Disclaimer: I do not own persona 5 or any of the characters in that universe.
A girl with long black wavy hair and deep blue eyes was following the gps on her phone to get to Shibuya station. She wore a white dress shirt together with a striped black and white tie under her black blazer with the pockets and the edges hemmed white, matching with a black and white pleated skirt, black knee length socks and black leather loafers. On the left side of her blazers breast was her schools' emblem. It was a book open upwards with the letter 'G' above it while underneath on a ribbon read 'Gaiden Academy'.
She stopped in her steps when the gps showed her that she had reached her destination. She looked up just as everything seemed to have gone silent. The people around her froze, as if time had stopped. She looked about and saw one guy had faced one direction. She followed his gaze as it was set in one direction where a figure started to form in blue flames. She saw eyes and a mouth appear in those flames. She was surprised, but when she blinked the blue flames were gone and it was like nothing happened as everyone kept moving.
She shook her head deciding that she must be seeing things or that she was too overwhelmed with the amount of people in the city. She went to the underground station and looked for the line to get to Yongen-jaya.
She continued following the gps on her phone, bypassing a small grocery store, a building which seemed to be a theatre, and a two floored apartment. She continued down the alleyway until she reached an intersection and she had to take the one in the northwest direction where it took her to houses instead of the apartment complexes that she had seen earlier while walking.
Eventually she stopped in front of a two-story house with the name plate of Tsubaki by the gate. She opened the gate and went ahead pressing the doorbell. She stood there for a while before the door was opened by a man with brown spiked hair and the same eyes as her. When he looked at her, a surly expression came up on his face.
"Suzuki Kiaria." He said each word like a sentence.
"Yes." She replied apprehensively.
"Your things arrived earlier in the week. I was considerate enough to place it in your room instead of letting it block the entryway. Your room is on the second floor, first door to the right." The man said before turning away from her. "You can read my rules under this house on the note I left on the desk, be sure to read it."
The man left her in the entryway, not even introducing himself to her. She didn't have to ask his name, her mother told her that she would be living with Tsubaki Hiroshi. She had only seen his pictures from the one her mother sent, so she would know his appearance.
She didn't think that he would be callous. Then, again, one can't judge a book by its cover. But, what was she hoping for that someone would open their arms to her happily like in a fairytail? She had long realized that fairytails were just a bunch of stories coated in too much sugar to hide its grim side.
Kiaria went up to the second floor and opened the door to her room. It was an average sized room with a wall closet on the left side of the room. A wooden desk and chair near the door and a single sized bed barren of any bed sheet or pillow pushed to the wall next to the only window in the room with white curtains hiding the contents of the room from onlookers.
She did notice the paper that Hiroshi had mentioned and picked the paper from the desk and unfolded it to read the contents.
Rules:
1. Don't give me any problems.
2. Break anything, pay for it.
3. Clean the dishes and the one's that you use.
4. You are not allowed to have your classmates over.
5. You are not allowed to be here when I have guests.
6. My room is off limits.
7. Break any of my rules and you'll be out of this house.
After going over the list of rules she was given, she glared at the paper like it offended her. She had just arrived and from the piece of paper it was telling her that she was a nuisance and that she was unwelcomed.
She could choose to leave and never return, but where would she go to? She had no place to return to. She was alone. It wasn't even decided yet if she would remain here or be sent to live with another relative. She just had to follow 'his' rules, but what did the fifth rule even mean for her?
She glanced over at the only thing that seemed to be out of place, two medium sized boxes that were in the middle of the room, her belongings. She decided she might as well unpack or clean the room. When she had touched the top of the desk there was a layer of dust. Meaning the room had been left alone for a long period of time and no one bothered to clean it, not even the person on the first floor.
For the rest of the afternoon, she had cleaned her room, meaning wiping the floor and the desk, dusting the closet and washing the curtains. By the time evening rolled-in, she was tired and Hiroshi had told her that she can eat dinner before he entered his room. She went to the dining room in the first floor and found instant noodles and two onigiris on the dining table in front of a set of bowls and plates.
"Whatever" She muttered going over to the kitchen area to boil water for her meager dinner and wash the dishes once she was done eating and go to sleep after changing into her pajamas.
Once she shut her eyes, she found herself opening them to a white room and she was even dressed in a white overall get-up. She sat up and was face to face with a long nosed man seated behind a white low table and a little boy. The boys platinum hair peeked out from under his blue cap with a book under his left arm, he wore a black and blue long-sleeved dress shirt with a black tie and blue shorts.
"Welcome to the Velvet room. I am Igor, the host and this is my assistant, Ivan."
"Velvet room?" Kiaria echoed.
"Yes, the Velvet room is a place between reality and dreams. The Velvet room usually reflects the guests' heart."
"Does that mean my heart is empty?" Kiaria asked taking in the white room.
"An empty heart does not really mean it is that." The boy said.
"Why am I here?"
"Most of our guests usually will come into a 'contract' and will appear here." Igor answered before he held lowered his joined hands onto the low table. "It has been a while since we had more than one guest into the Velvet room and at the beginning."
"I'm not following." Kiaria deadpanned.
"My apologies" Igor replied chuckling. "It appears fate has brought us together."
"What?"
"I would like to forge a contract with you." Igor said. "In this contract, you will be assisting me."
Kiaria stared at Igor and his pointy nose.
"In exchange of helping me, I will be doing the same in the coming events that will take place."
"Isn't there anyone else that can help you?"
"I can only hope that 'he' will be able to make a change in this game, but…there is a reason for your appearance and into this space alone."
"But why me?"
"That I cannot answer for you." Igor replied just as there was the sound of ringing. "Well, it seems the time is up. We shall meet again."
Kiaria snapped her eyes open when she heard the catchy tune she set as her alarm ringtone. After getting out of bed she went to the kitchen, she found on the table were used bowls and a bunch of crackers set in front of the bowls. There was a note on the table left for her together with two keys.
The Key to the house and your room. Lose it, you can sleep outside.
Kiaria rolled her eyes before she grabbed the bowls and washed them, as for the crackers she placed it on the desk of her room then changing into her casual clothes which consisted of a striped white and brown long sleeved shirt with a navy blue padded vest, black jeans, brown laced boots and a blue agate beaded bracelet with a leather backpack. The keys left to her she placed with her wooden keychain with cherry blossoms designs on it.
Closing the door behind her she set on looking for her school with the gps on her phone as the only guide she had. That was after she ate in a nearby convenience store.
The train ride to Shibuya was jam packed with people that she had to hug her bag to her. It was an uncomfortable ride, but not something she couldn't endure. Stepping out of the train and into a less confined space, she went in the direction of the nearest stairs and using the gps she was able to find her way to Gaiden Academy. It only took her about ten minutes to arrive in front of the gates coming from the station and now that she found the school, it was time to explore the area.
Shibuya was teeming with people, and for a girl like her that had lived in the country side or a smaller city it overwhelmed her. In her exploration, she found a number of restaurants and even a quiet bookshop that had a café on the second floor. The café had books for the customers to take and read to their leisure.
She stayed in the café while she poured over the book she found in the shelves of the café about creating a palace in one's mind. As she read over it, it was actually a method for an individual to memorize a lot of information. It was something by association to a familiar place. When she had taken the book, she had thought of something else, but it would be a good use for studying.
After leaving the café, she went to the underground mall at Shibuya station. While she was there she found a brochure with a list of part-time jobs she could take. She checked the time and it was already late, while she could take a part-time job, it would be her first day tomorrow at her school and it would be better to back at the house early. She did take one of the brochures for future references.
She stayed at the station for a while longer waiting for the train to arrive because of the accidents that occurred the timetables were always updated. She stood at the side near the ad changing posters while she played a game on her phone to pass the time. Two things happened at the same time while she was playing, one, there was a call from Tsubaki Akane, her mother and a red and black icon popped up on her phone that she had tapped on by accident when she answered the call.
"Hello, Kiaria" Her mother's voice came up as the icon with an eye and a star as an iris stayed on the screen of her phone.
"Hello" Kiaria answered the call.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
"Are you getting along with Hiroshi?"
"A bit." She replied.
Her mother kept asking her questions during the call and she gave short clipped answers. She maybe her birth mother, but to her she was a stranger.
"Have you read anything interesting?" Her mother asked, and that was the only thing she knew about Kiaria.
"I may have."
"What's it about?"
"Just a sort of trick to remember things better."
"Oh, how would you be able to do this trick?"
"It's something like creating a palace in your mind."
"Palace?"
"Well, not really a palace…" Kiaria said trying to explain what she understood from the book.
"It sounds difficult, and after listening to you explanation. I'm not sure about the author's thoughts that everyone—"
The line was cut off all of a sudden and Kiaria looked at her phone to find only the red and black icon was on the screen of her phone. The icon creeped her out as it seemed to give off red waves on the screen. When she looked around, the subway seemed darker and the red tones were noticeable. It was quiet too like that time she saw the blue flames yesterday.
She looked back at her phone and tried to use the other apps on her phone, but none of them worked. She sighed before she replaced her phone in her pocket and thought to get out for the mean time.
She walked in the direction she knew where the subway exit was, but it only led her to another hallway. She continued walking until she saw a strange large inhuman figure with a non-descript mask standing feet away from her. Like any rattled person that didn't know what it was or what was happening she turned on her heel to get away as fast as possible.
After getting away from the strange creature, she leaned against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. First, blue flames having eyes and a mouth, a creepy icon that just appeared on her phone, a place that she didn't know how she got there, the next she was running away from a black figure with a non-descriptive mask on it. She was afraid of what could possibly follow after.
Finally, getting some air in her lungs and calming her mind even if it was a bit, she pushed herself off from the wall and told herself she had to get out. She had taken five steps to round the corner when she saw two figures. She narrowed her eyes in the dark and saw by the silhouette were humans. She had meant to call out to them, but when she saw a lightsaber go through the other person and the one that was stabbed fell to their knees. The words were stuck in her throat at the scene in front of her.
She took a step back and the scraping of her shoes against the concrete caught the black masked mans attention. She turned and ran, but the masked man had jumped above her and blocked her path. She tried going in the other direction, but the echo of a gun and a breeze to her left made her freeze.
"I wonder if you would be of use." The masked man said from behind her.
She didn't know what he was saying. She just wanted to get out of there.
"No…you might just cause me problems." He said before she felt something stab and burn her stomach.
She looked down to find green light glowing and she tasted copper in her mouth. The beginning of her life in another place and it was also her end. She fell to her knees as the sound of footsteps echoed away, meaning the man had turned to leave, to leave her to die. To her maybe it was better that she died. She had no goal with her life.
"Foolish girl before you start dying you might want to try living first." A soprano voice said.
"I'm done with living." She said as she was losing her strength.
"Death greets us eventually, my dear, there is by no means of escape. Life has always been calling to you and yet you ignore it."
Life calling to her? Life went ahead and crushed her. All she ever felt was pain, after trying and trying, she always ended up getting hurt.
"My dear, those chains not only weighed you down, but have blinded you. Why then did you run when you felt death coming for you?"
She couldn't argue with that. She had run away earlier to save herself.
"You yourself wanted to live, Suzuki Kiaria. If any this is just the beginning, my dear."
"Who are you?" She muttered.
The voice laughed in her head, amused. "I am thou, thou art I…come remove the chains that you call safety, step forward into chaos that is life!"
Kiaria felt a bit of her strength return before she pushed herself up, while she did, at the edge of her eyes was a mask. At that moment though she was too tired to even wonder what the mask was for, her priority was getting out of there without meeting anymore dangerous people or creatures.
Once she got out of there she would first look for a nearby clinic or hospital and have herself checked. That was physically and maybe mentally as well, because there was no way her mind can create a place that was too real.
"You have returned to the real world." A robotic female voice said telling Kiaria, she was back.
In testament to that, it wasn't eerily quiet anymore and the ground she stood on didn't feel like she was walking on air. She checked the time on her phone and found it was already in the evening. It was almost time for the train to Yongen-jaya to stop at the platform. The earlier incident forgotten she ran back into the subway and not a second too late got onto the train.
On her way back to the house, she luckily came across a clinic in the backstreets. Entering the clinic, behind the reception was a woman with dark blue hair in a messy bob-cut with blunt bangs and brown eyes. She wore a choker and necklace and a blue dress covered by the white lab coat she wore.
"Is this your first visit?" The woman asked her, with Kiaria nodding in answer. She hummed. "So what are you here for today?"
"A ch-checkup" She stammered, still shaken from the earlier events.
"Okay, head in the exam room."
The woman introduced herself as Tae Takemi. At the beginning of the check-up, when Kiaria was asked to remove her vest did they both see blood stain on her shirt. Kiaria panicked as she saw the blood, how was she going to explain this? Takemi though didn't ask her about the blood and told her to remove her shirt to start with the check-up.
"Have you done any extraneous activities lately?" Takemi asked while Kiaria pulled her shirt down.
"I may have" Kiaria answered flinching as she recalled how much running she did and not to mention the pain of having a lightsaber go through her. Never in her mind did she ever think that lightsabers would be real other than in a movie. "Er, do I have any internal injuries?"
"You're fine. No internal injuries, but you may want to cut back on any extraneous activities." Takemi said offhandedly.
"How would you know if you're…mentally…uhm, sick?"
Takemi stared at her before blinking twice. "Do you think you're mentally sick?"
"I don't think I am, but I had a weird dream, actually, I don't even know if it's a dream. It seemed so real."
"Has this dream been happening a lot?"
"No. Just once."
"Maybe it's all from fatigue, and you said that you just moved. It's probably because you're not used to the place, yet. For now, I'll give you a prescription of some painkillers, for the soreness of your muscles. You won't need sleeping pills, you're tired enough not to need them."
Takemi went to her rack of medicines and held out a small bottle of painkillers.
"Thank you." Kiaria said. After she was done zipping her padded vest, Takemi grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.
"If you're in any trouble, you can come back here." Takemi said before releasing her wrist with the bottle in her hand.
Kiaria nodded Tae Takemi before she left the clinic. She felt relieved that the doctor did not ask her any questions about the blood and even offered her help. It was surprising to her that her blunder with the blood actually helped her gain a sort of ally.
Arriving at the house, bone tired, she first got out of her blood stained shirt and into more comfortable clothes. Although she was tired she still managed to eat her dinner (miso soup with spring onions and a bowl of rice), wash the bowls, and brush her teeth before going to sleep.
Kiaria opened her eyes and saw white. Everything was white, she wondered if she had ended up in the hospital or something, but that was far from it. She sat up from floor and stared at Igor and Ivan on the other side of the low table.
"Welcome" Igor said to her.
"You again!?" Kiaria shouted before glaring at them. "After I met you two, weird things have been happening to me."
"Wow, and you're blaming us?" Ivan said sardonically. "We have been patiently waiting in this room for you to return and you blame us for what happens outside?"
"Outside? Wait, you two can't get out of this room?" She said her ire diminishing.
"We remain here waiting for our guest to return and assist them." Igor answered.
"What do you two do when I'm not here?" She asked curious.
Igor and Ivan merely glanced at each other, only for them to know the secret.
"Nevermind, forget I asked." She said shaking her head. "Will I keep coming here?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Will I keep ending up here, and will weird things still happen even if I don't agree to help you?"
"We do not have the answers to that." Igor replied. "We can only offer assistance to our guests on their journey."
"But aren't you the ones that asking for my help?"
"That I am."
She groaned. "This is ridiculous! You're asking for my help and you say you're supposed to guide me on this…weird occurrences or whatever weird is happening to me. Which is it?"
"It is both." He answered.
"What is so hard to understand of that?" Ivan said. "If you help us, we would be able to help you further and possibly answer a few questions."
"Possibly answer, that doesn't mean you can answer 'all' of my questions."
"Well, do you want an answer or do you just want questions?" Ivan countered.
"You are beginning to—"
Igor coughed cutting off further words from Kiaria. "Hence, your return to the Velvet room, will you accept our offer?"
Kiaria was still sceptical on helping them, but where was she supposed to go and ask about the strange things happening to her? It's not like there's someone out there that could give her a manual. While she thought about accepting their offer, words from her past echoed in her mind.
Life is an adventure, Kiaria. There's no set direction that you have to go in. You can go anywhere you want.
"Fine. I'll help you." She answered. "I don't have a direction yet, but I may just find one by helping you."
A folder by then appeared on the table and a pen next to it. Kiaria pulled the folder close to her and opened it. Reading the contract, the main point of it was that she would take full responsibilities of her choices. She found that strange, well, things have been strange since she came to Tokyo. She grabbed the pen at the side and affixed her signature at the bottom at the same time sealing her fate.
"Then the contract has been established." Igor said smiling at her.
A young boy's voice echoed then in her mind and it sounded closely like Ivans'.
"I am thou, thou art I...
Thou hast acquired a new guide.
It shall become the essence of your journey
that would revealth thy way.
With the birth of the Fool Persona,
I have obtained the light
that shall lead to life and new power..."
"What did you just say?" Kiaria turned to the boy.
"Say what?"
"You said something about—"
Kiarias' dream was interrupted as she heard her alarm go off telling her to start the day.
On her way to Shibuya, she thought about the app. As far as she knew, it was because of the app that she ended up in that strange place, but she didn't know how to use it. She had tried using the app earlier at the house, but nothing happened. She was glad though that nothing happened for the moment, she wanted to have a normal day.
Upon arriving in front of the school, one of the student council members blocked her and was reprimanding her for not wearing her proper school uniform. She looked down at her clothes. She was still wearing the school blazer, but beneath it she had her navy blue hoodie and she had her hair in a side-ponytail allowing her hair to rest on her left shoulder. She found nothing amiss about her uniform and insisted on it.
With her argument with the student council member, in the end, she was lead to the faculty room where she met her homeroom teacher.
"Please remember to wear your proper school uniform, Suzuki-san." Mitsuo Morino, a man in his mid-twenties wearing a green turtle neck under his cream blazer jacket said as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
"I am." Kiaria said glowering that they keep saying that she wasn't.
"Yes. You are allowed to wear what you wish underneath your uniform, but please try to remember that our uniform includes the tie." Mitsuo said to her.
"Oh" She blinked followed by her cheeks warming up, so that was the missing piece. She was holding it before she left her room earlier, but she had forgotten to wear it.
Mitsuo chuckled at her reaction. "Let's go, Suzuki-san." Her homeroom teacher said, before he got up from his seat and carried the attendance sheet and his math book with him. "I'll introduce you to the class."
ooo
"Alright. You have a new classmate starting today." Morino said standing in front of First year, Class 3. "Go on introduce yourself."
"I'm Suzuki Kiaria. Nice to meet you." She said giving a small bow to the class.
"Your seat will be at the back near the window." Morino said.
Kiaria went to her designated seat and sat down. She gave one look over the class she was in, before facing the board. She wondered if she should even make any friends or not, she wasn't sure if she would really stay for more than a year or be sent somewhere else.
When it was around lunch time, she went to the school cafeteria to buy melon bread and a surprise onigiri that was said that the center was varied each day. She went to their schools courtyard to look for a place to eat in peace and avoid any prying eyes.
Most of the benches were occupied except for one it was next to a guy lying on the bench. There were no takers with some walking by, so she decided to take the bench for herself. The entire time she sat there eating, he remained lying on his back and closed eyes. She left him alone probably wanting to get some shut eye. She did recognize the guy to be one of her classmates, his name is Yoritaka Kenji. He had black blue hair, ear piercings on his left ear and instead of a white dress shirt, his was black.
She had been watching everyone's interactions in between classes and it seemed like he was avoided by their classmates. She didn't know his story, but she was sent here because of her own issues and who was she to judge others?
Once she was done eating, she went to the vending machine and bought a carton of apple juice. She didn't return to her classroom just yet and explored the school.
In her exploration, she found the extracurricular building, and while she checked the clubs that they had on the second floor. Someone had rushed out of one of the rooms and rammed right into her. Kiaria yelped in surprise, and instead of feeling the pain of falling she felt arms were holding her.
She opened her eyes and looked up at the person she had bumped into. She saw green eyes up close, a bit too close for comfort that she took one or two steps back. The guy in front of her had sandy blonde hair to match his green eyes and pale skin. He wore their standard uniform with his blazer unbuttoned, but what caught her attention was the pin with the number two on it.
"Sorry, sempai. I didn't see you." Kiaria said to him blushing as she looked away. She had to admit he was good-looking, although not her type. "and thank you."
The guy grinned at her. "It's okay, it's partly my fault. I was in a bit of a rush." He said before holding his chin as he looked at her humming.
"Er, sempai?" Kiaria felt uncomfortable with him looking at her from head to toe just now.
"How tall are you?" He asked her.
"Five feet, six" She replied, he was taller than her though since she was looking up at him.
"Do you want to work as a model?"
"I'm sorry?" She said taken aback.
"I won't force you, just give it some thought. See you around." He said.
She stared after her sempai, unsure how to process her meeting with him.
At the end of classes, Kiaria left the school, right away and on her way to the station her phone vibrated in her pocket, meaning she had a message.
Don't come back before ten. It said coming from Hiroshi.
What? Why? She replied.
I have guests.
Kiaria recalled one of his rules, so, that was what he meant when he had guests. It literally meant she was not to be there. Before replacing her phone back, she noticed another app on her phone that she did not install like the one with the eye icon. This one had a white icon with a letter V embossed on it.
"Not another one" She grumbled.
"What other one?" She heard behind her making her jump and sending her phone flying in the air, but to be caught by the sempai she had bumped into at school.
"Wow, you're surprisingly jumpy." He said chuckling at her while he held out her phone to her. "Too busy with your own thoughts?"
"Ah, well, you know how people have their own worlds in their heads." Kiaria answered taking her phone back.
"Like a palace?" He said.
"Maybe" She replied smiling wryly.
Unknown to the two, he had tapped on the red and black icon with the eye when he handed the phone to his kouhai, and it had picked up specific words from their conversation.
"Which line are you taking?" He asked.
"The erhm…I think it was the Inogami line." She answered.
"Let's go together. I'm also taking that line." He said.
They went down the stairs into the subway with his kouhai steps behind him. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed the place seemed wider with reddish tones and darker colors. He didn't recall the subway being this dark and redder.
He stepped forward just as he heard his kouhai shout.
"Shit!"
Surprised of her choice of word, he turned to her and found her wearing a black and silver Venetian mask.
"Why are you wearing a mask?" He asked her bewildered and when did she have the time to wear it?
"Sempai, you're not busy today, are you?" Kiaria asked him nervously, ignoring his earlier query.
"No." He shook his head.
"Then, can you show me around, Shibuya? I just arrived—" Kiaria said hastily, before she gasped.
At her sudden gasp he was knocked over to the side.
"Sempai!" He heard Kiaria shout, before she gasped again this time in pain.
He grunted as he pushed himself up and looked over at her. She had been knocked down to the floor, but he didn't have time to worry about her when three floating pumpkins in a pointy hat and cloak carrying lamps in its glove or hand were approaching him.
"Sempai! Run!" She shouted.
Yes, he intended to run, but not before grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him. He led them away running from the three floating cosplaying pumpkins with his kouhai behind him. They continued to run and avoid the fireballs thrown at them, but their luck had run out and they were at a dead end.
"Sempai, I have an idea." His kouhai said next to him. "Follow my lead."
He glanced at her as she removed her school blazer. She held her blazer in her hands and with a nod she ran forward throwing her blazer on the pumpkin as she stepped around the incoming fireballs. He didn't know if he would be able to do what she did, but there was no other way. He charged forward, and two of the pumpkins were floated blindly while only one of them approached them.
He tried to grab his kouhais' wrist and run again, but she shook her head and took a step forward.
"I'll handle this." She said giving him a short glance before turning her eyes to the pumpkin.
He watched as she ripped her mask and blood flowed down her face, her eyes from a deep blue color changed into yellow before she was engulfed in blue flames. When he thought that she had been burned alive, the blue flames dissipated revealing a girl with braided hair wearing a black open-bust tailcoat, a gray tank top, brown gloves, brown and red striped tight trousers, and brown laced heeled boots. Around her waist was a belt with a holster for a tri-section staff, along with a pouch and on her hip a gun holster. Floating just behind her was a masked woman dressed in a red and gold ball gown while she brandished a rapier in her hand.
"Julie, time for a show! Eiha!" The girl shouted as the woman behind her flicked her rapier to the side summoning red light from the ground and hitting one of the floating pumpkins as it visibly weakened before she grabbed her tri-section staff with ease from the holster and using it against the creatures.
He watched her do the same with the other two that was while she dodged the fireballs thrown at her. Although, she got singed by two or three of the fireballs, she ignored it and after three more hits the creatures dissolved into nothing.
After the girl dealt with the three creatures, she turned to him.
"Sempai, are you okay?" She asked.
He blinked looking at the girl asking if he was fine. It took some seconds before he recognized the owner of the voice.
"Wait, you're—" He trailed off stunned, but also because he didn't know her name.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"No." He shook his head before he got back up to his feet. "I'm not hurt, but what happened just now?!"
His outburst shocked her, but at that time they both heard a catchy tune or more so music playing.
"It's coming from your…pouch." He told her.
His kouhai opened her pouch before she pulled out her phone, her eyes widened in surprise at the screen of her phone and it made him glance at it. She had a call, but the number showed only the word Unknown and there were only dashes for the number.
"Go ahead. I'll just be over there." He said pointing over at the side, but it was enough distance to give her a bit of privacy.
"Please don't go out of my sight, sempai." She said as her phone continued to ring. She wasn't sure if there were more of those weird creatures around, and she didn't want him to die, if that was what happened to the person she saw that was stabbed.
With her sempai giving her some privacy she answered the call.
"Took you long enough" The person on the line said rudely.
"Ivan?" She was surprised enough that she had a call.
"Yes, this is Ivan."
"How are you calling me?"
"Does that really matter?"
She knew that it didn't, but a lot of things were happening around her and she was beyond confused.
"Well, why are you calling?" She said annoyed.
"Stay quiet while you are in the Metaverse or you will get the unnecessary attention of the shadows."
"Metaverse? Shadows?"
"The Metaverse is where you are currently are, and where shadows often lurk."
"Okay, but how did I get here? I didn't use that app." She said, she had tapped on the app before and she ended up here.
"You did, or your tag along did."
"How? I don't even know how it works."
"You use specific keywords to get to a location when you use the Metaverse Navigator. This location is the easiest to find unlike other locations in the Metaverse."
"Other locations?"
"You will find out soon enough." Ivan replied.
Kiaria mentally scoffed, at least she had a name for the app, it didn't show any when she had seen it on her phone.
"Okay, so use the app and some keywords then I'm here, but what were those things with masks?"
"Those are shadows. They are born from humans, and carry with them human emotions which are mostly negative. I will explain more another time. I suggest that you leave the area at the moment. You are unprepared to venture the place, and there are dangers for a person who does not have the potential. Before I end this, it is your choice to have him around or not." Ivan said before the line was dropped.
Kiaria replaced her phone back into her pouch. Ivan had a point, it was dangerous. She had received slight burns from the fight earlier and her sempai didn't have a persona like her. As she went over to her sempai, she was thinking of knock him out cold. It would be easy. She just has to swing her tri-section staff hard enough while he had his back to her, to make him lose consciousness. She scowled, she didn't want to hurt him, but she didn't want drag him with her either. He wasn't the one that signed a contract.
"Let's get out of the subway for now, sempai. It's not safe here." She said, but she also pulled out her tri-section staff and attached it together to make it a solid staff.
"You're not going to use that on me, are you?" He asked looking at her staff cautiously.
"Just for precaution, you know if any of those creatures show up again." She replied evenly, although he did hit the nail just now.
"Let's go." He said nodding to her.
They navigated around the subway with Kiaria fighting off the shadows they came across, and her sempai standing at the sidelines. Finally, they were able to reach their starting point, the stair to get above ground and the area was clear of any shadows. It was her chance to knock him out. Gripping the staff in her hands, she used the butt end of the staff and struck. She cringed as she watched her sempai grunt before falling forward onto the floor.
"I hope he doesn't have a concussion." Kiaria said before she replaced her staff back and grabbed his arm to bring it over her shoulder and pull him up out of there.
"You have returned to the real world." The same robotic voice said as Kiaria set her sempai down leaning against the wall near the subway entrance.
"Now, what?" She said to herself. There were some glances in her direction, but they would then turn away minding their own business. "Maybe, I shouldn't have knocked him out."
She should bring him to the clinic, but how was she going to bring him there? She couldn't carry him and she didn't have enough money for a cab. Their school was closer, but how was she sure that the nurse hadn't already gone home?
"Is something wrong?" She heard behind her.
She jumped turning around to find a guy with wavy black hair and dark gray eyes behind glasses. He wore a white turtle neck under a black blazer with an emblem of Shujin Academy, black and red plaid trousers and black leather shoes.
"Er, ah, well…" She stammered at what she was supposed to say. She didn't expect anyone to help her.
"Is he okay?" The guy looked down at her sempai.
"I don't know." She replied honestly. She didn't know how strong she had struck him. "I thought of bringing him to a clinic I found, but no one wants to help me and I can't really carry him."
"Where were you planning on going?"
"Yongen-jaya"
"I'm headed there, too. I can help you out for a bit."
"Really?" She asked surprised and elated.
"Yes." He replied a soft smile on him.
"Thank you." She said relieved that someone, even if it's a complete stranger decided to help her. What can one person with no one to call for help do, but rely on a stranger?
AN: Anyone that wants to adopt this (one of the things that I had planned but might not be able to continue anymore), just pm me! If you have any thoughts to leave a review as well. ^^ Thank you if you read this, but please dont expect it to be updated. You have been warned.