This is the official rewrite of Brother of the Sun! I took into account the constructive criticism from the reviews of the original story and decided to make something that wasn't just the game's story with a character added. I'm actually adding a story that complements the original while still feeling like its own separate entity. Seth is still going to be the main character, but he's going to be involved with a different group of characters than before, at least in the beginning. He and his group are going to run into SEES once in a while, but the focus will be on the OCs. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rewrite of Brother of the Sun!
April 6, 2009, Monday, Morning
In a hotel in Tokyo, lying on one of the beds was a young man with short, dark brown hair and green eyes, was about five-foot-ten and wearing a pair of green boxers. This man was Seth Carter (Age 16). He looked over at the bed next to his to see a slightly younger boy with slightly longer hair of the same color, hazel eyes and three inches shorter than him. That was his younger brother, Luke Carter (Age 14). Ever since three years ago, they were brought to Japan because they had special abilities that a particular organization found interesting, Persona.
The secret organization that brought them all the way from America is called Heiwa. They formed due to an underground organization of mentally insane Persona-users rising up called The Hands of Anarchy. The Hands of Anarchy's goal is in their title, cause anarchy and chaos regardless of its shape, form or size. Heiwa was formed to prevent them from doing so. Both organizations have been around for over 10 years and both sides have been recruiting anyone who may have the Persona ability, though both are very small with only a handful of individuals as members. During the three years Seth and Luke have been with Heiwa, they were forced to hone their Persona abilities and learn the Japanese language.
Seth then heard his cell phone ring and he answered it. "Hello?"
"Mr. Carter, once you and your brother are awake please come to my office." A man said over the phone.
"What's this ab-" Seth was about to ask, but the man hung up and he sighed. "I wonder what Director Matsuzawa wants…"
After getting dressed, Seth and Luke made their way through the bustling streets of Tokyo. Seth was wearing a yellow, thin shirt underneath a black jacket and jeans while Luke had glasses, a blue shirt and brown cargo pants.
The older brother looked at his younger brother and saw that he wasn't particularly comfortable around so many people. Seth had no problems interacting with people, but Luke was the exact opposite except around their family. In response to this, Seth stood very close to Luke.
"Don't worry, Luke." Seth said in an assuring tone. "We're almost there."
Luke didn't respond at all, instead he kept walking alongside his brother.
"How do you expect to get a girlfriend if you never open your mouth in public?" Seth asked jokingly.
Luke simply blushed and leered at Seth.
"Heheh, I'm only teasing you." Seth said.
They made their way down an alley and kept moving until they reached a manhole cover and Seth rhythmically knocked on it. A second or two passed before someone pushed the manhole to the side and the two brothers dropped down into the sewers below. The person who let them in was a Heiwa guard who closed the entrance to the sewer, pressed a keypad that was on the wall and a hidden passageway revealed itself. The boys entered the passageway before it closed again and they kept walking until they arrived at a medium-sized room where about dozen people were on computers.
"Mr. Carter, good morning." A man walked up to them. He had a grey suit on, smooth dark hair and a prominent moustache. This man was Tadashi Matsuzawa (Age 35), the founder of Heiwa.
"Good morning, Director Matsuzawa." Seth greeted him.
"Good morning, Director Matsuzawa." Luke politely bowed.
"Luke, may I have a word with your brother in private, please?" Matsuzawa asked.
"S-sure." Luke replied.
Matsuzawa led Seth away and toward a door that led to a small office and they took their seats.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Seth asked.
"I've watched you and your brother hone your abilities over the last three years and I'm quite impressed with how far you've both come." Matsuzawa said. "I'm assigning you to our Tatsumi Port Island base. While you're there, you and the others stationed there will be attending Gekkoukan High School."
"What about Luke?" Seth asked.
"He's still rather young, so he's going to continue his training here."
"W-wait…" Seth stood up. "I'm going away, but Luke is staying here?"
"That's right."
"With all due respect, Director Matsuzawa, Luke needs me here. Without me, there's no way he'd be able to handle the outside world."
"Which is why he needs some time away from you. He needs to learn to overcome his social anxiety on his own."
Seth started to become a bit angry. "You don't understand. Luke needs me. He needs his big brother with him."
The entire time, Matsuzawa had a calm, collected expression on his face. "He'll never grow up that way. You are to pack your things and say your farewells by the end of the day."
Seth took several deep breaths through his nose and glared at Matsuzawa. "… Alright…"
April 6, 2009, Monday, Evening
Later that night, Seth was on a train heading for Tatsumi Port Island. As he sat in his seat he thought back on what had happened between him and Luke earlier.
(Begin Flashback)
Seth and Luke were in their hotel room as the former was packing various clothes, manga and other items.
"I really didn't want it to come to this, Luke, but it's the Director's orders." Seth said.
"What if they finally assign me to a location?" Luke asked. "I won't be able to talk to anyone. You know I'm not comfortable with people."
Seth then gave Luke a warm, comforting hug as a tear fell from his face. "… I know."
(End Flashback)
*I hope you'll be all right, Luke…* Seth thought as he looked out the window and took in the sights that passed by.
Holstered on his waist was a gun-like device Matsuzawa referred to as an Evoker, which would be necessary for him to summon his Persona there. Thankfully, when security checked it out they concluded that it was a toy and allowed him through.
April 6, 2009, Monday, Late Night
It was almost midnight and Seth's train finally arrived at Tatsumi Port Island. He grabbed his luggage and proceeded off the train and towards a map of the city.
"Let's see…" Seth muttered as he looked at the map and the address given to him.
A young man with blue hair, black jacket, headphones, white shirt and black pants came up to the map and looked at a slip of paper he was holding. Seth noticed him and examined his outfit.
"You attending Gekkoukan?" Seth asked.
"Huh?" The boy removed his headphones and turned to look at him.
"Your uniform." Seth said. "Are you attending Gekkoukan High School?"
"Y-yeah." The boy nodded. "I just transferred here."
"Well, I hope we share classes together." Seth held out his hand. "The name's Seth Carter. What's yours?"
The boy looked at his hand for a minute before shaking it. "Minato Arisato."
"Nice to meet you, Minato." Seth said. "It's getting late, so we should head to our dorms as soon as possible."
Just as the clock hit midnight, all electronics powered down, the lighting turned into a sickly green, puddles of blood stained the floors and most of the people around him were replaced with coffins.
*Is this… The Dark Hour that Matsuzawa mentioned?* Seth thought.
He watched Minato, who wasn't turned into a coffin, walk away.
*He doesn't seem to be affected by it like most people.* He continued thinking. *Could he… Maybe…*
Seth continued making his way through Tatsumi Port Island until he arrived at a three floor building.
"This must be the place." Seth muttered to himself.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, a voice came from the other side.
"The crow caws at midnight." A monotone, uninterested female voice said.
"And turns into a coffin because of the Dark Hour. This is Seth Carter. Can you please let me in?"
"How do I know you're really him?" The voice asked.
"Emi, who is that?" Another female voice, a much more cheerful one, asked from the other side of the door.
"He says he's Seth Carter, but how can we know for sure?" The dull voice asked.
"Hold on, Mr. Carter." The cheerful voice said.
The door opened up to show a cute young woman with short pink hair, brown eyes, a purple-colored Gekkoukan uniform and matching leggings.
"I'm sorry about Emi." She said. "We can't help but get suspicious of people who are walking around during the Dark Hour."
"I don't blame you." Seth said as he entered and the door closed behind him closed.
"My name is Homura Ryukawa (Age 16)." The girl introduced herself. "Right to your left is Emi Tsukino (Age 16)."
Seth turned to see another girl with pale skin, long black hair, purple eye-shadow, a completely black Gekkoukan uniform with black pants, black leggings, black shoes and a white skull design on the shirt.
"Is there anyone else in this dorm?" Seth asked.
"Two guys." Homura answered. "But they're both asleep right now, so you'll meet them in the morning. We only stayed up so we could greet you."
"I'm always up at this time of night." Emi said, still talking in that uninterested tone.
"You should go unpack your things and go to bed." Homura said. "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
Just then the lighting turned back to normal and the electricity came back, illuminating the room much to Emi's misfortune as she just hissed and covered her eyes.
"Let me show you to your room." Homura said. "Emi, make sure you lock up, okay?"
Homura led Seth up to the second floor, which had a total of four rooms, and they stopped at the last door on the right.
"Here it is." Homura said. "The boys' rooms are on the second floor and the girls' are on the third floor. I'm the first one on the right if you ever need anything. Anyway, good night."
Homura went upstairs and Seth went into his room to see it completely empty save for a bed, a closet, a television set and a few shelves. He laid his luggage down on the ground and lied down on his bed. He pulled out his cell phone, pressed a variety of numbers and waited for someone to pick up. It went straight to voicemail and he had a disappointed look on his face.
"… Hey, Luke." Seth said. "It's Seth. I just wanted to check up on you and let you know that I made it to the dorm okay. The people here seem nice so far… Well, I just called so you wouldn't worry. I hope you're doing okay. Just hand in there…"
He hung up, stripped down into his birthday suit and went to sleep. Seth preferred sleeping in the nude, so whenever he was sleeping alone he would take advantage of it.
April 7, 2009, Wednesday, Early Morning
Seth's alarm clock went off and he slammed his fist against it while his naked body was still laying face-down.
"Ugh… I'm not a morning person…" He groaned as he slowly got out of bed so he wouldn't get a morning migraine.
Once he was standing on the floor, he walked over to one of his suitcases and started rummaging through some clothes in it when the door was suddenly opened by Homura.
"Carter-kun, are you a-" Homura stopped when she saw Seth's stand up with his bare ass facing her. Her face became so red that she could be confused with a tomato and slammed the door shut.
"I'm sorry!" She quickly screamed.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Seth questioned before sighing. "I'll be right out."
Seth put on a pair of green boxers, then his yellow shirt followed by the traditional Gekkoukan High School jacket and pants. He got his school bag together, slung it over his shoulder and walked out of his room with Homura following him downstairs.
"Please don't tell anyone about this." Homura said.
"Why would I?" Seth questioned. "If anything, you'd be the one with the urge to tell someone. My mother always told me and my brother we're so handsome that girls won't be able to resist us."
"Yyyyeah, no." Homura said.
They arrived downstairs to see Emi and two guys waiting for them by the front door downstairs. The one to walk up to Seth and Homura had medium-length ivory hair, grey eyes and was wearing a white version of the male Gekkoukan uniform over his skinny body.
"So you're the new guy?" The guy asked. "Nice to meet ya. I'm Daichi Mizushima (Age 15)."
"Seth Carter." Seth shook hands with Daichi.
"So, how did it feel to wake up to the sight of the sexy Homura?" Daichi asked. "She's easily the sexiest girl at Gekkoukan."
"Let's just say it was uncomfortable…" Seth scratched the back of his head.
"Why?" Daichi asked.
"Never mind that." Homura said. "Daichi's the only first year in our dorm, the rest of us are juniors."
"Wait, so you're saying Seth's my senpai?" Daichi asked. "Damn, I was hoping for another person my own age."
"Aren't you only a year younger than me, though?" Seth asked. "Sorry to change the subject, but I've yet to be introduced to you." Seth pointed to the other guy.
He had very short, light blue hair and wore his Gekkoukan uniform with its sleeves tied around his neck like it was a cape.
"I am the great Nobuo Ueda (Age 16)!" He introduced himself flamboyantly. "Everyone here except Mizushima is a second year, just so you know."
"… Why is he talking like a cheesy superhero?" Seth whispered to Homura.
"That's just who he is." Homura whispered back. "He never explained why."
"And you're all Persona users?" Seth asked.
"If you're in Heiwa and not a Persona user, you've got a desk job." Daichi replied.
"You've already met me and Emi here." Homura said to Seth.
Emi just remained quiet and stood a couple of feet away from everyone else.
"Why is she standing there?" Seth asked.
"You mean Goth over there?" Daichi asked. "That's just how she is. She'll follow us to school if that's what you're concerned about."
They took the monorail to their destination and stood in their spots as a group. Emi was gritting her teeth and growling.
"… There's too many people here…" Emi muttered to herself.
Homura looked to Seth and noticed that he let out a loud sigh.
"Is something wrong, Seth?" Homura asked.
"It's just… I'm worried about my little brother." Seth answered. "I had to leave him back in Tokyo and there might be a chance I'll never see him again… I've been there all his life to protect him… That was who I was… But now…"
"Don't worry about it for now." Homura placed her hand on Seth's shoulder. "Think of this as a fresh start. I'm not saying to stop protecting your brother, but just find something else to forge your identity."
Seth thought about her words for a moment. *She has a point… Eventually, Luke will need to be on his own and I can't continue protecting him… With this fresh start, I should just accept anything that comes at me with an open mind.*
"We're almost there!" Homura pointed out the window. "Look outside!"
Just as they were passing a large building, they could finally see a large campus sitting right by the water.
*So that's Gekkoukan High School…* Seth thought. *It's huge…* He then turned to see Minato standing next to a brown-haired girl with a pink shirt and black skirt. *Is that Minato… Well, I shouldn't be surprised. He DID say he was attending… He can't be with Heiwa, but he must be a Persona user if he can walk around during the Dark Hour. I wonder if I should tell the others about him… On second thought, he might not be aware he has the potential. I'll just keep quiet about it for now.*
The monorail stopped and everyone got off. The five teens went to the bulletin board in the first floor lobby to look at the class assignments. Seth found his name under Class 2-F, which also listed 'Ryukawa, Homura' and 'Arisato, Minato'.
"Great, we're in the same homeroom, Seth!" Homura said, sounding excited.
*And so is Minato.* Seth though before turning to Homura and smiling. "It's always nice to know you'll be sharing a class with friends."
"Weird, I never thought you'd be this friendly, Carter-senpai." Daichi said. "I was expecting another moody and broody, like Emi-chan. Ow!"
Daichi felt something quickly kick him in the shin and he turned to see Emi looking like she hadn't moved an inch from that spot.
"Geez, learn to take a joke!" Daichi said.
"The opening ceremonies will be starting soon." Emi said.
"To the auditorium!" Nobuo proudly proclaimed before making a mad dash toward the auditorium.
"… Again, we don't know." Daichi shrugged.
"Did he check to see-" Seth was about to ask.
Nobuo ran back, examined the class assignments and ran back in the direction he came.
"Looks like somebody is looking for attention." Seth said.
"From what I hear, he's surprisingly quiet in class." Homura said.
"It's hard to imagine a guy like that sitting down without so much as a peep." Seth said.
The rest of them made their way to the auditorium for the opening ceremonies.
Elsewhere on Tatsumi Port Island in a large hotel room, a figure with a white cloak and hood stood in front of his wall-sized window to look out into the sunny city.
"He has returned…" They said. "And the moon is almost full… Soon our plans here will be set into motion…"
Emblazoned on the torso of his cloak was a black, upside-down A inside a circle that appeared to be on the palm of a hand.
"It almost makes me anxious for the Fall."
A/N: Before you make any assumptions, I didn't base Seth, or even Luke, on myself… sort of. What I mean is that I mainly based them off Anna and Elsa from Frozen with Seth being like Anna and Luke being like Elsa; one's a social butterfly while the other is an awkward introvert. However, I did give them a few of my personality traits and if anything Luke is much more like me than Seth. Unfortunately, there will be little to no sight of Luke in this story because I'm saving him for a later story. As for certain plot holes such as how a small organization could have decent funding, those will be explained later in the story. Sorry I couldn't get a battle scene in, but I promise I will for the next chapter. I just wanted to focus on introducing the characters to start out, but I'll be fleshing them out a bit more in the next chapter as well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!