When misfortune brings Izuku Midoriya back to Japan after spending ten years overseas, he finds himself a stranger in a familiar land. Even as his world changes, so many of the sights are all the same, from old "friends" to the neverending clash of Heroes defending the innocent from devious Villains out to exploit them. But everything has its reflection; and this society of Heroes and Villains is no exception.

The Mirror World is the darkness cast in the mirror of Hero Society's consciousness. Here, terrible creatures called "Shadows" prowl the night in search of unwary people who stray too close to the boundary between mind and matter or those foolish enough to cross it of their own volition. Izuku must gather allies to dismantle this society of monsters born from the human psyche. Luckily for him, fate has seen fit to imbue a Quirkless would-be hero with a different kind of potential: the power of the Wild Card.

Bound By Chains is a crossover AU story between My Hero Academia and the Persona video game series written by Anonymous567, in which a Quirkless Izuku Midoriya gains the power of Persona, the manifestation of one's personalities, and uses his new abilities to defend his home from malevolent Shadows kidnapping civilians and leaving them as emotionless husks of their former selves, while at the same time aspiring to join U.A's famous Hero Course to accomplish his dreams. The story follows his journey as he balances his life in reality building his Social Links and unraveling the mysteries of the Mirror World, the source of the Shadows and their Persona abilities.

Note, due to the author's use of Adaptational Early Appearance and Continuity Nod, spoilers for Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5 and My Hero Academia are unmarked. You have been warned.

Beware of unmarked spoilers.

---

Bound By Chains provides examples of:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Himiko Toga is one towards Izuku Midoriya, trying to get the latter to fall in love with her and displaying interest in advancing their relationship physically, to which Izuku responds with varying degrees of disturbance and attempting to let her down gently.
• Accidental Aiming Skills: During Izuku's first attempts to use a gun, he tried to scare away a Shadow attacking Himiko from behind with a gunshot. However due to being unprepared for the recoil and not using proper stance, the shot missed and struck the Shadow in the head instead, stunning it and allowing Himiko to take it down.
• Accidental Athlete: Agatha has incredible physical prowess as an attendant of the Velvet Room, possessing strength, agility, and reflexes far beyond what can be expected of her without a Quirk. Her ability to Dodge the Bullet and overwhelm the competition in an airsoft match get her disqualified and kicked out because of the facility's "No Quirks" rule even as she insists that she was only using her own physical abilities.
• Accidental Hand-Hold: Performed by Izuku with Agatha in Chapter 17, where he meant to grab her arm and hurry to return her to the Velvet Room so he can arrive in the Mirror World on time for training missions. However he misjudged and grabbed her hand instead, leading to the both of them blushing and Agatha calling such an action 'scandalous'.
• Adaptational Badass: Any character that unlocks their Personas gains access to a wide range of elemental and physical abilities. So far the list consists of Izuku Midoriya, Kaina Tsutsumi, Katsuki Bakugou, and Himiko Toga.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Kaina Tsutsumi appeared in the first chapter as a cameo near the end, while in canon she first appeared in the Paranormal Liberation War Arc during All for One's escape.
  • Himiko Toga made an unnamed appearance during the end of Chapter 11 where she saved the life of a civilian brought into the Mirror World in exchange for drops of his blood.
  • Himiko Toga to a certain extent, as thanks to the awakening of her Persona she was able to remain relatively more stable than her canon counterpart, never reaching her breaking point and falling into killing to feed her thirst of blood. However she does retain a warped view towards love and affection, acting obsessed over forming a romantic relationship with Izuku.
• Adaptational Wealth: While the Midoriyas were never portrayed as especially affluent, they were never shown to run into significant money problems either. In this story, Hisashi lost his job and is forced to find work as a waiter while continuing to look for more gainful employment. Izuku similarly works multiple part-time jobs to fund his social activities and escapades in the Mirror World.
• Anti-Magic: Certain Shadows are able to silence their victims, preventing them from speaking or breaking the chains required to summon their Personas.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: The primary reason as to why Izuku and the others have not disclose the existence of the Mirror World, Shadows and Personas to the authorities. Since they are unable to gather physical proof and evidence, as well as the memories of non-Persona users being wiped upon leaving the Mirror World, they believe it would be too difficult to prove the existence of the supernatural.
• Artistic License – Gun Safety: Being a Velvet Room Attendant, Agatha has no concept of proper gun safety measures and looks down the barrel of an airsoft gun with her eye. Izuku quickly points the gun away from her to ensure she doesn't injure herself.
• Ascended Extra:
  • In this AU, Kaina Tsutsumi becomes the mentor figure to Izuku replacing All Might's canonical role towards him. She uses her experience as a former Pro Hero and Persona's navigational ability to aid the team in their mission against Shadows.
  • Inko Midoriya can be seen as this as she has a Social Link with Izuku in the form of the Empress Arcana, meaning they would be seen interacting more with each other than in canon.
  • Hisashi who has only a background mention in My Hero Academia is a Social Link of the Sun Arcana
  • Kyoka Jirou is a team member of Izuku's group of vigilantes instead of being just a classmate in U.A, as well as Izuku's Priestess Social Link.
• Attack Reflector: Tetrakarn is a spell that reflects any physical damage the user would have taken from an attack back at the attacker. Sekhmet uses this to turn Cú Chulainn's thrust against Izuku.
• Bad People Abuse Animals: Izuku and Himiko stumble upon a dog fighting ring while strolling through a park. Himiko is outraged and is tempted to stab the perpetrators until Izuku stops her. The pair rescue the dog from the gangsters, who are portrayed as nothing but sadistic, conniving, and immoral.
• Breaking Speech: Given to Kyoka Jirou by her own Shadow after it manifested in the Mirror World. It proceeds to mock her for her own perceived cowardice and issues she has regarding her own Quirk resulting in Kyoka's only response being to tell her Shadow to shut up repeatedly before rejecting it.
• Breaking the Bonds: The method of Persona summoning used by the main cast, consisting of manifesting chains wrapped around a body part related to their Quirks (or in Izuku's case, his lack of one). Kaina manifests chains around the arm she used for her Rifle Quirk, Katsuki manifests them around both his forearms, Himiko manifests them around his mouth, and Izuku has them wrapped all over his body.
• Bridal Carry: Izuku picks up Kyoka after she collapses from awakening her Persona. Subverted with Himiko. After dealing with Himiko, as she fakes an ankle injury in hopes that Izuku would come over and carry her even though he already has his hands full with Kyoka. Her expectations are dashed when an irritated Katsuki grabs her by the waste and lifts her like spare luggage.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: A downplayed example. After rescuing Katsuki and leaving the Mirror World, with Kaina advising Izuku to never come back for his own safety, Izuku was somewhat content if disappointed with returning to his normal life. After a week of not entering the Mirror World, Agatha grew curios and left the Velvet Room in order to investigate Izuku's reasoning although it wasn't to force him back. She merely wanted to understand his reasoning, and would have respected his decision no matter the choice he made. Their subsequent talk with one another made Izuku realise that deep down he wanted to go back to the Mirror World, in part wanting to grow stronger.
• Cassandra Truth: Inverted with Kyoka Jirou. After hearing a deal between a corrupted Pro Hero and Villain planning a terrorist attack for the Hero to foil and regain their fame, she reports this to the police and her warnings were apparently heeded but not in the way she expected. When both the Heroes and Villains ended up dead, with the former praised for their Heroic Sacrifice, Kyoka tried to tell everyone otherwise which is when the trope is played straight as no one believes her and ostracises her for trying to ruin a dead Hero's reputation. Fittingly her Persona is manifested in the form of Kassandra, princess of Troy and priestess of Apollo.
• Chekhov's Gun: In Chapter 17, Agatha gives Izuku a necklace shaped like a miniature version of the chains he's wrapped in while traversing the Mirror World as thanks for agreeing to her requests to explore the real world. She claims he will understand the value of this gift in time, so he wears it everywhere he goes from then on. In Chapter 33, Izuku is cornered by two cult members of the FSS when he hears the words of what is implied to be Izanagi, briefly manifesting the powers of a Persona in a real world when he breaks the necklace like he uses his chains, allowing him to cast magic spells like Zio. The necklace then reforms around his neck for later use.
• Condescending Compassion:
  • Katsuki still holds a grudge against Izuku for trying to help him up after Izuku saw him fall into a river. Despite the harmlessness of the gesture, Katsuki's inflated ego refuses to let him take help from someone he sees as beneath him, making him believe that Izuku is looking down upon him.
  • After spending a day at the airsoft field, Agatha asks Katsuki for his perspective on why her twin sister could have abandoned her family. Katsuki is annoyed by her constant questioning and remarks that he would've left if she kept bugging him like this too. This shocks Agatha, who later confides to Izuku that her sister struggled to perform even the most basic tasks expected of her, such as being able to summon Personas from the Compendium. She then wonders if her attempts to console and coddle her sister by telling her that it was okay to be born weak drove her away.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Shadows faced by Izuku and his team are from both Persona 3 and Persona 4, formed from collective repressed thoughts. Among them are also what Kaina calls 'Persona Shadows' that are reminiscent of those in Persona 5, where Izuku can convince to join him like Ren Amamiya does. There are also 'Warlord' Shadows that are warped reflections of a single Person that leads Factions of Shadows.
  • Eliminating a Warlord Shadow leads to something akin to a widespread change of heart similar to Persona 5, where people oppressed by the person in reality start to rise up against them. An example is when Katsuki's Shadow was banished, everyone in Aldera stopped looking up to him out of fear and his teachers begin forcing him to follow rules like the other students, no longer giving him preferential treatment. Another is the Pro Hero Dive Bomb, who's criminal operations collapsed from in-fighting after his Shadow was destroyed and many of his victims finding the courage to speak up against him by reporting to other Pros and the HPSC.
  • The Phoenix Rangers Featherman R series that exists throughout the Persona franchise is mentioned in Chapter 23 by both Katsuki Bakugou and Himiko Toga who were fans of it during their childhood.
  • Igor and Agatha make references to the "Trickster" who was once a guest of the Velvet Room, referencing the events of Persona 5. Izuku has his own version of Ren's Picaro Personas, explained as being his own manifestation of Personas utilised by previous Wild Cards called Sicarius Personas named as such due to the activities of the team more resembling assassins, breaking into heavily fortified areas to take down singular powerful 'Warlord' Shadows. So far the only example is Orpheus Sicarius which changes its colour scheme to black and white and including a green scarf, as well as its lyre growing a blade and replacing it's fire "Agi-" spells with wind "Garu-" spells.
  • In Chapter 22, Izuku is introduced to a Gymnasium in the Velvet Room where he can fight against cognitive constructs of the past Wild Cards, with his first being the protagonist of Persona 3, Makoto Yuuki. But due to their difference in experience and power, Makoto was able to effortless crush Izuku so fast that the latter couldn't register what had happened.
  • During one of their 'dates' in Chapter 26 Himiko Toga and Izuku Midoriya rescue a white Shiba Inu, the same type of dog as Koromaru from Persona 3. This dog eventually becomes the Chariot Arcana for Izuku's Social Links. They are both also in possession of intelligence beyond any normal dog, capable of interacting with humans and limited communication. The dog's Social Link also involves having Izuku help someone else by bringing them an item, similar to the Fox's Hermit Social Link from Persona 4.
  • In Chapter 27, a girl hinted to be Saiko Intelli was seen reading a book of Cognitive Pscience written by Futaba Sakura.
  • The Big Three train in a gym on the weekends located in Musutafu named after Akihiko Sanada from Persona 3.
  • In Chapter 30 when faced with Kyoka Jirou's Shadow and being unable to land a hit due to its foresight, Izuku unlocks Fusion Spells with the aid of Agatha in order to cast a devastating spell that it could neither dodge or block. The only ones capable of such a feat in the Persona universe were both Makoto Yuuki and Aegis.
• Cooldown Hug: During Chapter 28, Agatha begin thinking that she may have been responsible for driving away her sister. In order to calm her down, Izuku reaches out and hugs her.
• Cult: The second major target for the heroes is the "Free Spirit Society", a cult based out of the Danchui Ward. While the group is advertises itself as an organization to help its members reach their full potential, its influence is reflected in the Mirror World as a massive church filled with slavishly devoted zealots to the cult's religion. Izuku tries to infiltrate the society, but is soon caught and has to make a break for it when they try to subdue and brainwash him with an unknown liquid drug. He only escapes thanks to Agatha's necklace helping him manifest his Personas' magic in the real world.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Izuku insists on challenging a Cognition of Makoto Yuki above Agatha's warnings because of his desire to see how far he has to go as a Wild Card. The battle is over so quickly that Izuku can't process what happened, waking up in Agatha's lap as she treats his wounds.
• Dark Secret: Something that Shadow Kyoka threatens to expose to the rest of the protagonists which prompts Kyoka to reject her Shadow.
• Didn't Think This Through: Kaina chews out Izuku and Kyoka over their ill-concieved plan to infiltrate the Free Spirits Society. While they came up with a fake name, Quirk, and contact information for Izuku, they did nothing to disguise Izuku's appearance, meaning that they just made enemies out of an entire cult that has silenced people who have tried to investigate it. Kaina points out that Izuku has just painted a target on his and his family's backs, putting even more pressure on the team to find and dispatch the Warlord Shadow before it's too late.
• Dine and Dash: After investigating Dive Bomb's illicit activities, Katsuki takes Izuku to a ramen joint. While the food is good, Izuku realizes that he doesn't have the money to pay for it after the meal. He slips away to leave Katsuki with the tab while promising to make it up to him. Katsuki isn't pleased and holds him to that when he makes Izuku foot the bill for an expensive celebratory dinner after defeating Dive Bomb's Shadow.
• Disproportionate Retribution: When ejected from an airsoft match, Agatha claims to feel a surge of frustration and annoyance at the action before attempting to cast Megidolaon until Izuku stops her.
• Dramatic Gun Cock: Attempted by Katsuki Bakugou using a model shotgun, only to remember it's still loaded which results in ejecting an unused shell, forcing him to fumble with it while trying to reload.
• Dungeon Shop: Operated by the Mysterious Merchant, an ally of Izuku's that sells Izuku various weapons in exchange for 'trophies' collected from defeated powerful Shadows. They used to deal in the alleys of the Mirror World before the Merchant sets up a weapons store marked with the sign of an orange lock.
• Eldritch Location:
  • The Mirror World is one such place, created and shaped by the collective perception from humans being reflected into it and distorted. It is full of armies of Shadows fighting each other for control, and occasionally humans are dragged in by Shadows in order to be used as fuel to create more Shadows. During midnight the barriers between both realms are at its weakest, which allows Shadows to invade and kidnap humans from the real world. However in the latest arc, Shadows are now seen kidnapping humans in broad daylight.
  • The Velvet Room can be classified as one. For Izuku Midoriya, his Velvet Room is located in a school classroom surrounded by thick fog. Fusions of Personas are performed at the gates of these schools where the Personas' are 'expelled' through a pair of iron gates before the resulting Persona from the Fusion is 'enrolled' from the fog the component Personas were banished into. Expelled Personas can then be re-summoned by 're-enrolling' them for a monetary sum, although Agatha mentions that it can be done without money if Izuku wishes to sacrifice parts of his body or soul. There is also a Gymnasium where Izuku can fight against cognitive reconstructions of past opponents in order to train, as well as cognitive constructs of past Wild Cards.
• Empty Shell: What becomes of a non-Persona user kidnapped by Shadows and left to be used as fuel to create more Shadows for over a month.
• Elemental Powers: Similar to the Persona games, all characters wielding a Persona have access to elemental spells to wield against Shadows. Kaina with Dark or Curse skills, Himiko with Psychokinesis, Katsuki with Fire and Izuku being able to use all sorts thanks to his ability as the Wild Card.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Many Shadows and Personas have Elemental Affinities where they are weak against certain elements, or strong against or capable of completely negating or reflecting. When someone is struck with an Element that targets their weaknesses, such as Katsuki Bakugou with Ice or Himiko Toga with Nuclear, they are usually knocked unconscious for brief moments where they can awaken soon after waiting or by slapping them awake.
• Enlightened Self-Interest: Izuku's Shadow claims to the physical embodiment of Izuku's greed and unwillingness to let go of his dream of being a hero. Despite mocking Izuku repeatedly for this, it continually aids Izuku by becoming their first Persona and sending out calls into the Sea of Souls to grant him additional Personas like Orpheus. But it seems to want Izuku to crash and burn, telling him that he has only himself to blame for everything that happens in the end.
• Epiphany Therapy: Zigzagged. The process of obtaining a Persona involves confronting your repressed thoughts and feelings to obtain a more complete understanding of yourself. In the case of people like Izuku and Kaina, this can be a significant step toward healing, as both of them are significantly happier, more idealistic people after obtaining their respective Personas. However, this doesn't solve deeper traumas, such as Kaina's guilt over her past murders. Himiko's Awakening also caused her to stop trying to act "normal" and start indulging her fascination with blood, resulting in her unhinged behavior that could have easily escalated into serial killing had she not met Izuku earlier than she did.
• Fantasy Kitchen Sink: Personas wielded by the main cast are gathered from all sorts of myths and stories. Izuku's initial Persona being Don Quixote from a Spanish epic novel, Katsuki Bakugou's being Sekhmet from Egyptian Mythology, Kaina Tsutsumi's being Hodr from Norse Mythology and Himiko's being Carmilla from the gothic novel of the same name.
• Fate Worse than Death: What Kaina considers Tartarus as instead of death sentences, dangerous Villains are sent to isolated cells empty of everything save for a bed akin to solitary confinement, with machine guns ready to fire if they detect any Quirk activity. Without any chance of parole, Villains are left to Go Mad from the Isolation with plenty choosing to end their own lives by triggering the machine guns. Kaina admits that they should just save the hassle and execute them, as it would be considered a mercy.
• Fetch Quest: Izuku's Social Link event with Spot, the strange dog he befriended in Chapter 27, can be summed up as one as he brought a manga from a bookstore to deliver it to a boy that Spot spent some time with prior to Izuku as a 'Thank You' gift.
• Fighter, Mage, Thief: Izuku and his team fill out certain roles.
  • Katsuki Bakugou fills both roles as Fighter and Mage, due to his frequent use of large area of effect explosions and his Persona's fire spells. He is also the first in the front lines, being physically the strongest of the team so far but still reliant on his firepower than physical attacks.
  • Himiko Toga fills out the role of Thief, being physically weak and reliant on a fighting style that emphasises on disrupting and disorientating enemies before striking in weak spots with her daggers. She was also the first to discover a Stealth technique that renders one almost invisible to Shadows.
  • Kaina fills the role of Mage, fighting from long range and mostly using her Persona's ability to help navigate the rest of the team, directing them through their missions and pointing out weaknesses in their foes.
  • Thanks to Izuku's ability as the Wild Card, he can fill out any role required of him whether it be a front-line fighter or a healer in the backlines. Primarily he acts as a Mage, constantly swapping Personas to strike at the elemental weaknesses of enemy Shadows to disrupt them and allow his friends to counter-attack.
• The Fixer: Izuku is the only member of the team who's employed and making money. This means he's the one everyone turns to obtain their supplies and gear. While his deal with the Merchant provides most of the team's weapons, Izuku is often on the hook for everything else. He mourns his wallet throughout the story as his teammates spend his earnings on food, clothes, and other things for their comfort.
• Friendly Sniper: Kaina Tsutsumi is one, attacking primarily from range with both her Persona's mistletoe arrows and her Rifle Quirk while remaining amicable with most members of the team, especially with Izuku.
• Functional Magic: Personas can be classified as a form of Theurgy, as 'contracts' are formed with a user's Persona who are manifestations of legendary or mythical beings including gods that cast Elemental Magic for the user. Izuku can also recruit certain unique Shadows into becoming his Personas by speaking with them and coming to an understanding.
  • What Izuku does can be classified as Summon Magic through the aid of Agatha, his Velvet Room Attendant.
  • Black Magic is Hodr's speciality, firing mistletoe arrows infused with the Cursed/Dark Element. It also has limited Divination capabilities, able to sense nearby Shadows and identify their weaknesses.
• Fusion Dance: Velvet Room Attendants like Agatha are able to perform this between a Wild Card's Personas to form new ones to wield. As of Chapter 30, Agatha grants Izuku knowledge to perform one himself, but due to being a human and not a being that 'rules over power' like Agatha, this leads to only a reaction that grants him a temporary power boost strong enough to cast tremendously powerful and devastating Fusion Spells.
• Heel Realization: What happens to someone with a Warlord Shadow once it gets destroyed. After some time they are forced to reflect on their past actions without the biased they have built up, being confronted with the full weight of their actions. The first Warlord Shadow, a Pro Hero by the name of Dive Bomb, felt immense guilt upon seeing his warped reflection and confessed his sins.
• Human Resources: Humans are kidnapped by the Shadows are thrown into sacs of yellow fluid connected to pools of ink-like substance where they are drained of emotions and their will to live in order to create more Shadows. Once they are fully consumed they are sent back in the real world where they become wandering husks of their former selves, many of whom chose to end their own lives.
• An Ice Person:
  • In Chapter 6 during a losing battle against Katsuki's Shadow, Izuku unlocks Jack Frost and immediately turns the tide by freezing the Shadow which was its weakness. He uses the Persona regularly whenever he is required to target a Shadow that is weak to Ice.
  • Kyoka's Shadow wields ice as well as nuclear and fire magic, using the former to impede and slow down its foes and the latter for more damaging attacks.
• Instant Expert: Persona users upon awakening received instinctual knowledge on how to summon and wield their Personas, such as their spells and physical attacks.
• Invisible to Normals: The Velvet Room and its denizens are only visible to the Wild Card unless the denizens wish to be seen. Even the silver key that Izuku uses to get into the Velvet Room can't be perceived by others.
• Ironic Name: The dog Izuku forms the Chariot Link with is named Spot despite not having any on his fur. This name comes from Izuku thinking that Spot's fur was similar to Cerberus, whose name is popularly translated as "spotted one".^note However, this translation has become the subject of heated debate, with later studies denouncing it.
• I Warned You: Izuku is excited to test himself against recreations of previous guests of the Velvet Room once Igor and Agatha open the Gymnasium to him. Agatha warns Izuku that any one of them is far beyond his ability to handle, but Izuku insists on facing one. One Curb-Stomp Battle later, Agatha remarks that he lost terribly, just as she suspected he would.
• I Work Alone: Discussed. Kaina initially takes a leadership role for the heroes because she's the only one with real combat experience against Shadows. But she cedes leadership to Izuku after the introductory chapters. She explains that she's simply not used to leading others and typically got orders from above before completing them alone. After seeing Izuku's ability to coordinate people, she decides that he's better off calling the shots than she is.
• Jack of All Trades: Kyoka's Shadow wielded many elemental spells such as Fire, Ice, Wind, Nuclear and Holy when battling the protagonists which made it a difficult opponent with its foresight abilities.
• Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: Kaina Tsutsumi's former role in the HPSC, eliminating corrupt Pro Heroes in the country and covering them up as either accidents or as a Heroic Sacrifice to maintain the public's squeaky clean image of Pro Heroes. It is something she deeply regrets.
• Lap Pillow: Agatha gives one to Izuku while stroking his hair after the latter was defeated in a training battle with the cognitive construct of Makoto Yuki in the Velvet Room's Gymnasium.
• Level-Up at Intimacy 5: As Izuku strengthens his relationship with his Social Links of the appropriate Tarot Motifs then the associated Personas will grow in power as well. It is seen a number of times that when Izuku attempts to use a Persona he has not forged a Social Link for yet as well as having low affinity with such as with those of the Death Arcana, it is more difficult as he is forced to chant "I am Thou. Thou art I." in order to focus himself in order to summon them.
• Living Shadow:
  • The primary enemy that Izuku and his team fights in the Mirror World are Shadows fromed by the collective repressed thoughts of humanity warped and reflected by the realm. Their base forms are often large black slimes, but in recent chapters Izuku and his team encounter a Vatican-like city in the Mirror World filled with Shadows whose base forms resemble cloaked and masked humanoids wielding pitchforks and torches.
  • All Persona users have to face their own Shadow similarly to Persona 4, being confronted by their repressed self with varying results ranging from encouragement to break free from the chains that society have set on them, to violently brutalising in Katsuki's case as he continues to reject his Shadow.
  • Izuku's Shadow is a strange case as even after awakening his Initial Persona, the Shadow persists in a corner of Izuku's mind and connects him to the Sea of Souls, granting him new Personas for every new Social Link or milestone he accomplished. His comments can range from sarcastic mockery to genuine advice.
• Load-Bearing Boss: The destruction of 'Warlord' Shadows in their Fortress results in every Shadow and their presence in their former territory being erased. This is taken advantaged of by Izuku and his team, as it makes clearing cities of Shadows possible as doing so by fighting every Shadow would be impossible with such little numbers.
• Lost in a Crowd: One of the methods that the protagonists use to sneak past Shadows. The Stealth skill Himiko teaches allows them to appear like a Shadow to other Shadows and lets them blend into packs and use them to sneak around and avoid combat. Although this can be bypassed with Leader Shadows being able to see through their disguises, and unique Watchtowers that dispel their Stealth.
• Mirror Character:
  • Agatha shares some similarities with Izuku, the two of them being admirers of someone in a profession they wish to join with Izuku aspiring to be a Hero like All Might, while Agatha aspires to be an excellent Attendant like her older sisters. The two also have a habit of writing down things of interest to them, with Izuku in his notebook collection and Agatha in the binder that doubles as her Persona Compendium. They also share a habit of talking rapidly when regarding their topics of interests, Izuku with Heroes and Quirks, but also recently with Personas similar to Agatha. They also have insecurities about worrying if they are good enough, Izuku wondering initially if he was worthy of the Wild Card and Agatha worrying that she is a failure as an Attendant.
  • The story of Agatha's sister clearly mirrors Izuku's struggles with his Quirklessness. Both are people born "flawed" by the standards of their peers and suffered condescension, unintentional or not, for it while struggling to achieve their goals. The primary difference is that Izuku felt isolated from others for wanting to become a hero without a Quirk, while Agatha's sister isolated herself by fleeing the Velvet Room, leaving Agatha and their siblings confused and hurt.
• Motifs: The most recurring iconography in the story is chains. The bonds one experiences in life are compared to a series of links bound together in a chain. Personas are summoned by breaking the chains that appear on one's body after accepting one's Shadow. There is also iconography involving mirrors as the primary method of entering the Mirror World is using shattered mirrors, a world which is based around the idea that it is a warped reflection of society's subconscious thoughts.
• Mugging the Monster:
  • Himiko Toga drags Izuku into the Mirror World on their first meeting, assuming he would be scared out of his mind and willing to do anything to go home such as giving her blood to feed on. However Izuku makes regular trips into the Mirror World and possesses an arsenal of Personas, as well as combat experience fighting against Shadows. His nonchalant reaction to his situation surprises her.
  • A bunch of dog fighters try to sic their Tosa inu on Izuku after he tries to rescue an albino dog being used as a bait dog. But the Tosa freezes as it senses the presence of the dog god Inugami within Izuku's soul, scaring the Tosa away.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
  • Izuku has been repeatedly punished for doing the right thing in the past. While he was overseas, he was expelled from one school due to beating up several students who were bullying one of his peers. In the story proper, he's fired from his part-time job as a cashier after he tells a customer to shut up for harrassing Tamaki, a hero student and intern. More humorously, he's constantly on the hook as The Fixer for his team, making it a Running Gag that he's perpetually broke covering his teammate's expenses on everything from food to equipment to supplies.
  • Kyoka Jirou at a young age overhears a terrorist plot between a corrupt Pro Hero and Villain gang, reporting this to the police to stop it from happening. However, when both sides ended up dead and the former Heroes praised for their actions, she tried to reveal the truth only to be treated like a Villain trying to ruin the reputation of Pro Heroes. This leads to nasty rumours, bullying and also her parents' reputation being damaged which forced them to move away and Kyoka forcibly suppressing her enhanced hearing to avoid a similar situation for occurring ever again.
• Original Character: Agatha, Igor's latest assistant and the Velvet Room Attendant for Izuku Midoriya. She is described as looking around the age of a college student wearing a blue coat, and her silver hair tied into a bun, holding a binder under her arm that acts as her Persona Compendium. This resembles a sort of teacher or teaching assistant, fitting as the location for Izuku's Velvet Room is his internal image of a classroom for a Hero Course. She is the youngest of the Velvet Siblings, born after Lavenza along with a twin sister who has disappeared from the Velvet Room some time ago. Like all Velvet Room residents, she is oblivious as to how the human world functions, and her Link with Izuku involves exploring and understanding it in hopes that she can understand the reason as to why her twin sister left.
• Parrying Bullets: Izuku defends himself from Sekhmet's barrage of fireballs by having Cú Chulainn deflect them with its spear thrusts.
• People Puppets: Katsuki's Shadow manipulates Katsuki Bakugou's body using chains in order to pit him against Izuku Midoriya who was attempting to rescue the former.
• Power High: Izuku experiences an electrifying power high when he first uses the Fusion Spell, Justice, combining both Archangel and Angel's abilities into a holy explosion that's too wide-reaching and too damaging for Kyoka's Shadow to dodge or block. Despite his exhaustion and his injuries, Izuku wears a manic grin while using it until the power fades again.
• The Power of Friendship:
  • As per standard in the Persona series, the power of the Wild Card grows as the wielder obtains and deepens their bonds with others. Every major bond that Izuku creates allows him to access new Personas more easily than he would if he tried to force a connection himself.
  • Defied by the Merchant, who insists on creating weapons for Izuku while trying not to bond with him as part of an experiment. The Merchant is continually frustrated by Izuku's ability to deepen their relationship without trying to, as it's messing with the Merchant's stated goal of created individual links as strong as an entire chain held together by bonds.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Used by Spot, a stray dog Izuku befriends, in order to persuade Izuku to spend some of his remaining cash in order to buy a manga.
• Resignations Not Accepted: The HPSC President's reaction to Kaina's request to quit and retire, implying they'd just find another agent to do their dirty work and clean up loose ends, and that's what she would be if she retires.
• Running Gag:
  • Many have pointed out how confusing the war map used by the main cast are, as different Lego bricks are used as markers. Without proper funds, all they could afford were mismatched bricks of all shapes and colours, making their use as markers questionable. Katsuki gets frustrated whenever it's brought up as he was the one who bought them, the reason the colours and sizes aren't consistent being that he got them for cheap.
    Himiko Toga: You could've bought a set of black ones, instead of a dozen different colours.
  • Izuku being constantly broke despite working numerous part-time jobs, due to the combination of summoning Personas from the Compendium, purchasing medicine and supplies for his team, going on expensive 'dates' with Himiko and paying for food. Everyone in his team relies on him to pay for everything and he mourns his wallet everytime.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend:
  • When Hadou Nejire asks if Agatha and Izuku were closer than just friends, Agatha's face flushed with a slight red tint as she embarrassedly claimed that she merely guides and aids Izuku on becoming stronger.
  • What Izuku insists to Katsuki after he catches him and Agatha on an outing to an airsoft field.
• Shoot the Bullet: When fending off Kyoka's Shadow, Kaina uses Hodr to fire a barrage of mistletoe arrows to counter the Shadow's own barrage of projectiles to defend both herself and Kyoka.
• Shout-Out: The Mysterious Merchant Izuku forms the Strength Social Link with is one for the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 as they are both mysterious hooded weapons dealer that sell and upgrade weapons for the main character as well as buying 'treasures' from them.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: What Kaina Tsutsumi initially claims when meeting Izuku, dismissing his idealistic claims about wanting to help people. She only changes her mind once she sees the lengths he was willing to go to in order to save lives, changing her mind about him and considering that he may be the 'real deal'.
• Starter Mon: Don Quixote serves as Izuku's Initial Persona and after a battle with Katsuki's Shadow, is used to fuse with Cu Chulainn into Leanan Sidhe due to it being fairly weak in comparison with others. Even the Persona itself admits to its own weakness, willingly serving itself up to be used in Fusion if it could serve to make Izuku stronger.
• Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Kaina Tsutsumi was once an assassin for the HPSC, used to eliminate corrupt Pro Heroes and dangerous Villains in order to preserve the ideal Hero Society. However she despised her job and the more she killed, the more difficulty she has justifying her actions and the more she despised both herself and the Hero Society she was protecting. She would often think back to her kills with deep regret, imagining all the ways she could have incapacitated them without needing to kill if only the HPSC's orders.
• Tarot Motifs: Like in Persona, Izuku amasses a collection of Social Links to boost his abilities as the Wild Card, each of them represented by a Major Arcana.
  • Fool: Izuku's team of vigilantes consisting of Katsuki Bakugou, Kaina Tsutsumi and Himiko Toga working together to fight against Shadows, although each have their own reasons for doing so. Such as with Katsuki only seeing this as extra training, and Himiko making a deal with Izuku.
  • Magician: Represented by Katsuki Bakugou, someone with great ambition that is matched by his great immaturity. It also represents that despite all Katsuki's talk, he has barely taken the first steps into his journey like Izuku has. Like previous Magician Arcana wielders of the Persona universe, he is a male close friend (in the loosest terms as of now) that focuses on dealing Magic damage to enemies as well as having an affinity for Fire.
  • Priestess: Represented by Kyoka Jirou, the true Navigator of the team with her Persona abilities centred around guiding and supporting her allies. Reversed it could mean withdrawal and silence which is shown by how she initially holds back her Quirk's passive superhearing out of fear of discovering information that could lead to trouble, like how she did as a child when uncovering a scheme between Pro Heroes and Villains planning to perform Engineered Heroics. When their deaths were covered up as Heroic Sacrifices she tried to tell otherwise which leads to ostracisation.
  • Empress: Represented by Inko Midoriya, the mother of Izuku Midoriya and an important female figure in his life. Their Social Link involves trying to reconnect with each other after years of little communication between each other driving them apart slowly, in part due to Izuku's stubborn desire to be a Hero in-spite of his Quirkless nature.
  • Lovers: Represented by Himiko Toga maintaining her warped sense of harmony through her obsession with love and desire to form relationships, with Izuku as her primary target of affection.
  • Chariot: Represented by a strange dog that Izuku befriends, who will be named Spot in Chapter 31 due to his white fur resembling that of Izuku's Cerberus Persona and the name supposedly translating to "Spotted One" in English.
  • Strength: Represented by the Mysterious Merchant that Izuku first meets on his first incursion into the Mirror World, being his main supplier of equipment used to fight against Shadows. They have an obsession with obtaining power without relying on bonds, and see Izuku as a sort of test subject to prove their hypothesis correct. Izuku's Shadow implies that they seek to hide their own perceived weakness through gaining power.
  • Hanged Man: Represented by Keigo Takami, also known as Hawks. While it has not developed yet, the common theme of the Hanged Man through the Persona universe involves inability or fear of obtaining initiative, being forced to deal with a dilemmas in their life that leaves it in a stagnant state, likely implying his employment under the HPSC.
  • Devil: Represented by an Online Gamer that Izuku befriends through a game, under the name of DecayLord who is revealed to be Tomura Shigaraki. A common meaning of the Devil Arcana is enslavement, entrapment and unhealthy relationships which may be represented by his relationship with All for One. It is also represented with temptation which may allude to the idea that Tomura may tempt Izuku into joining the League of Villains due to Izuku's growing jaded outlook on Hero Society.
  • Tower: Represented by Kaina Tsutsumi, also known as Lady Nagant. In the Persona universe, it is commonly attributed to people driven to isolation and pessimism in part due to treatment of others around them as well as their own volition. After years of being used by the HPSC, Kaina initially isolated herself in the Mirror World and responded negatively to Izuku's offer of working together to stop the Shadows, but eventually gives in and decides to work with and mentor him, forming a close bond with him.
  • Star: Represented by the Big Three, but primarily by Tamaki Amajiki. An antisocial Hero student going through internal struggles due to his social anxiety, his Social Link with Izuku so far involves him trying to overcome his weakness to be a better Hero, as well as Izuku training in practical skills required for Heroics to prepare himself for U.A's Entrance Exam.
  • Sun: Represented by Hisashi Midoriya, the estranged father of Izuku Midoriya. While he is more present in this AU, with Inko and Izuku moving to California, America to be with him in his job, it is mentioned that they still had little contact with Hisashi often working late to support his family. Once they return to Japan, Izuku learns that his father's reputation has been ruined after a scandal at his old workplace, and now struggles to find a job in the Support Industry. Their Social Link involves rekindling the bond as they work together, with Hisashi being given raw materials from Izuku's journeys into the Mirror World in exchange for teaching him how to craft infiltration tools.
  • Aeon: Represented by the Velvet Room Attendant, Agatha, a being that is not exactly human and unfamiliar with the behaviour of humans. The theme of her Social Link is trying to understand the world around her, and in doing so trying to understand her twin sister that ran away for reasons unknown to her.
• Training from Hell: Kaina describes the training she recieved to turn her into a lethal wetworks agent for the HPSC as hellish. She subjects Izuku to the same training to ensure that he can survive and hold his own in the Mirror World after failing to convince him to abandon it entirely. It frequently leaves him sore and exhausted, but it succeeds in making him a much more effective combatant.
• Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Almost every night Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou will go out into the Mirror World to fight against Shadows in order to rescue humans from their clutches, this has lead to some slight difficulty balancing their sleep schedule as both students have trouble keeping awake in class and in Izuku's case at his part-time jobs as well.
• Wanted Meter: Similar to Persona 5 where the more the protagonists fight, the more the Security Level rises which leads to more Shadows on patrol searching for them on high alert. To avoid being overwhelmed, combat is avoided most times limiting them to quick sneak attacks. Navigators like Kaina are able to sense the Security Levels rising.
• Weaker in the Real World: Persona users struggle to access their Personas outside of the Mirror World, with Izuku not having any powers at all as a Quirkless teenager. Agatha's necklace helps him bypass this by letting him use his Personas' magic in the real world, but it's not the same as summoning the entire Persona to fight on his behalf.
• With This Herring: Izuku begins his journey rescuing Katsuki Bakugou from his own Shadow with only the clothes on his back and a pair of knuckledusters gifted to him by the Mysterious Merchant.
• Wrong Context Magic: Hawks and the HPSC assume that the mysterious kidnappings that has been occurring are due to a criminal organisation using Quirks, instead of supernatural Shadows kidnapping humans at midnight to use as Human Resources in a war between Factions. Izuku also assumed at first that his Shadow was a villain that kidnapped him using a teleportation Quirk.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: The Velvet Room is beyond time and space, mind and matter. As a result, time flows differently inside than it does outside. Izuku can spend a significant amount of time training and modifying his Personas in the Velvet Room while only moments pass by in the real world.
• Your Magic's No Good Here: Downplayed. Quirks can still damage the Shadows, but not as effectively as a properly wielded Persona. This is why Kaina's Rifle and Katsuki's Explosion don't blast through the Shadows with ease even though their firepower has been compared to howitzer cannons.

---