Time waits for no one
not even for you.
Man's fate is the same,
but the journey of a single one is not.
You have one year until your final decision.
Choose wisely,
and listen closely
to the whispers of your heart.
The faint rattling of the wheels bustling above the train tracks was the only thing Arisato Hamuko could hear through her headphones, while a finger repeatedly tapped on the 'Next' button of her bright red MP3 player, hearing the first few seconds of a song before it was cut off to the next one. The doldrums had long since taken a hold of her head, right up to the very scalp that connected to her bright pink hair that made one typically rub their eyes upon a first sight. As the minutes began to feel like hours to the young lady, the cushioning in her seat felt closer to flat slabs of wood, and her legs felt ramrod stiff.
"Attention passengers, the next stop is Iwatodai. I repeat, the next stop is Iwatodai."
Hamuko stood right up upon hearing the announcement through her headphones, feeling a shower of relief wash over body as her bones finally had a chance to move again. Once the train came to a stop and the doors open right up, the young girl finally settled on a song that she wanted to listen to at the moment, and managed to squirm her way through the bustling crowd leaving the train alongside her.
Once she was out on her own in the middle of the train station, and the lyrics in her song started to pick up, a near silent click echoed from the analog clock at the top of the station's gateway.
The time was Midnight.
Not even a millisecond passed before all of the lights dimmed away, like the brightness on a lamp slowly disappearing until it was only darkness.
It was then that the light from the moon pierced through the clouds above, and shone through the ceiling windows. When it did, a sickly shade of emerald covered all of the ground that could be seen, which was no more than a few feet. Nobody could be seen, as there only stood an array of coffins in this time, and the music playing from Hamuko's MP3 came to a stop.
Hamuko swallowed her own saliva; this wasn't her first time enduring this time of night, but no amount of experience could make this moment any easier for her. She took her first step on the now virescent floor, and walked through the train station. All the while, she kept her eyes glued to the ground in order to avoid looking into the never-ending darkness at the end of the station, for no matter how many glass windows were in the ceiling that allowed the moonlight to come through, the shroud never went away; it only stayed there, waiting for Hamuko to venture even deeper into it.
Out of the train station, and into the city of Iwatodai. Or for Hamuko right now, out of the frying pan, and into the fire, if not the very belly of the beast. For each step Hamuko took on the Persian green pavement, the closer her legs felt like they were filled with jelly instead of bones. Not because they were worn out or anything of the sort in that sense, but because they just felt that way to her right now. She couldn't run like this without sensing a worry that she'd trip and fall over, which would prove to be a problem to the teenage girl, given how many times she kept looking behind her. You'd probably think that the dread of something being behind you would vanish right away upon the first or second look, but for Hamuko, that couldn't be further from the truth. Each time she looked back into the nighttime murkiness, she saw nothing, and turned her head back. But after just the first look, when Hamuko turned her head forwards again, something seemed to suddenly rattle within her mind.
The sound of footsteps.
With each step that her own foot made, the sound of another seemed to echo in her mind. As it continued, the footsteps seemed to grow louder, and sound as though they were getting closer as well. When that happened, it wasn't before long that Hamuko felt a sort of presence behind her, one that knew exactly what it planned to do with her, encompass her, and then…!
Hamuko instantly turned back to look behind her, dripping a cold sweat from her brow. As she started softly panting in correlation to her heartbeat rising, she once again saw the darkness behind her, and nothing more.
She inhaled, and caught a grasp of her breath once again before continuing down her way. A shake of her head did no good to rid the dread eating away at the back of her mind, even if the only thing in front of her was a paper describing all of the details of her new living arrangements for her high school years: the Iwatodai Dorm.
Once she was done looking it over, she looked back up, and much to her belief, there the dormitory stood in front of her. As the young woman did so, she then picked up the pace in her walk to get to the building faster, like a rabbit dashing back into its hole after hearing a hungry wolf on the prowl. When she was several feet away, she started speed walking. Upon only being a few feet away, she began jogging, and when she came right to the front steps at the door, she sprinted right in front of it with her dorm key already in hand (A small gift that came with the paper in the mail that announced of a new place for her to stay) and bolted right in, ending her stroll outside with a sigh of relief.
Even with the moon's viridescent glow on everything, the dorm looked to be rather quaint so far; a set of couches and chairs to Hamuko's right formed a cozy looking rectangle around a small coffee table, and behind it was a small wall with glass windows that separated off into the kitchen. To her right was no more than a countertop with several types of paperwork and the like strung about it.
As well as a pair of bright blue that opened up, piercing through the dimness.
"Ah!" Hamuko let out and flinched back upon such a sight, not expecting it.
The very azure eyes that startled her closed up happily as a giddy giggle filled the air now, and only could did a body and a face be seen, showing what appeared to be a young man, the same age as Hamuko, with hair as black as the very darkness Hamuko averted her eyes from, wearing nothing more than a set of pajamas decorated in a simple set of black and white stripes.
"It looks like the pink rabbit is late for her date." The boy uttered in an airy tone of voice, and a smile that complemented it. As he placed an elbow on the counter top and rested his head on his hand, his eyes opened back up as well, their bizarre glow piercing through the green gloom like the bright stars in the black night sky.
"You don't have to remind me Pharos." Hamuko responded with a pout, her feeling of alarm having fading away once she saw who it was now. In reality, she had already know Pharos for many years at this point, so he was far from the shocking plot twist of a magnum opus.
Pharos chuckled once again. "Well now, at least your sense of spunk is still in tact." He answered back to her, and soon lowered underneath the countertop until he couldn't be seen.
Hamuko already knew that he wasn't gone however, and she was soon proven right as a hand rested on her shoulder. Pharos stepped out from behind her, as if he disappeared and then reappeared faster than someone could blink.
"It's also worth informing you," Pharos said as he walked up from beside her to in front her, and gestured a single hand over to the counter once again. When the teenage girl looked back at it, she saw a single piece of paper on it, resting inside a red binder, along with a pen in a stand right beside it. It possessed the bold letter of 'Contract' as a title, with an ocean of letters and words in small print underneath it, and at the very end rested a single line, intended for a signature.
"Don't fret your head off now, the details contain the usual stuff; claiming responsibility for your decisions, not making a mess of the place, signing your life away to someone because they deliberately wanted you to just sign it without reading the small print~"
Hamuko swatted at him for the last bit, feeling only the air against her palm, as Pharos seemed to vanish once again. Letting out a small grumble that riddled within her throat, she walked up to the countertop, took a hold of the pen next to the paper, and signed her name at the bottom of the page in bold black ink. Her last name first, and her first second, in the typical Japanese formality.
"Good; it looks like that's settled then." Pharos' voice appeared one again, as did the rest of him on the opposite side of the counter, taking a hold of the binder now that it was signed, closing it shut and holding it in his right hand. "But remember, you can't escape this fate now. Neither can you just plug your ears and close your eyes."
"Are you mocking me because I wear headphones?" Was Hamuko's only response to him with a small glare from her bright red eyes.
"Maybe~" Pharos chuckled back, twisting his hand as the red binder now seemed to vanish into no more than thin air. "But it's an important piece of advice nonetheless. After all…" As the darkness began to cover Pharos now, he took a hold of the very bottom white stripe on his sleeve. Standing in the opaque shade, the white stripe was no longer a pattern on his shirt, but a ribbon floating in the dusk, all on it's own.
"…this is where it begins." With those words, Pharos pulled on the ribbon, letting it unwind freely as his body lost a form, and evanesced into the gloaming. The ribbon itself flowed in the stale air of this dormitory, before it vanished with a simple twirl.
Hamuko slowly sighed to her, still feeling the disquiet that came with this time of night etch away at the back of her very skull.
"Who's there!?" Shouted a voice that emanated from somewhere in the room.
Such a concerned shout made Hamuko immediately turn her head back to see where it came from. When she did, she saw a woman no older than herself, wearing a bright pink cardigan, a skirt across her waist, and most noticeably, a pair of petrified eyes.
"Yukari!" Said another sudden shout, one that sounded like it came from behind the young woman who was just addressed to as 'Yukari'. Afterwards, as if in perfect timing, the sickly wash of green over the world dissipated as the lights all turned back on, and illuminated the whole room. Hamuko's MP3 player also came back, with a muffle of music playing through her headphones as they rested around her neck.
Once the room was perfectly lit up, the previously titled Yukari went from frozen with fear to wincing in pain as her ear was suddenly being pulled on by an older looking woman right beside her, having her long locks of pale blonde hair down, and wearing quite the well-made yellow dress as well.
"What have I told you about scaring guests like that?" She scolded at the girl clad in pink, complete with a pout. "I know you're new here, but that doesn't excuse any acts of rudeness young lady!"
While Yukari let out an array of 'ow's from the ear pull, Hamuko's eyebrow went right up at such a sight. How exactly did the atmosphere change so quickly?
"Mrs. Aragaki, you can release Takeba now." A brand new and highly refined sounding voice said from behind the two ladies, causing the older one to release the other one who was mainly known as Yukari so far. The latter of who began rubbing her ear with a groan.
Upon which another woman briskly walked out from between them, sporting a white blouse accompanied by the same type of skirt the girl in pink was wearing, with a red ribbon right in the center of her collar. It wasn't the reddest thing on her though, for her long hair was a vibrant shade of scarlet that fell down into several curls. Her lips were also quite a ruby red as well, that of which soon curled up into a smirk. "It looks like the new student has finally arrived."
"O-oh!" Hamuko finally understood just what might've been going on, and nodded back to the three women in front of her. "Yes. My name is Arisato Hamuko. Sorry about coming here so la-woah!"
Hamuko's words were quickly interrupted by a passionate shaking of her hand, courtesy of the older woman who nearly yanked the cartilage right off of Yukari's head.
"Pleasure to meet you as well Hamuko-san!" She said with the peppiest of voices. When she let go of Hamuko's hand, her entire arm still continued to shake at least somewhat. "Feel free to just call me by my first name of Kimiko, alright sweetie?"
"Uh, sure thing Kimiko-san…" Hamuko responded, resisting the urge to ask for a bit more personal space just from seeing Kimiko's gigantic grin.
"Relax Arisato, Kimiko's just awfully friendly." The redhead stated with a chuckle underneath her words. "My name's Kirijo Mitsuru." She said before gesturing to the girl in the pink cardigan right next to her. "And the woman who startled you earlier is a fellow junior, Takeba Yukari."
"Hey!" Yukari pouted herself from Mitsuru's description.
Hamuko already felt a tad uneasy around Yukari right now, if only for the not so smooth greeting, but at the very least she didn't appear to be petrified of her right now.
"Regardless, it's getting late, so you should get your rest Arisato." Mitsuru said to the underclassmen to break some of the awkward tension between her and Yukari. She then tucked a hand into the skirt pocket, and pulled out a silver key, which she then placed into Hamuko's hand. "That's the key to your room in the dorm. Make sure you don't lose it now." The almost passive aggressive tone in her voice made Hamuko sure that she meant it. "Your room is the last one on the third floor. Your luggage already arrived, so it should all be in there."
"Got it." Hamuko responded before showing a faint smile. "Thank you senpai."
"It's my pleasure." Mitsuru smiled back, and then turned to Yukari. "Takeba, escort Arisato to her room, alright? It'll help make up for your slip up tonight."
Yukari groaned in a way that was difficult not to laugh at, but nodded all the same.
"Let's get going then, okay?" Yukari asked her new pink-haired dorm mate, showing a softer expression now. Hamuko nodded back at her as well, feeling a small sense of relief to see Yukari lighten up a touch already. Going up the stairs, she looked back to see Mitsuru smiling, and Kimiko happily waving to her.
Hamuko waved back before ascending up the steps further, going right past the second floor of dorm rooms, and stopping on the third. Once they did, it was only a simple stroll for them to reach the third door on the third door, appearing right where the hallway had ended.
"Here we are." Yukari uttered upon reaching their destination. "Shouldn't be too tough to remember since it's at the very end eh?" She said with a small laugh as well, as though it was intended to be a joke.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Hamuko chuckled back, glad to see that the situation with her and Yukari finally lightened up now.
"…Although…" Yukari's smile began to fade away right after it appeared. "…you wouldn't mind if I asked you something, would you Hamuko-san?"
"No, I wouldn't." Hamuko stated ever so simply. "Go on."
"Well…" Yukari swallowed a bit, as her eyes darted around a bit in a state of pondering. "Was everything okay on your way here from the station?"
Hamuko almost felt her lips freeze, unsure about how exactly to respond to that. The experience Hamuko had walked through once get got off of the train was anything but okay, but was it worth trying to specify to her? Especially when she remembered just how petrified Yukari looked from before?
"You mean aside from seeing you freak out at the sight of me?" Hamuko finally responded, unable to resist cracking a grin from her own answer.
Yukari instantly frowned. "Never mind, you're fine." She stated before pulling out her own dorm key from her pocket, and retreated into her room. Hilariously enough, it was right next to Hamuko's room. Hamuko couldn't help but snicker a bit, and soon put the key into her own door, hearing it unlock with a soft click, and opening it right up.
It was then and there that the sheer exhaustion of today caught up with the girl, making her eyelids feel as heavy as lead. Not even bothering to turn a light on in her room, Hamuko went right for the bed, pulling the covers over her casual clothes, and resting her head on the pillow. It didn't take long for her eyes to close, allowing her to drift off into a deep sleep.
"…a..uko-san?" An odd mutter seemed to say, coming from who knows where.
"Mrr…" Hamuko practically purred out, curled up into a cozy ball coated with the warmest of blankets right now.
"…u…ko-san? Are you awake yet?" The bizarre muttering started to sound clearer now, for more words could be heard much more easily from it, as could the knocking sound that accompanied it.
"…..Eehh?" Hamuko practically croaked out, finally opening up her eyes, even if they were just a pair of slits at the moment. Once she saw that the sunlight from outside went right through her eyelids, she raised a weary hand to rub the sand out of her eyes, and stretched out her entire body, like a cat waking up from a twenty-hour nap.
"…Hello?" She muttered while running a hand through her tangled hair, feeling the oily sensation that came with morning hair before taking a shower.
"It's me, Yukari." The muttering said, becoming a voice that came from behind the door, just like the knocking that followed. "Are you ready to go to school now?"
"School?" Hamuko tilted her head a bit, wondering what exactly she meant until the cobwebs finally cleared from her mind, and her eyes went from small slits to wide open. Using those eyes to look down at her attire, she saw the set of simple casual wear that she fell asleep in as well, and a Gekkoukan Girl's Uniform on her biggest suitcase, still in the plastic packaging.
Hamuko swallowed hard, putting all of the pieces together to reach one horrifying conclusion…
(Outside the door…)
"Hamuko-san…" Yukari said with an increasingly annoyed tone in her voice, like a parent trying to get their child out of bed, as she stood right outside the new girl's door, resting her knuckle on it. "Mitsuru-senpai is not gonna be happy unless you-"
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Cue Yukari bolting right back, covering her ears with both hands as sentence immediately being cut off by one of the most deafening of shrieks she had ever heard in her life so far. Once Yukari's ears stopped ringing, she then lowered her hands back down now, to which the one thing she could hear was the utter chaos and worried muttering of Hamuko inside the room.
It was right then and there that Yukari's head lost its weight, banging right onto the wooden door.
"This is gonna be a long day…" Yukari groaned out as her head slowly slid down the door.
The monorail sailed right out of the station, and onto the bridge, bustling right over its tracks without so much as a bump affecting the passengers inside. Two of said passengers being, lo and behold, Yukari and Hamuko.
"Okay then Hamuko-san..." Yukari started explaining to the girl that made her a fretting mess this morning, while holding up a single finger like a teacher would, all while sporting an irate smile across her face. "First we do when we get back to the dorm: Unpack your alarm clock. Got it?"
"Mhmm!" Hamuko nodded furiously, keeping her mouth closed as she worked her jaw muscles to the limit trying to scarf down a slice of toast, having that to qualify as her breakfast.
"Okay, good." Yukari responded, putting up a more cheery smile now that their first setback had a plan to be taken care of. As such, she now turned her attention to the windows instead.
Seeing Yukari suddenly go silent riddled the curiosity in Hamuko's cranium, causing her to look out one of the windows as well. Once she did, both her eyes and her mouth opened in sheer awe.
As the monorail raced over the bridge, the sight of the entire port stretching out into the ocean came into the view. Sunlight sparkled like diamonds as it shone down on the water, and even the very high school the two girls were going to was hardly any bigger than their palm from this view.
"Gorgeous isn't it?" Yukari commented, much to Hamuko's surprise. When the pink-haired girl looked back to the pink clad girl, she saw her with a calming smile across her face. "It always feels like you're gliding right over the sea…"
Hamuko couldn't help but smile back.
"It really does…" She answered before looking right out the window once again, watching the rays of morning light dance upon the sea's surface for most of the monorail ride now.
Now that the monorail ride had ended, the two teenage girls now walked to the high school, greeting any other passerby student with a 'hello'. As they passed by colossal buildings of stone and steel, the ground in front of them was soon seen to be some of the greenest of grass, covered in small flurries of the pink petals from blooming cherry blossoms.
"Well, here we are." Yukari stated, causing Hamuko to look back at her, and that was when she saw it; an enormous school building stood right behind where Yukari was, surrounded by all of the plants that previously left Hamuko awestruck. Not only was the building tall, but it was also long, stretching out several acres on each side for who knows how many classrooms within its walls.
"Welcome to Gekkoukan High School." "Hope you like it Hamuko-san!"
A quick snicker crawled out of Hamuko's mouth from that. "You make it sound like you're try to advertise for the place Yukari."
"Hah, please, that's Mitsuru-senpai's job." Yukari said with a smirk, surprising Hamuko with such brash talk of her senpai like that. Once she chuckled a bit at seeing the new girl's reaction, Yukari continued through the school doors with Hamuko in tow.
"Alright, if you just take a left beyond the lockers, you'll be right at the faculty office." Yukari stated, pointing down to the left hallway. "If you walk straight down, you'll enter the main lobby where the classroom assignments are hung up." After that bit of school ground instructing, Yukari turned right back to Hamuko on just one heel. "Need help with anything else then?"
"Nah, I think I'll manage." Hamuko replied with an accompanying shake of her head.
"Ah, that's good." Yukari smiled back. "Make sure you check in with the Faculty Office first though, okay?" With that, the teenage girl in the cardigan walked along her own way to the Main Lobby. Once Hamuko noticed that, she decided to head for the Faculty Office on her own.
And hopefully stay out of harm's way with one teacher yelling the least describable kind of nonsense about the ancient Edo Period of swords and samurai.
The sets of stares and invisible gasps from teachers stopped surprising Hamuko by now, all thanks to her bright pink hair color. If she received at least fifty yen for every teacher that asked why she'd dye her hair such an unnatural shade, even though it actually WAS natural, she'd be able to purchase at least five private apartments for herself.
Regardless, Hamuko entered the faculty office on her own, ignoring the expected looks of shock from most of the staff members there. It was in that very office that she saw one such teacher, a woman in a light brown work jacket, whose eyes seemed to perk up with inquiry for once, instead of surprise.
"Would you happen to be the new transfer student?" The teacher asked out in a surprisingly reserved tone of voice, but not the apathetic type either.
"Yup, that's me." Hamuko responded with a lively nod. "Arisato Hamuko. Pleasure to meet you Miss." She said with a pleasant smile, and even a small bow for formality. It seemed to work too, for she saw the teacher's face light right up in reaction to her behavior.
"Well, aren't you polite?" The teacher said with a comforting grin, raising a hand up and resting the tips of her fingers on her chin. "You could be a great example to some of the other girls in this school."
Hamuko almost started beaming at her from such a compliment. She was about to thank her for it, but what came out of her mouth instead was an 'Yeow!' from feeling her ponytail get pulled on from behind.
"Great example?" Said a rather rugged male voice, coming from a middle-aged man whose faces was etched with several wrinkles, most of which came from the hard frown on his face. "With hair as blindingly pink as this?" He uttered with sheer disgust as he twirled a few of her hairs. "I'm aware that hair bleaching is a popular fad among teenagers these days, but an amount like this could make someone go bald."
"That's because my hair's natural Gramps." Hamuko spat her words back at the male teacher, pulling her hair out of his hand as her cheeks began to puff up. That soon changed to a sly smirk however, once Hamuko saw the look of sheer offense stretched across the man's face.
"If you saw my grandmother's lavender locks of hair, you'd probably keel over and die right on the spot." She stated soon afterwards, making her grin grow as her comment successfully applied cold water to the burned area. "And that's not even mentioning my grandpapa's sapphire hair."
The male teacher stomped away while emitting a growl of revulsion, while Hamuko was left letting out a set of small giggles from her quick victory right then and there.
"Um…My apologies about that Hamuko." The female teacher said, sounding quite embarrassed by what just happened. "Mr. Edoka tends to get under the skin of a few students."
"Heh, I can tell." Hamuko answered, chuckling to herself before showing a more affectionate smile. "Thanks for being considerate though Sensei." Hamuko could tell she did at least something right when she saw the teacher let out a laugh from calling her 'Sensei'.
"Please, just call me Ms. Toriumi." The teacher now known as Ms. Toriumi stated. "And we should head to the gymnasium before the ceremony starts."
Hamuko nodded, and headed out of the faculty office. From there, she took a right to the main lobby and eventually found her way to the school's gym.
(12:00 PM, read the clock on her MP3 player.)
Good thing Hamuko brought it and her headphones along too; when the ceremony started, she felt herself nearly blanking out from boredom at "As you begin the school year…"
Just remembering the principal's monotonous voice made her eyelids start drooping again, but the low growl of her stomach perked them right back up. Sitting down at a desk in her assigned classroom, she reached a hand down into her book bag, and pulled out a bento box in a plastic wrap, fresh from the convenience store.
Right as she placed it on her desk, a young male student popped right up from her right side, sporting one of the widest of grins.
"Ah!" Hamuko let out a quick yelp of surprise, flinching right back as her bento box fell onto the desk rather loudly. The male student's chuckling immediately followed her reaction.
"Haha, you look like a deer in headlights." He said in-between his laughs. Upon a second look at the young man, he wore an indigo baseball cap on his head, right over his buzz cut hairstyle. He also wore a violet popped collar shirt underneath his school uniform, along with a silver pendant around his neck and a belt with a stylized pattern around his waist.
Hamuko's mild look of shock soon became an irate pout.
"It's rude to startle people y'know." She replied as she crossed both of her arms, still in her seat.
Such a response wiped the wide smirk right from the other student's face, and even made him put up both of his arms as if he was backing away from something.
"Woah, calm down! I just wanted to be friendly is all." He answered back. Once Hamuko's pout began to disappear from seeing such a response, he began to smile again, and raised his hat up a bit to show his friendly face. "Name's Iori Junpei. Nice to meet ya."
Once Hamuko saw a less intrusive side of the student she now knew as Junpei, she stood up and gave him a small smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, when you're not popping outta nowhere."
"Heh, no prob." Junpei chuckled, regaining some of his smirk once again while rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Figured I'd make sure the new kid wasn't freaking out on her first day, since I was in the same position back in Eighth Grade."
"If by 'make sure', you mean attempt to hit on like you do with all the other girls?" A feminine voice, one that sounded exactly like Yukari, asked, making Junpei jolt just as Hamuko previously did. When he stepped back a bit and turned around, both him and Hamuko saw that it was in fact the pink cardigan-wearing girl herself.
"What? I was just bein' friendly Yuka-tan!" Junpei immediately reacted, with his mouth agape from Yukari's perverse suggestion.
"Huh… If you say so, Stupei." Yukari remarked with a not-so-subtle touch of spite in her voice.
Hamuko all the while, felt like she had found herself in the middle of hot water right now. As such, she found herself uncertain about what to say until Yukari turned back to her with a much friendlier demeanor.
"Anyway, pretty surprising that we ended up in the same homeroom huh Hamuko?" Yukari asked. Hamuko would've given more of an answer than just a simple nod, but she found herself being distracted by Junpei nettling around from behind her spurting out questions like "What about me?" and "C'mon can't I be part of the fun?"
"Stupei, mind yourself will you?" Yukari responded as she whipped right back behind her, and took a step closer to Junpei so she could glare at him while only a few centimeters away from his face. "And since I have things to cover in archery club, you better not pull anything funny, you got that Junpei?" After a poke on his chest from a single index finger, Yukari walked right past him, and soon out of the classroom entirely, leaving behind only a rather stupefied pink-haired transfer student and capped junior.
"What is she, your nanny?" Junpei commented after she left.
"Y'know, I don't blame you for thinking that right now…" Hamuko responded, trying to hide her giggle from Junpei's admittedly fitting remark.
Junpei immediately smiled upon noticing that one of his jokes actually did make Hamuko laugh, but it soon went away as he seemed to have a more honest expression now.
"But, for real, I seriously didn't come over to hit on you or anything gross like that." He said with a more reserved tone of voice. "I came over 'cause…well, I wanted to be a friend who could help you out, ya know?" He shrugged both of his shoulders as he finished his statement.
Hamuko smiled gently at hearing Junpei's honest sense of amiability.
"That's awfully sweet of you Junpei-kun." She answered with a nod. "I hope to be a good friend to you too though, so don't get any 'White Knight' ideas in your head." The girl gave him a sly wink as she said that.
"Ah, Madam! You wound me so!" Junpei reacted in the single hammiest way possible, complete with him leaning back and placing a hand on his forehead like he was about to faint.
Hamuko broke into laughter right on the spot, not even caring about the looks of confusion she and Junpei got from some of the other students in the room.
She had a pretty good feeling that this school year was off to a fun start.
At the Iwatodai Dorm, Mitsuru sprucely sat on one of the leather chairs around the coffee table, reading a book that appeared to be written in French as opposed to the typical Japanese kanji. Hamuko and Yukari hadn't returned yet, so the first floor of the dorm carried a strong air of silence, as though it had been abandoned.
Until the sound of footsteps on the hard wood staircase slowly echoed down to the first level, and then softened as they reached the carpet floor. When Mitsuru looked up, she saw that it was a young man who appeared to be around her age, dressed in a red sweater vest over his Gekkoukan School uniform. But what was most striking about the other high school student was his shaggy mop of silver hair atop his head, along with a pair of eyes that had the exact same shade.
"I'm going out for a bit." He said in a rather composed tone to his voice, already standing just a few steps away from the door when the sound of footsteps died away. "You remember what the newspaper said, right Mitsuru?"
Mitsuru nodded. "I do." With a swift movement of her hand, she closed the book she was reading. "Several normal people were suddenly afflicted with the spreading phenomena, Apathy Syndrome." She stated, turning her head to the windows and looking out at the dusk outside. "However, most of the reporters have claimed it's related to high stress and anxiety."
A low chuckle came from the other student, his face now brimming with a look of confidence.
"Yeah, but stress alone doesn't turn someone into a walking vegetable." He answered back as one of his gloved hands curled into a fist. "Which means that they're out there tryin' to grab a midnight snack again." A smirk grew from the corners of his lips, and he took another step towards the door.
"Akihiko, will you be okay on your own?" Mitsuru asked out to him right before he could raise a hand to place on the door's handle. When she did, the student known as Akihiko turned his head back, his grin only growing even more.
"Did you forget who you're talking to Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked with one hand on his waist. When he was responded with a sharp glare from the scarlet-haired classmate, he whipped his line of sight right back to the door, laughing to himself as he did so. "Don't worry though, I'll be fine."
It was then and there that the front door opened before Akihiko could even place his hand on it. From it, Hamuko and Yukari walked in, conversing about the school day, until Hamuko slightly bumped into something. When she stepped back a bit to see what it was, she saw the silver-haired upperclassman, and felt her body freeze from her rudeness.
Akihiko however, just shrugged upon noticing how nervous the girl seemed from accidentally bumping into him, and walked out of the door that the girls just opened.
Both Hamuko and Yukari had next to no idea how to react to what just happened.
"Lemme guess," A new, and especially gruff voice said as it came from the staircase. "Aki scared someone off aga-Ow!" As it was interrupted by what sounded like a quick smack, Hamuko looked to the staircase and saw not only Kimiko, but also another young man that almost towered over her from his height. If that didn't make him look imposing enough, he also wore a maroon pea coat that looked big enough to hide a weapon inside it, as well as a beanie that cast a shadow over his steel gray eyes, and worsening the glare that they gave off.
"Shinjiro, it's not nice to talk about your brother like that, remember?" Kimiko scolded the taller male with a pout as the two reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah yeah, I got it Ma." The young man referred to as Shinjiro stated with a small chuckle underneath his words. Afterwards, his gaze focused right onto Hamuko. "Anyway, new girl."
"Huh?" Hamuko swallowed hard. He looked just like the kinda guy who'd ask someone to come with them down a dark hallway, to which he'd give said hallway a new paint job of blood red. "Uh, yes?"
"Whaddya want for dinner?" Shinjiro asked. Upon hearing someone like him ask such a question, Hamuko's brain suddenly felt as though it froze up and needed to reboot. "Ma let me cook for tonight, so I figured I'd make something you like." He said as well with even a small smile that of which made Kimiko's pout fade away.
"Well, I guess an omelet with some fried rice sounds nice right now." Hamuko answered quickly; it was far from the most delectable dish she could've requested, but it was just the first thing on her still-recovering mind.
Kimiko giggled a bit once she saw the young man show some formality. "Well, at least it's good that you're showing some manners now Shinji." She responded while patting his shoulder with a gentle hand, even though her words had something of a teasing tone to them.
Not that Shinjiro seemed to mind; all he answered to back to her was a 'tch' before going into the kitchen and delving right into the utensils and ingredients. Once he did, Kimiko chuckled to herself once again before walking up to Hamuko and placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry Hamuko-san, did my sons startle you?" She asked in a tender voice while carefully patting her shoulder, as though she was a child who had just gotten hurt.
"Wait… your sons?" Hamuko asked with unsaturated confusion in her voice and facial expression. "Do you mean…"
"Yes sirrie." Kimiko chuckled as she answered, and then looked back at Shinjiro as he continued his cooking preparations. "The barrel of laughs who asked you about dinner is Shinjiro. Don't be scared of him though. I can assure you that his bark's a lot worse than his bite." She said with a giggle growing in her voice.
"Ma, you know I can still hear you, right?" Shinjiro replied as only turned his head back a fraction, for one of his hands held a cutting knife while the other held a few fresh carrots.
"Why yes I do Shinji~ Why do you ask?" Kimiko cheerfully called out to her son even as he was slicing and dicing away in the kitchen. At that point, even Hamuko herself couldn't help but laugh as the older woman's laughter became contagious.
"I'll take your advice then Kimiko-san." Hamuko remarked with the glee being heard in her voice, and finally feeling a sense of comfort in knowing that she'll be living in the dorm.
Which wasn't hurt by Shinjiro's ability to make the meanest omelet and fried rice this side of Mt. Fuji.
After an enjoyable dinner and a not so enjoyable unpacking, Hamuko went right to her bed once again, and went out like a light. Just at the right time too, for she just managed to miss the moment that the world became shrouded in shadows, which has kept her awake for several nights in the past already. In this time, all of the electronics suddenly shut down as well, just as they did last night. Ranging from miniscule MP3 players and alarm clocks, to the lighting system of the entire dormitory, leaving it in darkness with the exception of the pale emerald light that shone down from the moon.
One electronic that didn't shut off however, was a small, near unnoticeable camera located within the very top corner of Hamuko's room.
As its lens zoomed in and out on Hamuko's sleeping figure, the video feed it was receiving was instantly displayed upon a gigantic computer screen within a highly technological room. Within that room, was no other, then Mitsuru, Yukari, Shinjiro, and Kimiko.
"Um.. Mitsuru?" Kimiko asked out, as her tone of voice was much more vacant compared to her usual bubbly and cheerful tone around the teens. "Hasn't Tenshi found a less…well…invasive way to observe everyone in the dorm yet?"
Mitsuru let out a sigh upon hearing Kimiko's question. "I'm afraid not Mrs. Aragaki." Her answer was brief and sullen. "She's doing her best, but so far this is the most effective manner we have of surveying every person within the dormitory and seeing their conditions." As Mitsuru finished her sentence, she looked back up at the screen, seeing Hamuko rest, as the only movement that came from her was the soft rise and fall of her chest. "Speaking of, she hasn't transmogrified into a coffin, so this proves our theory correct so far."
Everyone else was silent with the exception of a small noise; be it a 'tch' from Shinjiro, a soft worrisome sigh from Yukari, or a muffle of uncertainty from Kimiko.
"…That means she has the potential then, doesn't it?" Kimiko commented before her head lowered a bit to the floor. "If she didn't have it, then she would've…" The woman shuddered just from the very thought of what happened to most people that were awake during this hidden hour.
Shinjiro put a hand of comfort on her mother's shoulder, noticing how she became riddled with tension.
"Relax Ma." He said in a low and quiet voice. "We'll probably find out in a few more days." With that, he shoved both of his hands into his coat pockets, and closed his eyes.
"Shinjiro's right." Mitsuru replied with an affirmative nod. She looked back up at the screen, seeing that the underclassman with a hair color of pale rose was still sleeping ever so soundly.
It was like she might've well been inside a coffin in this time of night; at least then, she would've been truly safe.
The faint hum of an elevator ascending invaded Hamuko's ears, along with an sapphire glow that seemed to crawl through her eyelids.
When she opened her eyes up, she was greeted with the sight of a large round table that was planted right in the middle of an enormous elevator that appeared to still be going upwards. She also found herself sitting in a small chair on one side of the table, and on the other was a royal blue couch, which hosted an elderly man with bulging eyes, and the longest nose she had ever seen on anyone. To the left of the couch stood a young man who appeared similar to a flight attendant at first glance. He held a rather thick book in one arm, and gave off a hauntingly calm smile on his face, all the while his eyes gave off a freakishly yellow tinge that stood out within the cobalt light within this place.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The man uttered eerily, sending a slight shiver through Hamuko's body as he spoke. "My name is Igor." He raised an arm in front of himself and gave a small bow after addressing his name. "A true delight to make your acquaintance."
"…Okay, what the heck did Shinjiro-senpai put in that omelet?" Hamuko said not to Igor, but to herself as she rubbed her temples with her palms.
Igor chuckled lowly upon such a response. "Well, you aren't wrong, for we have summoned you within the depths of your dreams." Igor soon gestured a gloved hand over to the 'flight attendant' standing next to him. "This is Theodore. He is a resident of this place, like myself, and a most trustworthy assistant."
"You're too kind Master Igor." Theodore replied, his thin smirk growing ever so slightly from the compliment. Afterwards, he looked right at Hamuko as she was seated on the opposite side, and gave a calm nod. "Anyway, pleased to meet you Milady."
Hamuko's eyebrow rose right up from the usage of the term 'Milady'. What, did his vocabulary come from a medieval dictionary?
Another chuckle rose from Igor before she could say anything though.
"It's been years since we've had a guest." He uttered, as his grin only grew even further. "Only those with a contract are allowed to enter after all."
"A contract?" Hamuko asked out to herself. She seemed a tad bewildered at first from the mention of such a contract, but her eyes soon opened in realization, upon remembering her short talk with Pharos from when she first entered the dorm. "Wait…Do you mean…?" As her question wavered off before she could finish asking it, Igor's smirk grew again, and with a snap of his long and bony fingers, the same red binder from that very night appeared on the table.
"This should look familiar to you then." Igor commented on as the binder opened up, showing a single piece of paper labeled as a Contract, with Hamuko's signature at the bottom. "Your ability is a truly unique one, a unique one indeed…" Igor muttered while slowly stroking his chin. "…And you will need my assistance in order to unlock your true potential." With his remark, both the contract and the binder appeared to dissolve away into specks of bright blue light, and in its place was now a single card that showed a picture of a man wandering away with nothing but the clothes on his back, followed by a canine companion. "But this also means that you must abide by your contract, and remember the responsibilities of your choices."
"Wait, responsibilities? Choices?" Hamuko's head was filling with questions by the second now, but before she could ask just one of them, a sudden glow came from the pocket within her skirt. She tucked one hand into her pocket, and soon pulled out a small midnight blue key.
"Till we meet again, farewell~" Igor said with a nod of his head. Upon which Hamuko's vision of this bizarre room slowly to fade away into darkness, and her consciousness started to slip away from her.
Tori's Notes: *kind of lurks here while munching on cookies* Oh hi. Sorry, I've been doing my coursework, so I didn't see you people there.
Anyway! This wonderful thing here is a collaboration story I'm doing with Shark of Jade. We're both in agreement that there's a lot of things Persona 3 kind of cocked up major league, so we decided to try and put our noggins together to see what we could come up with to make things different. Magnus Ragnar, the author of "A Fool Name Fortune: Reshuffled" is also on board as a sort of idea parrot; he gave us plenty of ideas, but has sworn off writing for Persona 3 once he gets Reshuffled done.
First and most primarily of which is punting the canon October Fourth and its contrived bullshit out the goddamn window, as you can see from Shinjiro being present. We'll still have the event, yes, but it'll be ... well, it won't be detrimental to the plot to be blunt about it.
Plus yes, Shinji's mom (and dad, he's just not shown yet) are alive because fuck P3's apparent "no happy parent-child relationships allowed" clause; this isn't goddamn "Oliver Twists"! Brownie points to those of you who can figure out who she's based on.
And now for some words from Sharkie.
Shark's Notes: Hiya! SharkofJade here, writer of this first chapter and working on this Persona 3 collaboration with Puppeteer of Hearts. In order to answer any questions,
-Yes Hamuko has pink hair from her early concept art. This is due to Starwing's preference for the hair color, as well as a few important relatives of Hamuko. (That of whom will be explained when the time is right).
-No, Pharos is not as young as he is in canon now, for he now appears to be around Hamuko's age. That didn't stop me from having fun with him though *laugh*
-Yes, Aki and Shinjiro are official stepbrothers in this story. I mean, c'mon, are you really that surprised? *brickd*
Anyway, that's all from me for now, and Chapter 2 is gonna be written by the lovely Puppeteer herself. Hope you enjoy this story so far!
