folk and published on Archive of Our Own.

Some time after recovering from the events of Kingdom Hearts III, Sora, Kairi and Riku are sent on a long-term undercover mission to Shujin Academy with the other keybearers sent elsewhere in Japan, in search of the Master of Masters. Their mission quickly intersects with that of the Phantom Thieves.

This story provides examples of:

• Above the Influence: In chapter 25, Ann kisses Akira for staying with her at the hospital when she had to have an appendectomy, but he believes she's still high from the morphine and doesn't want to take advantage of it.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Since Naminé is attending Kosei High, Yusuke is introduced much earlier than in the game.
  • Haru Okumura briefly appears on the roof when Jiminy is sneaking out of the school.
  • Makoto not only becomes involved in the plot significantly earlier, but meets the Destiny Islands trio mere days after they arrive in Tokyo, meaning she appears before the game's time frame even starts.
• Affectionate Nickname: Sora has "Iri" for Kairi, who calls him "Pumpkin" in return.
• All Girls Like Ponies: Xion, who joins the equestrian club at Yasogami High, though partly because she wants to become a knight.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Kairi's parents have moments like this.
  Kairi: Mom, Dad, this is Makoto Niijima, our student council president. She came by today because there are rumours at school that me and Naminé are living together with Sora and Riku.
  Tai: Aw shucks. And here I thought you were calling to tell me I was going to be a grandpa…
  Kairi: (face goes from controlled confidence to scarlet hysteria in 0.2 seconds) DAD! I'M SIXTEEN!
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  Ryuji: What's questionable is whether you're really even a human.
  Morgana: Hey! I am a human! I have to be, I'm certain of it!
  Akira: You can't deny the point though, Morgana. Just look at Jiminy. He's made no bones over the idea that he's anything other than a cricket that just happens to be able to walk on two legs and talk like a human being. If it can be true for him, why can't it be true for you?
  Morgana: [deflating at the points raised] I… I don't know, Joker. But I do know how we can to the bottom of whatever I am one way or another.
• Attention Deficit... Oh, Shiny!: A literal case when Jiminy Cricket is attacked by Morgana on the school roof and distracts him by using his Conscience badge to reflect a sunbeam onto the wall.
• Backhanded Apology: After two Gossipy Hens at the Wilton Hotel start insulting Sora and Kairi for their public displays of affection and Kairi talks back to them:
  Woman: Do you have any idea to whom you speak so disrespectfully, you brat?
  Kairi: A gossipy old goose who seems to have some serious issues with minding her own business?
  Woman: Hmph. I'll have you know that my husband is a cabinet minister, young girl. So some respect for the family of a man who governs this great country is in order.
  Kairi: (shocked) Oh! Oh I am deeply sorry, ma'am. I apologize for my actions. I had no idea that you were so jealous because your husband is married to his job while I can do this whenever I want. (turns and kisses Sora)
• Bag of Spilling: Downplayed. Sora is a little out of practice after not training much in the year or so after Kingdom Hearts III, but he still has access to his plethora of Keyblades obtained from his travels and the ability to Formchange, and he's still leagues ahead of the fledgling Phantom Thieves in terms of strength.
• Battle Couple: Sora and Kairi. Akira and Ann are heading this way as well.
• Big "WHAT?!": There's a few of these (which vary considerably in terms of punctuation and formatting), but Aqua's reaction to finding out that the group in Inaba have blown their cover to the Investigation Team stands out.
• Code Name: In addition the canon Phantom Thieves, Sora gets "Tempest", Kairi gets "Maelstrom", Riku gets "Guardian", Jiminy gets "Chronicle", and Naminé gets "Trance".
• Crossover Ship: A few In-Universe examples:
  • Naminé talks about Ienzo having an obvious crush on Lara Croft, who he's been helping design a magically enhanced Bag of Holding. Naminé claims that Lara is too focused on tomb raiding to notice his feelings, and that she'd probably reciprocate them if she did.
  • Lea has had some Ship Tease with Yukiko Amagi.
  • Namine sees this between Even and Grace Augustine, though he doesn't admit to it.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Xigbar's fight with Sora in Kamoshida's palace.
• Cursed with Awesome: Due to still having a fragment of the χ-blade inside her, Kairi is constantly being pumped full of magic power which can overflow and cause her debilitating pain. However, if she learns to master and channel this effectively infinite wellspring of magic, Kairi may well become the most powerful magic user to ever live.
• Double Don't Know: Sora's response when Morgana asks what will happen if Yoshizawa awakens to a Keyblade after her Dive to the Heart.
• Experienced Protagonist: Coming off the tail end of a long line of adventures, Sora and Riku are extremely experienced. Kairi and Naminé too, though somewhat less so.
• Fish out of Water: All of the Kingdom Hearts characters, though especially those in Tokyo, who have never travelled anywhere as densely populated or confusing to navigate.
• Friendly Rivalry: Akira's Confidant with Sora starts with them forming this.
• Gilligan Cut:
  Aqua: I wish you all the best of luck with Kitagawa-kun and Ms Takamaki’s modeling appointment with him.
  Naminé: Luck? C'mon Master Aqua, What Could Possibly Go Wrong??
  Xion: Everything. Literally everything could go wrong.
  Naminé: Don't be such a worry wart. It won't be that bad.
  Tuesday - 5/17/20XX - After School
  Yusuke: This will be the finest nude painting I have ever done, and you, Takamaki-san, shall be my model!
• Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Planned between Sora and Kairi, described as this almost word-for-word, after their second battle with Aced. Subverted when they accidentally find one of Scrooge's hidden rooms, and Kairi admits she's too tired and aching sore to really feel in the mood.
• Happily Adopted: By the time the story opens, Naminé has been adopted by Ansem the Wise, who has made amends for his horrible treatment of her when they were restoring Sora's memory.
• Hero of Another Story: The other Keybearers are posted in different towns and only appear occasionally, though they're all technically on the same mission: namely, Roxas, Xion and Lea (and Isa) in Inaba and Ventus, Terra and Aqua (and Chirithy) in Tatsumi Port Island.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: On top of canon examples like Akira and Ryuji, Kamoshida attempts to turn Sora and Riku into this by having Mishima spread rumours about their living situation with Kairi, who is also subjected to rumours of sleeping around behind Sora's back. It works at first, but between Makoto investigating them by spending the night at their apartment and Sora getting more positive attention with his attempt to save Shiho and his success with the Culinary Arts Club, the rumours die down quickly and are all but forgotten about after Kamoshida's change of heart.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Aside from Xigbar, several former Organization members have appeared in Tokyo, including Lauriam, Elrena and Meyd, but it's not clear what their goal with the Metaverse is.
• How We Got Here: The story opens on April 13th, during the Shujin Volleyball Rally, which plays out very differently to canon when Sora steps up and absolutely humiliates Kamoshida without breaking a sweat. The next few chapters cut back two weeks to explain what he and Kairi are even doing there.
• I'm Standing Right Here:
  • Riku's reaction to Sora and Kairi talking about a time when he was an overprotective big brother to his sister Ichigo, not noticing that he was on the same (admittedly crowded) subway train four feet away from them.
  • Axel's response when Aqua makes a comment about his relationship with Yukiko in the middle of a teleconference ("I hope his mind is still on the ongoing mission and not on what's underneath her yukata."). It's then revealed that Yukiko is also right there, having come over for dinner and gotten extremely drunk beforehand.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Just before Sora starts to catch Aqua up on the last few days, Aqua asks Terra to bring her the sake he bought a few days ago. "I think I’m going to need it to stay sane through all this."
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Played with when Kairi's brother Haru makes this warning about Sora to Kairi herself, who points out that he has no chance of actually beating Sora. Haru replies that getting in one punch to the face would be Worth It.
• Intercontinuity Crossover: Aside from the two main franchises involved, we also see or hear about Kingdom Hearts characters interacting with a few non-Disney properties, including Animaniacs, The Prince of Egypt, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
• Internal Reveal:
  • While Akira, Ryuji and Ann haven't learned the full truth about the Destiny Quartet, they have been told some details about the Keyblade and their previous fights with the Organization.
  • In contrast, the Investigation Team in Inaba have learned much more about Roxas, Xion, Lea and Isa's background, including that they come from other worlds. Aqua is not impressed by how badly they've blown their cover, though Lea points out that Rise already knew something was up and would have been able to tell if they tried to lie about it.
• Intrepid Reporter: Ai Chihana, editor of the Shujin Chronicle, aims to be this, willing to stand up to the school faculty and student council where necessary. She's soon joined by Kairi, Kasumi, Akira and Ryuji (though the latter two mainly join to keep the club from being shut down).
• It Can't Be Helped: As in the game, it's a Discussed Trope, with Riku pointing out that, "If people continually tell themselves that an issue just can’t be helped, then they’re just enabling more suffering in the long term."
• Jerkass Has a Point: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is heavily critical of his brother's failures, such as not making sure Kairi's was properly trained with the Keyblade and taking so long to rescue Aqua. And while he may go too far in blaming Mickey for Kairi's injury rather than Xehanort, Mickey can't disagree with him.
• Journey to the Center of the Mind: At the end of Chapter 30, Kasumi Yoshizawa has a dream which begins with her falling onto a stained glass platform. When she mentions this to Akira and Sora the next day, Sora quickly recognises it as a Dive to the Heart.
  Sora: It's a world within a dream, deep inside our hearts. It looks a little different for every person, but they all share the same things in common: falling through an ocean without drowning, and standing on a circular stained glass platform in the middle of a dark void. If Kasumi-chan found herself in a Dive to the Heart, then it's only a matter of time before she awakens to a Keyblade.
• Kick the Dog: Not only does Xigbar cause Shiho to fall off the roof right when Sora had almost saved her, he outright tells Sora and the rest of the Phantom Thieves about this in their second confrontation.
• Late to the Realization: Yusuke takes quite a while to notice his clothes had changed in Madarame's Palace.
• Lethal Chef: Riku, established when his disastrous attempt at cooking eggs, in a convection oven at 450 degrees celsius, after putting water in the pan rather than greasing it. He's stated to be pretty good at curry, though, even better than Sora.
• Loving a Shadow: Defied. Riku shows hints of attraction towards Naminé, but he's also acutely aware she's Kairi's Nobody - not to mention his feelings towards the latter are ones he's intellectually processed but not quite emotionally let go of. As a result, he explicitly doesn't strike up a closer relationship to avoid even the slightest chance he may be projecting his feelings onto someone who is, in all respects, Kairi's twin sister.
• Minor Living Alone: Sora, Kairi, Riku and Naminé have been set up in an apartment paid for by Scrooge. While this isn't an uncommon trope in real-world Japan, the fact that Sora and Kairi are already in a relationship does attract gossip from their classmates.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg:
  Aqua: This mission is our responsibility. We’ll handle it together, as a family of Keyblade Wielders and Isa.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • Most of the Kingdom Hearts characters are given last names, including Sora Hikari, Kairi and Naminé Ushida, Riku Miyano, Ventus Yarikaze, Terra Chikyu and Aqua Mizuki.
  • The original names of Luxord and Demyx have never been confirmed in the games, so the story calls them Ludor and Meyd respectively.
• Noodle Incident: The specifics of what happened to Sora after he disappeared in Kingdom Hearts III and how he was rescued are kept secret, even from Sora, until Chapter 23, which reveals that he ended up in the Shibuya from The World Ends with You and forced into a variation on the Reaper's Game.
• One Note Chef: Despite his disastrous attempts at cooking basically anything else, Riku is an absolute savant at making curry, even better than Sora. He bonds nigh-instantly with Sojiro over it.
• One-Steve Limit: Subverted with Kairi's brother Haru and senior student Haru Okumura. Kairi's parents both joke about what would happen if they ever met and started dating.
• Outside-Context Problem: The Metaverse for Sora and friends, The Heartless for the Phantom Thieves. Then again, Sora and Riku are probably more at home fighting (Metaverse) Shadows than trying to deal with human monsters like Kamoshida, who they can't simply beat up with a Keyblade.
• Precision F-Strike:
  • After Riku gives Sora permission to swear, he calls Kamoshida, "That son of a bitch!" upon learning about him raping Shiho. He later calls Kamoshida's Shadow, "an angsty teenager with a permanent bitch-face playing dress-up".
  • Upon finding out that Madarame has a palace, Naminé mutters, "Well fuck me."
• Scars Are Forever: Kairi has a scar on her back and shoulder from when Xehanort killed her, which still causes agonising pain at times, thanks to a lingering remnant of the χ-blade pumping magic into her.
• School Nurse: Chapter 6 introduces Shujin's school nurse, one of the only staff members who wants to do something about Kamoshida's abusive training, but has been prevented by Principal Kobayakawa.
• Seen It All: When Ryuji notes Sora's complete lack of surprise about Morgana, a talking cat ("I'm not a cat!"), Sora replies, "We summon key-shaped swords out of thin air to fight and to create fire, lightning, and a lot more from absolutely nothing. Not to mention that we’re standing in a room that’s apparently part of a medieval castle and our high school. A walking, talking kitty cat is a little tame all things considered." Kairi goes on to bring up that they're friends with a talking cricket, before introducing Jiminy.
• Separated by a Common Language: At one point Sora gets confused between Metaverse Shadows and Heartless Shadows.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Riku says that Sora and Kairi's respective parents had been shipping since the fifth grade. Kairi's parents claim otherwise: they were shipping them since Sora was five.
  • Sora and Kairi for Riku and Namine, and later for Akira and Ann.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Sora and Kairi, to the occasional annoyance of their housemates. Riku in particular gets exasperated when they seem to be letting it get in the way of being effective on the battlefield.
• Skewed Priorities: After Isa reveals to the Investigation Team that he and his group are from another world:
  Yosuke: Whoa! You serious!?
  Yukiko: Unbelievable… I’ve been having drinks with an alien all month. Who’d have thought he’d be able to hold his liquor so well?
  (Everyone stares at her, some of them with varying levels of exasperation.)
  Chie: Uh, not really the time Yukiko.
• Sneeze Cut: Akira sneezes moments after Sora and Kairi were talking about him and Ann.
• Someone to Remember Him By: In Yukari Takeba's brief appearance, it's revealed that she was pregnant with Minato's baby at the time of his sacrifice. His name is Hisashi, and he looks a lot like a young Minato.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • During a brief mention of Junpei Iori, his wife is described as a painter of alternative renown, no doubt referring to Chidori. Overlaps with Cutting Off the Branches, as the canonicity of Chidori's survival in some versions of Persona 3 has been an Ambiguous Situation for some time.
  • Likewise, Shinjiro Aragaki is mentioned in passing as being a surrogate uncle to Minato and Yukari's son Hisashi. This, along with a brief mention of Minako, indicates that the events of Persona 3 Portable occurred in this timeline.
• Story-Breaker Team-Up: Sora, Kairi and Riku are all much stronger and more experienced than Akira or the other Persona users, which he admits is part of the reason he's reluctant to have them join them in Kamoshida's palace. The Keybearers agree to hold back and largely focus on the Heartless when they show up.
• Supreme Chef: Sora has become this thanks to his experiences at Le Grande Bistro ("The head chef was pretty controlling, but he taught me well."), allowing him to very quickly take over the Shujin Culinary Arts club without even trying.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Sora manages to reach Shiho before she jumps, and actually succeeds in talking her down, only for Xigbar to shoot the ledge under her feet and cause her to fall anyway.
• Tarot Motifs: When Akira starts to form a bond with Sora, the latter is stated to be part of the World Arcana
• Tempting Fate: Ai Chihana, head of the Shujin Newspaper, is prone to this:
  • She asks Riku for help in a creative writing assignment, intending to write a trashy tabloid article about Sora and Kairi.
    Riku: What if your fake article leaks?
    Ai: Aw, don't be so serious, Miyano-senpai! It's just a bogus class assignment. I'll even clear it with Kairi-chan before I submit it for grading. What Could Possibly Go Wrong??
    Akira: Well that's a giant flag of doom and despair. If anyone asks, Ryuji and I had nothing to do with this.
  • Later, after she asks Kairi to help her confront Makoto over her lack of action about the rumours involving Kamoshida.
    Kairi: Alright. We'll go see her after school today in the library. But I feel like I have to warn you, Ai. Even if she’s something of a pushover, I don’t think antagonizing the student council president is the wisest course of action, especially when there’s so few of us in the club.
    Ai: What’s she gonna do? There’s no way she can ban us! We’re the student newspaper!
    Kairi: There’s a reason why people warn against tempting fate, that’s all I’m saying.
• Their First Time: Sora and Kairi in Chapter 17, shortly after making a commitment to get engaged.
• There Is Only One Bed: Played with when the apartment turns out to have three bedrooms for four people. Sora and Kairi have absolutely no qualms about sharing a bed, though asking their respective parents for their approval to is a bit awkward.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Xion, who spells this trope out to Roxas when he expresses surprise about her excitement over meeting Risette. "Just because I'm more of a tomboy than most of the other girls we’re friends with doesn't mean I can't find appreciation in more traditionally 'girly' things."
• Trauma Button: A minor case when Riku starts speaking in Gratuitous Latin about Sora and Kairi, which triggers Naminé's memories of Marluxia. She tells him not to do that again.
  • Xehanort. Considering the immense amounts of grief caused by him to basically everyone who isn't from Japan, Sora and Kairi in particular, this is very appropriate. The Keybearers eventually take to calling him "You Know Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named" whenever he comes up in conversation.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 7 has Shiho's suicide attempt — which plays out slightly differently from canon when Sora almost succeeds in talking her down only for a sniper to shoot the ledge she was standing on — and ends on Sora, Riku and Kairi following Akira and Ryuji into the Metaverse, using a portal created by their Keyblades.
  • Chapter 11 has Xigbar confronting Sora in Kamoshida's palace, with Xehanort's Keyblade. Later, Cait Sith and Red XIII show up in Tokyo.
  • Chapter 16 has Lea visiting Adachi in prison (after sneaking in through a Dark Corridor), while Roxas and Xion accidentally stumble into the Metaverse in Inaba and meeting Marie, and Isa confronting Yosuke about what he knows after seeing them disappear.
  • Chapter 22: In Madarame's Palace, Sora and Kairi are confronted by Union Leader Aced, who Kairi figures out was one of the Foretellers. Aced tries to turn them against Riku because of his darkness, refusing to accept that Riku had overcome it. When he attacks Riku himself, both Sora and Kairi take on "Rage Forms" to defend him.
  • Chapter 30 ends with Kasumi Yoshizawa experiencing a Dive to the Heart.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Despite her friendship with Yusuke up to that point, Naminé is so disgusted by his attempt to blackmail Ann into posing nude for him, she responds by destroying one of her own paintings she had previously gifted to him.
  Naminé: Art isn't made for self-satisfaction. Or at least, mine isn't. It's made for others. If you can't understand the feelings in others' hearts in your pursuit, then you're no longer privileged to receive artwork from me, Yusuke.
• Will They or Won't They?: Between Riku and Naminé. Everyone Can See It, but both of them Cannot Spit It Out. Riku eventually admits that he's holding off because he worries that he's only interested in her because of lingering feelings for Kairi.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After Kamoshida makes Mishima spread rumours about his relationship with Kairi, Sora starts to question himself and whether he does have a possessive streak. For her part, Kairi tells him that if he has been possessive, she has been just as possessive of him, and assures him he has not been controlling, which makes all the difference.

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