Persona: After Story by Wordsworthy
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own The Shin Megami Tensei series since obviously Atlas does, along with all other references made over the course of the story. This is, after all, just a fanfiction written for the sole purpose of entertainment and no profit motive whatsoever. So please just enjoy the story and do not sue me for this. If you wish to know more about the series, please support the companies producing them directly and purchase their merchandise if you like.
Chapter 1: Another Story Begins
A kind, mellow voice.
"Don't cry…"
A slender finger reached up, a lone tear caught upon its nook.
"It'll be okay…"
A cool, gentle touch enveloped his hand, yet a soft warmth enveloped my heart.
"I'm just… taking a little nap… I'm… rather tired…"
The sound of footsteps and familiar voices melded into a vague blackness.
"Although… it might be a little… longer this time…"
"Uguu…"
A throaty groan emanated from deep within me as my body rose out of my cosy little nest of quilts on its own accord, reaching out blindly for a few moments before it struck the offending pink contraption that was making my ears ring with just the barest hint of a sting on my left hand. I crumpled right there in a heap, snuggling back under my covers, unwilling to face the reality that I was awake. And I almost succeeded too, if not for the sudden eruption of another, one, two, three, four, five…
"Alright, alright! I get it! I'm up! I'm up!" I exclaimed in exasperation as I righted myself into a seating position, bonking the heads of five other errant kitty cats in quick succession beside my bed to stop their chorus of morning calls.
I sighed deeply before rubbing my blurry eyes kittenishly with the back of my hands.
"Honestly… why do I do this to myself…"
"Mew."
I looked up at the edge of my bed in time to see my favourite white ball of fur yawn and stretch out its four tiny legs, kicking adorably in the air before curling back into her preferred napping position. The sleepy kitten rolled about on its back twice before her pointy ears pricked up. Peeking out of a thin slit that was her eye, her other followed suit as she rolled herself over and looked cutely at me.
"Mew."
I melted straight away.
"Aww… you're why." I reminded myself as I moved towards my little bundle of joy, which coincidentally did the same and pounced straight into my busom.
"Mew."
"And a good morning to you too Milk." returned I of the greeting as I raised the furry white kitten up to kiss it twice.
"Mew."
I looked towards the pink Hello Kitty clock left on my bed and winced slightly before placing it back with its other five sisters.
"You're right… I better get moving if I don't want to be late."
Milk mewed in her usual adorable manner in agreement as I placed her square atop my head, one of her favourite perches if I might add, while I rummaged around my drawers for a fresh change of clothes, underthings and a towel. Was it safe to have a kitty on my head? Of course. Milk knows better than to have her claws out when she is on me; she was a very considerate baby after all. Having gathered what I needed, I made my way to the bathroom, all the while making it a game of balancing my precious kitty. It's silly I know. I always win anyway. Perhaps that was how I developed my unique ability to balance a small cat on my head, brush my teeth and daydream at the same time. Or maybe it was the other way around.
I had that dream again…how many times does that make? Hmmm…
I took the moment to gargle a mouthful of water as I hummed.
Then again… it didn't really feel that bad, although I did freak out the first ten or so times I had it… it's not like it was really scary or anything. Just a little sad… I wonder just whose memory that was…
My right hand rose unbidden towards the left of my front, feeling the strong rhythmic beat that laid underneath with a reverent, feathery touch of my fingers as I leaned in towards the mirror. I narrowed my gaze upon its reflection, as though trying to convince myself that the crimson irises looking back at me were indeed my own, that the girl with messy russet bed hair was indeed who I was, who I had always been, who I had always meant to be…
"Am I the dream or the dreamer…" uttered I unconsciously in English.
"Mew."
The familiar meow of the precious feline atop my head broke me out of my reverie with a little shiver.
"Ah… thanks Milk. I was actually feeling depressed there for some strange reason." I slapped my cheeks lightly with the palm of my hands a few times. "Ikenai, ikenai. It's going to be another great, happy day for us! A new happy beginning! Right Milk?"
"Mew."
"Sou…" I began as I started combing down my unruly bed hair, trying to get the kinks in my curls untangled. "I will be happy. I am sure of it."
The scent of dew hung refreshingly over the cool morning air while the dainty chirps of unseen birds speckled the quiet from the lush treetops. Spring was definitely making its round in full force, and signs of a great day were splashed all about; the cheerful greetings of friends, the quick footsteps of panicky brisk-walking girls, the curt screeching of rubber, the faint smell of burnt rubber and a certain upended yellow bike lying on its side…
"Whoaaaa…!"
"Ahh!"
The promise of a great turned out less probable for at least two semi-winded young ones after an almost-collision left a surprised redhead down on the pavement with a sore rump, while a lanky brunette was slightly worse off, being caught between the asphalt and and his flashy neon-yellow BMX.
"Ngh…. Urrrrghhhh… What gives… didn't I already do this last year?" muttered the high school senior self-depreciatively at his painful bout of déjà vu.
"Uguu… Itai… Ah!"
The other half of the "accident-ed" duo quickly swept the flimsy dark chequered fabric back in place over her legs.
"Did you see…" began the girl timidly.
"Huh? See what?" replied the older boy as he turned his head towards her, belatedly.
"N-Nothing." stammered the girl quickly as she picked herself off the pavement and dusted herself once over. Once satisfied that nothing else was likely to remain showing, the russet-haired girl turned to her victim and bowed deeply.
"Gomenasai sempai. I was in a hurry to get to school so I wasn't paying attention to who else might be turning the corner…"
"…"
"Erm… sempai?" started the girl once again at the elongated pause, sneaking in a peek from the corner of her left eye.
"Ah… erm… ya… don't worry about it… Just be careful next time. Good thing I'm a sturdy guy… er.. haha…" recovered the senior in a somewhat suspicious fashion. "Erm… you new here? I don't remember seeing you before."
"Hai. I just moved here a few days ago. Today's my first day in school."
"I see. Is that why you're so… excited?"
"Hai! Aren't you, sempai?"
The senior student gave the younger one a weird quirk of his eyebrows.
"… You're a weird one aren't you? Hmm… in any case, go straight down this road and make a left at the first turn you see and that will be the school. You should get there a little earlier to report to the faculty office. I will be right behind you, after I get my bike sorted…"
"Ah! You're right! Thank you sempai, and sorry for just now!"
"Don't mention it...Oh by the way, I'm…"
The effusive younger girl was already halfway down the road and out of earshot.
"Ah great… typical Hanamura luck."
Thanks to my little daydream in the bathroom earlier, I was slightly late in handing Milk over to the kind obasan at the tofu shop. She had offered to take care of her while I was at school, much to my relief. Not that she minded me turning up late or anything, but it did make me run just a little later… and then there was that accident too… so I thought I give my legs a try after all this time…
"Uguu…" and this was the result; heavy panting, wobbly legs, using two hands against the wall in order to support myself…
"I can't believe just how… out of shape I am…"
Well, it could not be helped I reasoned in between pants. I was not able to do much for such a long while after all, although it felt more like the rest of my body were not able to keep up with what I wanted to do. 'It', however, was working like a charm. I held my hand briefly against 'it' to feel that reassuring beat once more.
A powerful one at that.
Gulping down several more breaths for good measure, I raised my hand and rapped on the door to the faculty office three times. I winced slightly at how loud the knocks turned out to be, but a faint "come in" could be heard beyond it.
Fixing the yellow ribbon slightly for little reason, I entered and yelled out a little more loudly than I had intended… as usual.
"Shitsurei shimasu!"
A certain buzz hung noisily over the classroom as a certain pigtailed redhead slid open the door and entered the classroom with the usual fanfare of fervent male favour and enthusiastic greetings. Not that it was new to the girl since she had been clamoured, pawed and talked about so much that it had become merely routine for her. However, what did surprise her slightly was that the buzz seemed to linger even after she paid her share of pleasantries and beatific smiling facades. A little puzzled, she thought little of it as she turned her attention to the remainder of the classroom and made a beeline for an eclectic pair at the back of the class. A burly white-haired boy who looked overaged and a short boyish-looking girl in a boy's uniform. Her friends.
"Yo. Good to see ya." greeted the gangly boy in his usual manner.
"You too Kanji. I didn't expect all three of us to be together in the same class though. Did you have something to do with this Naoto-kun?"
"I'll leave things to your imagination." answered the sleuth in an enigmatic fashion.
"Still… to be together in Sempai's old classroom… Do you really miss him that much? It's only been three weeks" asked the former starlet coyly, feeling the need to tease the stoic girl who stole the big catch from under her nose.
"W-What?" stammered the not-so-stoic-anymore girl.
The pigtailed girl got a little closer to her friend and nudged her side slightly with her elbow.
"I didn't see you give a lovey dovey goodbye like I would have pictured… or did you already do something on the sly, hmmm? You dog, you."
Naoto's hand shot to her watch a little too obviously as her cheeks coloured.
"I'll leave that to…"
"My imagination right? You sure that's a good idea?"
"Rise!"
"Good grief." commented Kanji from the side as he rolled his eyes. The less bashful of his friends rolled around on her desk in stitches while the other fumed and blushed from the curious looks of their new classmates.
"Hahaha… ah… that hit the spot." said Rise after she calmed down, satisfied with her tease. Noticing the still persistent ambient chatter, the knitted her brows together briefly.
"Hey, is something happening today? Everyone seems kinda excited about something, and I'm pretty sure it's not me this time."
"Don't know. It's been going on for a while now."
"Ah that…" began the sleuth who had less colour in her face now. "From what I could pick out, other than wondering who the new homeroom teacher will be, there's a new transfer student coming in today. Apparently, they're debating whether it will be a cool stud or a hot babe."
"Hmm… Transfer student huh? I wonder if it will be an interesting person."
The answer to that thought would have to be put on hold for the moment as the door to the classroom slid open once more, revealing 2-2's homeroom teacher for this year.
"Goooood mornin'."
"Oh great…" muttered the three friends immediately under their breath.
"I'm Noriko Kashiwagi, your new homeroom teacher starting today. I'll be sure to take good care of all of you this year, especially you, Ms Kujikawa."
"Erm… thank you?" replied a wary Rise as her forehead twitched in response to the ominous undertones. Thankfully, Kashiwagi decided to go on another rant about 'youth' and how useless it is compared to her 'experience' and 'age' rather than going to work on the starlet.
"Hey Kanji, what would it take to make Kashiwagi disappear?" asked Rise in a hushed voice.
"I don't know, a TV?" shrugged the irritated boy nonchalantly.
"Oi." shushed the sane one among the three.
"Erm… Sensei?"
An uncertain voice drifted in from the corridor.
"Huh? Oh right. Today we have a new transfer student, and it just so happens that she proves my point about young people today being little more than useless sickly jailbaits with just a pretty face and no substance. This sickly riff-raff…"
"Erm… Sensei?"
"Aw right, come in here already!"
All eyes turned to the door as it slid open, revealing a pale, slender girl that the dark Yasogami uniform seemed to flatter. Her rich reddish-brown hair was pulled back into a bushy ponytail, held by a blue hair-band and barrettes that formed two Xs and two Is. A set of pink headphones hung dormant and loosely on her creamy neck, highlighting just one of her lovely features that made the male half of the class immediately sit up and take notice.
"She is so cute!"
The undercurrent of excited chatter seemed to grow louder after the girl seemed to inexplicably trip over her own legs, letting slip a cute exclamation mark and some endearingly clumsy steps.
"A natural airhead. They really exist?" uttered Rise in disbelief, a mild sense of insecurity welling up inside her.
"G-Good morning everyone. I am very happy to make your acquaintance."
"Boku?" observed Naoto off-handedly of the transfer student's use of the male pronoun as the girl continued with her introductions, until Kanji raised his hand, causing the whole class to go quiet at once. He gave a dirty look to his immediate neighbour who cringed, as though afraid that Kanji was trying to hit him.
"That's nice and all, but could you get to what your name is exactly?"
"Ah… My name is Tsukimiya Kimiko (月宮 公子)."
And this is her story.
Author's notes:
Here's a little something new to show that I am indeed alive. Time is really at a premium for me at the moment despite how much I want to put pen down my stories, and that's really putting things mildly.
Anyways, there are a few concepts that I will be trying out in this story, but I'll leave it up to you readers to pick out what they are for now. Things will become clearer as the story progresses, so I won't be spoiling things before that. However, I will make it clear that this will mainly be a P4-P3 story.
And as a side-note, to my readers of Fate Rewritten and other fics, I will get back to them as soon as I can find time to do so. They aren't dead yet, even though at times I wish I was. Erebus is a terrible thing.
Please read and review, speculate and decorate if you have any comments on this chapter, or if you think you figured out what my story will be like. Encouragement will make my hand itch that much sooner and make me lunge for my pen that much quicker.