The Fools' Tournament

The Fools' Tournament is a Persona 3 fanfiction by Shenjay. It's a novelization of Persona 3, with a twist. Both the male protagonist (Minato) and the female protagonist (Hamuko) partake in this adventure. [1] It's pretty straightforward... until the two learn about social links and then compete for them, causing them to try to ruin each others' social lives. Hilarity Ensues.

Tropes used in The Fools' Tournament include:
  • A Wizard Did It: Whenever they're asked, Hamuko and Minato's answer for how they knew about the full moon attacks, the barriers on Tartarus and their fusion attacks is that a Persona told them. This makes revealing the truth of it so much more difficult and painful for the two.
  • Atomic F-Bomb: Hamuko drops one in chapter 12.
  • Bash Brothers: Or Persona Bros, as it were.
  • Bi the Way: Hamuko saw no problem with going to flirt with Aigis in Yakushima. According to Shenjay Hamuko tends to see all of her relationships with boys and girls in the same manner which means she could be attracted to a good portion of the female cast.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Akihiko and Shinjiro to Hamuko, which gets worse where Minato's involved, enough for him to compare them to bears.
  • Big Eater: Hamuko is more of one than even Minato, and of course, there are Elizabeth and Theodore.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Aigis to Hamuko and Minato.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: Hamuko got good grades in the midterms despite not studying for them at all, much to Minato and Junpei's dismay. According to her it's because she made sure to stay awake during the lectures that Minato slept through.
  • Brutal Honesty: Aigis has a way of just speaking out her opinions and relaying exactly what was told to her, such as when she directly calls Junpei pathetic when he compares himself to a samurai or when she tells Naoto and Ken that Mitsuru called the second year protagonists a 'pack of imbeciles.'
  • Butt Monkey: Minato. He just can't catch a break.
  • Call Back: When fighting the Lovers Shadow, a charmed Minato attacks Hamuko, and then in a much later chapter, a charmed Hamuko attacks Minato. She even asks to make sure he was the one she went for.
  • Can't Hold His Liquor: Hamuko and Minato, though the former is worse.
  • Catapult Nightmare: Akihiko constantly dreams of the orphanage fire of his past, enough that he no longer screams out when exercising this trope.
  • Cerebus Rollercoaster: The story starts out lighthearted and comedic, and then goes into darker territory. It snaps back to lighthearted once the author realized her story was getting affected by Cerebus Syndrome.
  • Character Development: One of the goals of this story is to make Minato and Hamuko better people.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The Tournament. Igor mentioned early on that this will be a source of conflict between the the two Fools, which is why their relationship is never stable and goes through the Cerebus Rollercoaster. This may or may not be caused by that entity in Minato's dream from chapter 64.
  • Cliff Hanger: Chapter 77, Shinji gets shot.
  • Combination Attack
  • Control Freak: A short POV section from Mitsuru's end showed that she's a bit of one.
  • Cool Big Sis: Elizabeth is this to Theodore, and Hamuko wants to be this for Ken.
  • Crying Wolf: Due to their evasiveness and deception all throughout before when it concerned their odd behaviours, the truth of what Minato and Hamuko reveal to Mitsuru and Akihiko are met with scepticism. And blackmail.
  • Cuteness Proximity: Hamuko to Koromaru, Aigis, and Ken.
  • Date Rape Averted: Happens with Minato and Hamuko on the July full moon mission. Hamuko was very upset about this.
  • Does This Make Me Look Fat?: When Minato asks this about a new suit he has on, Hamuko recognizes it for the trap that it is.

"If I say 'yes', you'll say that I only say that to make you feel well, and if I say 'no' you'll throw a fit and go look for another suit."

  • Domestic Abuse: What it looks like when Minato rejects Hamuko's advances when she's not in her right mind.
  • Double Date: With Minato, Elizabeth, Hamuko and Theodore. Hilarity Ensues.
  • Drugs Are Bad
  • Easily Forgiven: Averted, as of chapter 57, Hamuko still hasn't quite forgiven Minato for trying to rape her, long after they've somewhat reconciled and have gotten back together. This leads to her running away in fear (although that's not the only reason) as they're about to have sex that night.
  • Enemy Mine: Despite the two main characters competing for social links, they work on the Maiko social link together.
  • Epic Fail: Minato and Hamuko just cannot catch a break when it comes to sex, and it gets worse for them in chapter 62.
    • Neither of them have particularly good track records when it comes to relationships. This comes to a head in chapter 64 when they break up, end their truce and are back to being at each others' throats with the Social Links.
    • Then, they had sex and made up.
  • Everythings Better With Ninjas: Aigis has a really odd fixation on ninjas. After some events involving Naoto hiding under Minato's bed, she becomes convinced that Hamuko, Minato and Naoto are all ninjas.
  • Fan Girl: Hamuko is one for Risette and Naoto.
  • Fan Nickname: Minato and Hamuko aren't the canon names of the protagonists. In story, Minato and Hamuko aren't their real names either.
  • Fan Service with a Smile: Hamuko and Minato both work part-time at Chagall Cafe, in Meido and butler garb respectively. The latter does it temporarily just to raise money for the Devil Social Link.
  • The Fettered: Igor. As much as he'd like to help, there are things he's not allowed to tell The Fools.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: The members of the group didn't really like each other at first, or even in the middle of things, but in Chapter 79, the second years believe that they're all closer. Minus some jesting, they've even cut back on the bickering.
  • For Science!: Hamuko claims this is her motivation for doing some questionable things.
    • There's also when Mitsuru runs the Fools ragged doing fusion attacks. They also attack each other when Minato taunts Hamuko over who has what Social Links and Personas.
  • Future Player Character Cameo: Naoto makes an appearance in this story.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: The story takes note of things such as the stats of certain items, hence why Mitsuru was slightly less peeved about Hamuko and the Battle Panties compared to everyone else.
  • "Glad to Be Alive" Sex: Hamuko and Minato after fighting the Mythical Gigas. Or perhaps it was because she summoned Odin and nearly blinded everyone.
  • Genki Girl/ Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Hamuko.
    • Shinji outright calls her the latter when she comes to him with her memories of the past as Miki.
  • I Uh You Too: A variation:

Naoto: (After being hugged by Minato) I'll um...
Minato: I'll um you too.

Aigis: "Junpei-san, I'm a robot, not a wizard. I cannot give abilities to ninjas."

  • Innocent Innuendo: Mitsuru tells Minato to come to her room to discuss an issue of theft and that he should stay after to discuss a private matter. She tells him this in front of Chihiro.
  • Insane Troll Logic: How Hamuko's thoughts work.
    • Aigis as well. When we get to see things from her POV, there comes a point where she thinks Minato to be readying shurikens when he and Hamuko hesitate around each other in the apartment. She also thinks that Face Desk-ing is legitimate resistance training and wonders if Fuuka is a secretly stove when her compliments on his cooking make Shinjiro's temperature increase. Also, she likes ninjas.
  • Laser Blade: Hamuko gets the Beam Naginata and annoys everyone by constantly making lightsaber sounds when using it.
  • Last-Name Basis: Employed by either of the Fools after particularly serious fights.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Shinjiro.
  • Leet Lingo: The Hermit social link, of course.
  • Like Brother and Sister: Hamuko and Junpei, to an extent.
  • Master of the Mixed Message
  • Money Spider
  • Mood Swinger: Hamuko and Minato, the former much, much more so than the latter.
  • Mook Horror Show: Hamuko was chased by Mitsuru. The only reason she wasn't executed was, the day after, she apologized and redid the task of writing letters rather than photocopying them. Mitsuru's POV section revealed that she actually enjoys scaring people like that.
  • More Than Mind Control: May be the cause of The Fools' attempts to rape each other, as well as Minato's rather out-of-character interactions with Yuko. Minato confided as much to Shinjiro and even asked Igor if it was the Personas doing that to him and Hamuko. So far, the answers are inconclusive.
    • Chapter 67 shows that it might have something to do with the Dark Hour, as Hamuko attacks Minato again, but comes to her senses once the Dark Hour ends.
  • "No. Just... No" Reaction: Minato's reaction to finding out Maya is his composition teacher.
  • No Social Skills: Hamuko seems more and more like this the more she confides in Minato. The part where she explains to Minato why she's so affectionate to everyone all the time strikes out in particular.
  • Nosebleed: Minato's reaction to seeing Hamuko in Battle Panties. Also happens when she accidentally does some Erotic Eating with a popsicle.
  • Not So Above It All: Mitsuru fawns over Koromaru just like everyone else. The second years are either in disbelief or think that it's simply because she didn't know Koromaru's surname.
  • Not What It Looks Like: Minato and Hamuko get caught in compromising situations many times. One time it happens even ends with them getting Executed by Mitsuru.
  • One of the Boys: Hamuko at times.
  • One of Us: The author has reminded the readers a few times that she would like a TV Tropes article for this Fanfic. She has succeeded.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: Averted. When someone gets hurt, they really get hurt, such that it'll feel and show for a while even if Dia is cast on it.
  • Only Sane Man: Shinjiro has claim to be the most level-headed person of SEES.
  • Only I Can Kill Her: Said by Minato to The Reaper. This is about Hamuko, of course.
  • Out of Focus: The rest of SEES tends to lose focus when the fic focuses on Hamuko and Minato's relationship. When Strega starts getting involved, Junpei gets a bit of focus back.
    • There's also some more focus on Shinjiro and Akihiko after the former joins and the latter makes it clear how he sees Hamuko.
  • Pirates vs. Ninjas: Aigis asserts that ninjas are cool, and thinks that Hamuko, Minato and Naoto are ninjas after an incident. Overhearing bits of the conversation, Ken says that pirates are cooler.
  • Please Don't Leave Me: Said by Hamuko to Shinji, with the latter remarking that that's the second time he's been told that.
    • Also said by Hamuko to Minato earlier in the story.
  • Polyamory: Part of why Shinji deflects Hamuko's advances early on is that he feels like it would be getting into this kind of relationship aside from trying to recognize how Hamuko is with how he remembered Miki. Given Hamuko's views on her relationships and her feelings towards Minato and Shinji (and the others) and the following interactions of the other persons involved in the relationship, he seems to be right.
  • Rape Is Love: Invoked by Minato during the July Full Moon. Invoked again by Hamuko after The Fifth Ordeal.
  • Really Gets Around: Hamuko has a reputation for this. She even proclaims herself to be 'The biggest slut of Gekkoukan High' to Shinji as she's trying to get him to sleep with her, despite the fact that he's only the second guy she's slept with thus far. The first guy being Minato.
  • Replacement Goldfish: It turns out that Akihiko sees Hamuko as one for Miki, to the point where he accidentally calls her by that name when they get into a heated argument about her trouble magnet tendencies.
    • Shinji also sees Hamuko as Miki, which is why he's such a jerk to her in the first place, because she reminds him of things he'd rather forget.
    • And it turns out, she IS Miki, with amnesia following the fire.
  • The Reveal: Earlier in the story, it is revealed that Minato is Kitaro Shirogane. Later, it is hinted that Hamuko might be Miki, which is confirmed in chapter 74. Shinji knew all along, but didn't want to confuse Hamuko (who has amnesia) or hurt Akihiko (who believes that the Miki he knew is already dead).
  • The Rival: The Fools should be somewhat like this, what with constantly being at odds with each other with the Social Links, but what comes closer to this trope are Hamuko and Yukari, and Minato and Akihiko.
    • And in the more recent chapters, they've become this straight, with a lot more vitriol.
    • Their lack of competitiveness is actually somewhat justified. After the first mad scramble for Social Links, they continue to compete for new Links when they find them (usually by keeping them secret until Level 1) but the majority of the time there aren't any Links to fight over, and therefore no reason to compete. Sabotaging Links is also counter productive to the overall goal of exploring Tartarus. Its only with Hamuko lashing out at Minato via his S.Links and Minato counter attacking in the same way they realize that even after the bonds are initially formed, there is still something to fight for.
  • Samurai: According to Aigis, Koromaru is descended from samurai.
  • Secret Keeper: Aigis and Shinjiro, the former more so than the latter, are privy to most of the Fools' secrets, more so with the ones they chose not to give up to the rest of SEES.
  • Secret Test: Johei Shirogane does this to Minato.
  • Senpai Kohai: Of course, given the varying ages of the SEES members, but Hamuko even comes to calling Shinjiro 'senpai' despite his protests and the fact that he's not even in school.
  • Shaped Like Itself: Aigis wonders if toast tastes like toast[2].
  • Shotacon: Hamuko seems to be interested in teasing this trope after Ken is introduced, because he's cute and a Social Link, much to Minato's dismay.
  • Shout-Out: There are quite a few references to other Shin Megami Tensei games.
  • Slap Slap Kiss: Hoo boy! Minato and Hamuko often get into fights with each other and then make up sometime later. Then rinse and repeat. This means that their social link constantly reverses and goes back to normal a lot. Played for drama when Minato tries to rape Hamuko, and again much later, when Hamuko tries to rape Minato.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: We understand Koromaru mostly through Aigis' translations.
  • Squee: Hamuko is absolutely delighted when she meets Naoto.
  • Stepford Smiler: Hamuko. In chapter 73, Yukari is caught off guard when she sees Hamuko being melancholic rather than her usual genki self.
  • Supreme Chef: Shinjiro, of course.
  • Switching POV: Every so often, the perspective switches to that of another character. Junpei was given point for a portion of the chapter where Strega gets introduced into the plot, we got to see an average day at home and at school from Aigis' point of view and Akihiko's view on Minato and Hamuko.
  • The Tease: Hamuko. She does this all the time, hell, she reveals that was like that in all her previous relationships, and it's not reduced much as after 73 chapters in, her friends are still annoyed by her carefree and slutty behaviour.
  • Tin Man: Aigis can become this when she shuts down her emotion-display subroutines. She does this when the SEES members play poker in chapter 81.
  • The Unfair Sex: Aigis is pretty much the only one who believes that Minato did not try to rape Hamuko. He really didn't, but no one's sure exactly what happened.
    • Later, Hamuko comes to admit that he wasn't a rapist and that there might be strange happenings about that caused that as well as the incident before it.
  • Unwanted Harem: Minato attracts women, in part thanks to the Social Links mechanic and also because he smells sexy. He's narrates that he's a fan of monogamy, so he's in distress about this.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Hamuko and Minato early on, and they never fully grow out of it.
  • Wham! Episode: Chapter 39.
  • When She Smiles: Hamuko and Shinji.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Minato. Not without good reason, though.
  • Yandere: Chihiro.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Chihiro, as it turns out.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair
  • You Monster!: Akihiko doesn't say it, but witnessing Minato and Hamuko go through one of their macabre Dark Hour displays in Tartarus makes him reconsider his decide that Hamuko can't be Miki because she's too much a monster.
  1. ↑ whereas you can only play as one or the other in the game itself and the other protagonist is nonexistent.
  2. ↑ That was the third choice. The first two were that the toast tasted like diabetes, or spring
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