"There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear."
-Ben Jonson

Chapter 1 - Term Begins

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Miyako opened her eyes to a strange sight. The only thing she could think to compare it to was the inside of a spaceship one might see on some science fiction show. There were computer terminals lining most of the walls all around her, their displays all blank. Oddly, they were all tinted a strange shade of royal blue, and none of them were manned. In fact, Miyako didn't see anyone anywhere in the room at all. The only window took up nearly one entire wall, however she couldn't see anything outside other than dark purple clouds, or so she guessed. They looked more like a space nebula than clouds.

Considering her interest in science fiction, Miyako was, thus far, unimpressed.

She realized she was wearing a school uniform – the one she'd worn last year in her first year in high school, and the one she'd still be wearing in the upcoming year. Odd, she thought, but didn't question it further because she assumed by now that she must be dreaming. Which was just as odd because this certainly didn't feel like any dream she'd ever had before. She was aware of it, for one thing.

In addition, she didn't recognize the figures sitting in the center of the room, figures that she just noticed but swore hadn't been there a minute ago, watching her patiently but curiously. She had heard once that people can only dream about faces they'd seen when awake, but she was sure she'd remember a face with a nose like that. Miyako couldn't tell his age, but the woman to his right, occupying the chair normally reserved for second-in-command, looked very young by comparison.

Miyako was suddenly aware that it must have been Long-Nose, seated in the so-called captain's chair, who had spoken at the beginning of her dream. A desk and a chair had appeared before him, and he beckoned her forwards with a gesture towards it…

Monday, April 6th, 2015 – Early Morning

Toukawa City – Miyako's Home

When her phone alarm buzzed in the morning to wake her, Miyako wrestled with a sudden urge to cry. Whatever strange dream she'd had last night had made her anxious, and she felt as though she hasn't even fallen asleep. Oh, how she was going to look like hell in a few hours… At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep.

Her alarm had other plans however, continuing to buzz cheerily, heedless of her wishes. She groaned and only poked her arm out of the covers to attack the snooze option before withdrawing, debating on just skipping school. It was the first day of term though, so skipping wouldn't be a fantastic first impression on her new teachers or classmates. Instead, she lay in her warm, comfortable, fluffy blanket mountain and contemplated the visions that jumped to the front of her mind.

The long-nosed man in the dream had introduced himself as Igor, and announced the woman next to him as Scarlet, his assistant. Which Miyako couldn't help but note was also another odd point since, as everything else in the area barring herself and Igor, Scarlet's outfit was also colored a royal blue. Not that her name dictated what color clothing she were permitted to wear, of course.

Igor had called Miyako their "honored guest" in the Velvet Room, and that he and Scarlet were the room's residents. Which didn't make sense to her, since she was sure she recalled being in a spaceship; not that people in her TV shows didn't live there, but she didn't see any doors or corridors to other areas. The entire experience had been extremely… well, odd, even by dream standards. It was strange enough for her to remember her dreams at all, much less as vividly as this one. The part that made her anxious, though, was that the very last thing Igor had told her was "I will summon you again very soon". Apparently he wanted to discuss some serious topic that was supposed to center around her. Miyako was pretty sure she could survive without ever seeing him again.

And what to say about the strange way he spoke? He had a bad habit of speaking in riddles and asking rhetorical questions, and Miyako didn't much have the patience for it. Much less so when she was already on edge about her location and what was even happening. At least Scarlet was a little easier to read. Although she hadn't said a word the entire time, she had been downright giddy when Igor called Miyako their guest. She could hardly sit still, a huge grin on her face.

What did fascinate her was Igor's deck of tarot cards. It was a completely random question, asking out of the blue if she believed in fortune telling. He seemed to know a lot more about them than she did, though admittedly Miyako only dabbled in them as sort of a hobby. Still, some traitorous part of her wished she could go back and hear more about them from someone who actually seemed to know what they were talking about. The other, stronger part of her told her she'd be better off learning them on her own.

When she had more time, of course. Her secondary alarm started to blare, meaning she'd already wasted a half an hour just lying in bed. How has it been so long already? she thought. It's like just thinking about that place causes time to pass faster.

Monday, April 6th, 2015 – Morning

Toukawa City – School Grounds

"I can't afford that!" Miyako cried out, drawing the attention of several of her nearby classmates.

She arrived at school, found her locker and then her homeroom, where she waited anxiously for the day to begin, with plenty of time to spare. She was quite surprised to see several of her previous year's classmates walk into the room throughout the short time, starting with the two males seated around her. Instead of dwelling on last night's visions, she tried to focus on the conversation she was now having with the two boys, and hoped she didn't look as tired as she felt.

The tall black-haired boy seated in front of her glanced around and waved to the other students, then turned his attention back to Miyako. "The three of us combined couldn't," he said, removing his glasses, and wiping the lenses with his sleeve. "We would have to involve several others, of course. But my parents offered to help us cover what we can't."

"Naturally," said the blond boy to Miyako's right, reclining in his seat with his feet up on his desk. "Well I can pretty much guarantee being able to get Rui on board, so long as she'll have a roommate."

"I have already talked to Shizuka about it as well," continued the black-haired boy. "You're her friend, aren't you, Miyako? You should talk to her later about it, too. She said she'd consider it, but she's going to try to convince Kiyoshi to get involved. She says she's worried about the cost, too, but I think she has a little crush."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "So, that makes… six?" Miyako counted on her fingers, uninterested in the gossip, at least for the moment. "Me, you, Ren, Rui, Shizuka, Kiyoshi. Still, I'm only part-time at the café down the block. Six of us aren't going to fit into an apartment, even a studio!"

"Why do you talk about me like I'm not here?" the blond demanded, crossing his arms.

"That's why we'll be looking into a house, instead," the other boy continued, ignoring the blond. Satisfied with his lenses, he put his glasses back on his face, magnifying his brown eyes. The blond boy fumed, his face turning a deep red.

"A house?" Miyako asked hesitantly. "That's… a lot more expensive, even with all of us. Just how much money are your parents willing to give you, Ryo?"

"Let's just say they want me out of the house," the black-haired boy replied with a smirk. "Ren and I make too much noise."

"W-well if you would stop hogging all the blankets-" the blond started, suddenly flailing, then he gasped as he lost his balance and fell backwards out of his seat, landing in a heap on the floor. Ryo only frowned. Several of their classmates once again turned at the commotion, but only Miyako stood to help him up.

"Anyway," Ren said after waving Miyako away and resuming his seat, "she's right, that's still a lot of money for six school kids."

"We can always get more," Ryo countered.

"Oh yeah? And where will everyone sleep? The more people we get, the more room we'll need, and the more expensive it's going to be!"

"We share rooms," Ryo deadpanned.

Miyako squeaked, feeling her own face start to warm up. "Y-you don't mean like… like… boys and girls, do you?"

"Well Ren and I would be sharing a room, obviously," Ryo said, shrugging. "But if that's what you want…"

"N-no, I'm okay with sharing with either Shizuka or Rui! But what about the other girl? She'd have to share with Kiyoshi… or are you planning on letting him stay with you and having us three girls in the other room?"

"Oh hell no!" Ren shouted. "The whole point is so Ryo and I get some privacy, I don't care how much of a hermit – oof!" he coughed as Ryo delivered a swift kick to his stomach, an impressive action considering both were in their desks.

"That wasn't nice," Miyako said.

Ren coughed and grumbled as he tried to speak. "I know, right? At least once a day–"

"I was talking to you," Miyako scolded, rolling her eyes. "Kiyoshi's a nice guy, he's just a little quiet. You wouldn't even know he was there!"

"Even so," Ryo said with a sigh, "Ren is right. I would prefer that Kiyoshi – or anyone else, for that matter – was not in the opposite bed while Ren and I are having s–"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Ren shouted.

"Okay, I did not need to know about that!" Miyako groaned.

"It's never bothered you before," Ryo said with a frown.

Miyako raised her hands in defense and hastily backpedaled. "No no no, I don't mean it like that! It doesn't bother me at all! Really, I don't care what you two do when you're alone. But that doesn't mean I need to hear a blow-by-blow!"

Ren smirked, but after realizing what she said, Miyako glared him down before he could comment.

"Anyway," she continued, "it doesn't matter who it is, I don't need to know the details of your – or anyone's! – personal love lives."

"I see," Ryo answered. "It seems I misunderstood, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Miyako insisted, smiling back at him. "C-can we just drop it, then? Let's just get back to this house situation, yes? I don't know if Shizuka or Kiyoshi even have jobs. Does Rui?" she asked, turning to Ren.

"What was that about a house?" asked a passing brunet, pausing to lean on a desk next to Miyako. "You all planning something?"

"Oh, um… hi, Takara-san," Miyako waved at him. He winked at her in response.

Ryo got his attention. "To answer your question, yes. The three of us are looking into the possibility of buying a house this year."

"Awesome! I'm in. Let me know if you guys find a good one, okay?" Takara grinned.

"Any objections?" Ryo asked the other two.

"Um…" Miyako started, sharing a glance with Ren.

"Er, well…" Ren said, equally lost for words. Takara looked between them, still grinning.

"I, um… I don't know if we have the room for anyone else," Miyako said diplomatically.

"Another person would mean less to pay for each of us," Ryo said, very obviously confused. Miyako and Ren each shot him a traitorous glare. Takara wither didn't notice or pretended not to.

"Wait, pay?" the brunet said, confused.

"Well, yeah," Ren said. "Someone has to pay the rent. We're not just going to get a house for free."

"Makes sense," Takara replied, thinking. "Okay, I can handle that. No problem. I'm in."

Unsure of how to turn him down politely after that, Miyako let out a small sigh. "Well, I guess if we find something big enough, we'll let you know."

"Awesome! Can't wait. So, do you guys know whose homeroom this is?"

Sensing that the house topic discussion was over, Miyako answered. "Nakamura-sensei's."

"Which Nakamura? I think there were like seven of them here last I'd heard," Takara replied.

"Not exactly," Ryo said, sensing a moment to show off his smarts. "There are actually four teachers named Nakamura currently teaching here, three males and a female. The first –"

"So which one is ours?"

"…I haven't a clue," the black-haired boy grumbled.

"I guess we'll find out soon, the bell should be ringing any minute." Takara looked up at the clock. "It's weird that the teacher isn't here by now, isn't it? Anyway, I'll catch you guys later." The brunet grinned and waved, picking out an empty seat near the back of the room, next to a balding male who appeared to be sleeping at his desk, his head down.

As the trio turned back to continue their conversation, a tall redhead girl walked into the room, chatting with a short blond boy with glasses who entered just after her, bag on his back and several books in his arms. Miyako waved as the redhead turned to observe the room, looking for a seat. The pair made their way over.

Miyako bounced out of her chair and pulled the redhead into a hug as she approached. "Shizuka! We were just talking about you. I have to talk to you during lunch, okay?"

"Easy, Miyako!" the redhead cried, all smiles. She hugged Miyako back gently. "I saw you two days ago! I still need to breathe, y'know!"

"Sorry, sorry," the brunette girl said, releasing her grip on her friend. "I wasn't expecting you in our class this year! Hey, Kiyoshi," she added, waving.

"Hey, Miyako-san" the shorter boy replied with a small smile. He was slightly shorter than Miyako, and a full foot shorter than Shizuka. The redhead was slightly taller than average, but it still made Miyako giggle seeing the two of them next to each other.

"Please, how many times do I need to tell you, you don't need to be so formal around us!" she said, shaking her head. Kiyoshi didn't respond, only shrugged.

"What's with all the books, man?" Ren asked, reminding Miyako of his presence. "You take school way too seriously."

"Oh, these are Shizuka-chan's," Kiyoshi replied quietly, adjusting the books in his arms.

She waited for him to explain, but after a beat, Shizuka took over with a shrug. "I tripped in the hallway and dropped them. Kiyoshi saw me and picked them up for me. And then he wouldn't let me take them back!"

"That's sweet," Miyako said. Kiyoshi blushed and turned away. Miyako looked at him curiously, but no one else seemed to notice as Ren laughed aloud, drawing their attention. Miyako kicked him in the shin.

"Where should I put these?" Kiyoshi asked, turning back to Shizuka.

"Oooh! Sit here!" Miyako cried, pointing to the desk Shizuka was leaning on, at Miyako's left.

"Works for me," the redhead said enthusiastically. She stepped aside as Kiyoshi moved to drop off her books. The bell rang and he turned to find his own seat, but Shizuka put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Wait! Why don't you sit here?" she asked, removing her hand and pointing to the desk in front of hers.

"Because that's my seat," came another voice. A black-haired girl put her knee on the chair, and dropped her own books on top of the desk. Shizuka frowned and shrunk back.

"Why is it yours?" Miyako asked, drawing the newcomer's attention. "You weren't there a second ago, you can't just push someone else out of the way!"

"There's no other empty seats near my friends," she replied, sitting down, and turning her back to them. Miyako started to stand up again, but Kiyoshi stopped her.

"No, it's fine, I'll go somewhere else," he said, running a hand through his short, light brown hair and starting to turn away again.

"Well what about here, then?" Shizuka said, turning behind her and putting a hand on the edge of that desk. The boy sitting there doodling on a piece of scrap paper looked up like a deer in headlights. Shizuka frowned again, sinking back down into her own seat with a sigh. Miyako wasn't about to give up just yet, though. She turned to the boy, studying him for a few seconds.

"I'll buy you a new sketchbook if you'll find a different seat," she said quickly. "A nice, fancy one. Pleeeeeease?"

The confused boy looked at her, then took a quick glance around the room. Then he whipped out a photo and held it out to Miyako. "If you're serious, buy me this and you've got a deal."

Miyako stared, caught off guard by the action. She hadn't expected him to have a picture of exactly what he wanted. She took the photo and held it out. Ryo and Ren, previously distracted with each other until the bell sounded, caught sight of the act, and leaned in to get a better view, while Shizuka poked her head over it upside-down, blocking the light. Miyako moved it slightly to the side. It was a sketchbook, all right. It didn't look like anything special, save the logo in the bottom-left corner. A brand name, maybe? Why was he carrying this around? she thought.

"You got it," she said, slipping the photo into her bag.

The boy picked up his paper and stood. "I need it this weekend at the latest. For, uh, club. Yeah. Thanks." And with that, he walked away, settling down two rows back.

Miyako smiled at Kiyoshi and gestured to the now-empty desk. "There you are, now we're all close!"

"Oh, um, well thanks," he said sheepishly, settling down in his new home.

"Looks like we're short one Rui," Ren said, looking around the room.

"Okay, so we're almost all close."

"I wonder where the teacher is," Ryo whispered, facing forward again. "That was definitely the bell, wasn't it?"

"No, you're not hearing things," Ren said, feet now back up, this time on Miyako's desk. "The guy's probably so senile like every other teacher here that he got lost in the bathroom or something."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Maeda," said a voice from the back of the room.

The class collectively jumped, then turned to look for the source of the voice. Standing next to an empty desk was the balding male who Miyako previously thought was a sleeping student. Suddenly, as the rest of the class realized who the man was, the room became full of the sound of tapping feet, falling books, and scraping chairs as the students hastened into their seats. When the room finally became silent again, the bald man spoke, walking to the front of the room in the process.

"I like to get a small glimpse of the personalities of my students before my classes, and how they act when they think no authority figure is around. Please stand, Mr. Maeda. I think I'll give you the first question of the term before we all settle in."

Monday, April 6th, 2015 – After School

Toukawa City – School Gates

"I can't believe he quizzed me! On the first day! In homeroom! Seriously! Can you believe that guy?"

"Well, you were pretty rude," Miyako said, chuckling.

"Ugh, I should know better than to look to you guys for support," Ren mumbled, arms crossed. As the trio passed through the school gates, he asked, "Did you get to talk to Shizuka during lunch? About the house?"

"Oh! Yes, I did. She's not very happy about Takara injecting himself into the plan–"

"None of us are," Ren interrupted, with a glare at Ryo.

"–but she said if she can get Kiyoshi to do it too, then she's in."

"Excellent," Ryo smiled. "Now I believe we just need a roommate to share with Takara. I think two to a room would be reasonable. Ren, did you talk to Rui?"

"Yeah, she's all for it. I don't think she'll want to stay with Takara or Kiyoshi, though."

"How will the room arrangements work, anyway?" Miyako asked. "I don't think it's fair to force Kiyoshi together with Takara, at least not without asking him about it."

"Ren and I will room together, of course," Ryo said, putting an arm around Ren, who grunted and shuffled ahead of them to get away. "I assumed you and Shizuka would bunk together. That would leave Takara with Kiyoshi, and Rui with… whoever else we get. It wouldn't really work any other way."

"Could we maybe just get the three of them their own rooms and not have an eighth person? Or just not tell Takara we found a place?"

"I suppose, but that's going to be more difficult. We'll need to find five bedrooms instead of four. Not to mention that, at least check, Rui only will do it with a roommate. Why don't we set aside Sunday and take a look at some options with everyone?"

"I honestly thought you of all people would be the most irritated with Takara butting in," Miyako said, not allowing him to change the topic. "I wish there was a way to exclude him politely."

"If I had known you two had objections beforehand, I wouldn't have told him the plan. As it is, why did you not speak up when I asked?"

"Because he was standing right there!" Miyako shrieked. "I mean, I feel bad for not wanting him around, but he's so arrogant! But still, I don't want to be rude. He's still a person with feelings, and I have manners."

"Well, nothing to be done about it now. So, about Sunday?"

Miyako rolled her eyes and picked up her pace. She had a sketchbook to try to hunt down, after all.

Sunday, April 12th, 2015 – Morning

Toukawa City – Toukawa Mall, Food Court

"Well I found one, but I don't know if you're going to like it."

Somehow, the entire group managed to get together. Miyako asked for the day off in order to meet her friends. Kiyoshi, as it turned out, did have a job as well – a shift manager at a local Junes – but didn't normally work Sundays anyway. Rui happened to work at the same Junes, which came as a surprise to everyone but Kiyoshi. He was able to use his influence to buy her the day off. No one else, it seemed, had a job or any other source of income, not counting Ryo's parents.

"Why won't we like it?" Shizuka asked hesitantly.

Before Ryo could answer, Ren blurted out, "It's haunted."

"Haunted?" Takara said skeptically. "Well, I'm in. Who else?"

The rest of the group sat in silence, looking curiously between each other for reactions and waiting for someone else to comment.

"Doesn't bother me," Kiyoshi finally said, surprising everyone.

"Really?" asked Miyako. "I wouldn't have thought you of all of us to be all spiritual. It's not very scientific."

"Not quite spiritual," he replied. "And I'm not really scientific, either."

"He's just a nerd," Ren teased. Miyako kicked him under the table, rather unsubtly.

"I just think it's interesting," Kiyoshi added, unfazed. "All this supernatural stuff, it's always kinda interested me." He shrugged and sat back, going silent again.

"Well I think it's terrifying," Shizuka spoke up. "Why do you say it's haunted?"

"Something about some previous owners disappearing in the basement or something." Ren shrugged and swiped Ryo's soda out of his hand, taking a sip for himself.

"Basement? In a small, private home?" Miyako asked. "That's not something you see every day."

"That's part of why people think it's haunted," Ryo said. "It just adds to the story."

The group sat in silence for several minutes. Miyako never believed much in the supernatural; at least, not in ghosts or hauntings. She pushed her deck of tarot cards out of her mind. That thought was replaced by the image of Igor, the long-nosed man from that blue spaceship. Miyako shook her head violently to clear that thought.

Ryo finally spoke up. "Well, that's a no from Miyako." She looked up in surprise, remembering where she was. "What's everyone else's thoughts? Who's up for checking it out?"

Takara immediately raised his hand. Kiyoshi hesitantly did the same. Seeing that, Shizuka raised hers as well. Ryo and Ren followed suit after that, then all eyes went to Miyako and the silent pink-haired girl next to her.

"Come on Rui, I'd have thought you would be the first to jump on this, not Takara or Kiyoshi." Ren fixed the pink-haired girl with a sharp gaze.

"Watching these things on TV is a lot different than living them," Rui replied seriously. She looked around the table. "But if everyone else is willing to check it out, then I'll go too." She turned to Miyako, her long bangs falling in front of her eyes.

She caved. "Oh okay, I guess it couldn't hurt to just look around…"

Notes: No, my other stories aren't officially dead. I just haven't been writing lately. But I haven't given up on them.

At least until I started this. With P5 about a month away, and I've recently gotten into the series, I wanted to write my own. Updates will be about as slow as they have been, simply because I have no motivation right now.

While I'm trying to keep things similar to how the games go, I'm not really too informed about Japanese culture. I'm basically looking up every little bit of information even relating to it, so if something is wrong, please don't hesitate to let me know. In regards to game mechanics, all I can say with certainty is that I'm not going to involve negotiation. Having played SMT, I think it's a fun addition, but I don't really feel it fits with the whole concept of Persona in general, or at the very least, my version of it.

As with Sweet Sacrifice, this story actually started with a scene from much later on in the plot, but it obviously won't show up for a while. I do have enough for at least one more chapter, but I have a lot to think on regarding order and flow of events before I get that sorted. That said, I figured this was good enough for an introductory chapter, even though there's... well, almost no plot at all yet.

I don't often care about reviews, but in the case of this first chapter, I'm open to opinions. Specifically, is it easy to keep up with? Did I introduce too many characters in one sitting? I know there's not a whole lot of description of them yet.

Long note is long, so it ends now. I don't plan to end with notes on every chapter as I have been with my other stories, either, so hopefully this won't become a trend. If you read all this, then I hope you enjoyed.