"A man without position, honor, or education...What can he cling to as he struggles through life? Sincerity." - Hidetoshi Odagiri
Disclaimer: All original materials from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable belong to Atlus; no copyright infringement is intended.
Some coarse language and strong violence is present in the story.
PERSONA 3 PORTABLE: MEMOIRS OF AN EMPEROR
PROLOGUE
It was midnight, or rather, some time past midnight, though for some reason the gears of time had ceased revolving altogether. A sickly yellow moon shone brightly in the night sky; its light reflecting off the polished surfaces of the many mahogany coffins which were scattered all over the earth. Through the peculiar masks on their "faces", four indolent, black blob-like creatures stared warily at the newcomer. Though they had been on the offensive moments before, the demise of their fellow "blob" had changed things. A girl in Gekkoukan uniform stood in front of me, wielding the naginata that had slain the first black monster. Their amorphous bodies seemed to rise and fall in contemplation of this sudden threat.
"A-Arisato-san!" I stuttered.
"How many times must I remind you to just call me Hamuko-chan! I'm not some random new girl from another class whom you've never seen before, so please dispense with the formalities!" the girl snapped irritably. "Anyway, stay behind me, Odagiri-san, I can handle them from here," she continued more warmly. Gently but firmly, she tapped my left arm from behind her to stress her message while eying the four masked entities warily. So here you are, instructing me to call you by your first name while you call me by my last, I thought dryly. Then again, this isn't the time to be arguing about this. Fine, you win. Whatever.
She considered for a moment, and then reached for something strapped onto her left thigh. My mouth fell dangerously open as she drew what appeared to be a gun from the thigh-holster under her skirt.
W-W-What? Such… severe contraband in the possession of a student, flaunted with utter disregard for the school rules… in the full view of the leader of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee! But I-I guess I'll let this one pass without incident. J-just for now. Yeah.
Oddly enough, she cocked the gun and coolly placed it against her temple.
Huh?
"NONO WAIT-" I screamed, waving my hands wildly in persuasion.
"Per-so-na."
CHAPTER 1: AWAKENING
My name is Hidetoshi Odagiri.
I am a student from Class 2-E of Gekkoukan high, and a proud member of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee. I live with my mother in a small but cozy apartment just across Iwatodai Strip Mall. Barely a ten minutes walk from my home, closer towards the opposite end of the Strip Mall, is Keisuke's home. He and I are best buds; we often walk home together after school, which is on a man-made island called the Tatsumi Port Island. Several blocks behind is the mysterious Iwatodai dorm, or, as me and Keisuke coin it, the Kirijo dorm, since it –and almost everything around this area- belongs to the Kirijo Corporation. Incidentally, the Student Council president just happens to be the daughter of the Chairman of the Kirijo enterprise. Swell, huh?
Let me tell you a little more about myself. If you happen to be a rule-bender, or someone who skips class every other day, watch out! I, Hidetoshi Odagiri, am not the kind of Disciplinary leader who would simply cut you some slack. Not that I especially enjoy reprimanding others (well, maybe a little), but it is my supreme duty to live up to the high expectations that both my teachers and I have set for myself. I am a firm believer that in order to achieve satisfactory disciplinary standards, one has to rule– sorry, enforce discipline with an iron fist. I just wish that everyone else in the Student Council would perform their responsibilities as seriously as I do. Half those jokers don't even turn up in the Council room these days.
I am but an ordinary student (and a hardworking one at that, mind you) who wishes to rise up the rungs of the student council's hierarchy ladder. That is, until something happened on the night of August the 14th which would change my life forever.
It was the summer holidays, but I chose to come back for Summer School. Though I had gotten first in class –rather unsurprisingly, being surrounded by a bunch of idiots for classmates- for my mid-terms, only students with the best performances would be selected for an interview to become the next Student Council president. Furthermore, holidays are such a waste of time; people spend them doing such fickle things like playing MMORPGS, writing fanfics, catching chick-flicks and the likes. At least they should watch some documentaries, or political commentaries, as I do. Keisuke said something about having to rush to school to develop some snapshots for his Photography Contest entry in the dark room, so I took the train to school alone, lounging in the delightful freedom of solitude which was always nice to have once in a while.
Tired of watching the same scenery which flew by every schoolday in the year, I fished into my bag for "A Comprehensive Study of Ancient Greece – History, Mythology and Culture from the Neolithic era" which I had borrowed two days ago. History and Literature were my forte, making me one of Ekoda-sensei's favorite student, which was really something to speak of, seeing as he treats students like scum (as do I, but to a much more reasonable extent). Continuing from where I had left off the last time ("…And so Theseus proceeded in the punishment of evil men, who underwent the same violence from him which they had inflicted upon others, justly suffering after the manner of their own injustice…") I barely had time to absorb the next paragraph before an infuriatingly loud voice filled the train.
"…and then WHAM! That Shadow exploded into a zillion pieces while the rest ran away with their tails between their arses before the amazing Jun-"
"Shhhh! Shut up, Stu-pei, everybody is looking at you!" a girl in a pink sweater and an impossibly short skirt shoved a textbook viciously into its owner's face.
"Mmmhrhgh…"
"And this textbook belongs to you! Ugh! You should thank me for giving it back like this; if Mitsuru-senpai realizes that you've been going through your summer lessons without even opening your textbook-" the girl ranted on and on.
Idiots.
Suddenly, my attention deviated completely from my book to a girl sitting directly opposite my row. Not you Miss Short-Skirt, I bristled, –not that she didn't have sexy legs, but the fact that I even could see them so obviously meant that her skirt was waaay too short for our school's standards- so if you could kindly shimmy towards one side so that I can get a better view… No, I was actually looking at the brown-haired, ponytailed lady with a pair of red headphones on her neck.
She was a petite girl with a penchant for sweet things, as evident from the packet of fruit jellies in her hand which she savored with a kind of innocent joy. Her little bob of hair bounced lightly with each sway of her slight shoulders that synced with the beat of her music. The barrettes on the left side of her hair were carefully arranged to form the figure of the Roman numeral "XXII". Deciding that she liked the tune which was playing, she tweaked the volume on the MP3 player which sat snugly in her slim, neatly crossed legs. Save for the faintly glistening line of moisturizer on her rosy lips, there was zero trace of makeup on her face. She was not excessively hot or sexy, and evidently determined not to be so. Yet there was something so irresistibly endearing about the way she carefully licked her fingers each time she slid a jelly into her mouth.
She was Hamuko Arisato, the girl next door in school and another Student Council member, and damn, she was cute as hell.
Apparently she must have caught me staring because she looked up and flashed me her trademark nymph-like smile. In an instant I jerked my head in another direction, albeit a little too forcefully, because I heard a loud crack and brought my hand up to my neck in agony. Slick move, Hidestoshi. Okay fine, I admit I sort of suck around girls, especially at one who giggled so bewitchingly at my failed attempts to escape her notice. What a perfect way to start the day.
Chug chug…chug…chug…screeeech! The monorail reached its destination, and I left the train in a small hurry, trying my best to avoid Hamuko's glances. Already I could see the stupid blue-capped/jacket miscreant from back in the train creeping behind a pair of female classmates to scare the living daylights out of them. I silently thanked god that he wasn't from my class. Walking in silence, I reached my classroom and looked around, mildly surprised. Fuuka Yamagishi was sitting at her desk, reading "Cooking Basics for Dummies" attentively while waiting for lessons to start. That was odd, considering that she did not turn up for much of the previous term, whereas now she was present for summer school when half the class was not.
The rest of the day passed without incident, and I decided to spend the time after school investigating the cigarette butt case while waiting for Keisuke's lessons to end. Some smartarse thought that smoking in school was cool and left his or her cigarette butt on the floor in the boy's restroom, and our PE teacher gave me the monumental task of finding the culprit. This I accepted with a certain eagerness, for I wanted to show the teacher my dependability and commitment to my role. Such opportunities would earn me the trust of the staff, notching me up another level in the contest for the next title of Student Council president! Already I was zealously searching for possible traces of cigarette ash on the floor, and my quest led me outside the female restroom. No matter how much I scanned the school, there was one place which I could not check, and this was it. But the thought of leaving a stone unturned seemed so– it was just not my style. Should I-
BAM!
"Ouch!" The door flew open and caught me directly on my nose, throwing me onto the floor. The surprised face of Hamuko Arisato flew from behind it into view.
Ah come on! Of all people!
"O-Odagiri-san! I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," I mumbled in mortification while clutching my nose, scrambling to my feet.
"No you're not!" she pouted as a trickle of blood flowed down from my nose onto my hand. Hanky, where's my hanky? I fumbled around my pocket for a moment before she reached forwards and gently pressed a fluffy pink handkerchief into my nose. "Here, take this."
"Uh, thank you, A-Arisato-san." I stammered as my ears flushed a brilliant red.
"Don't expect me to clean it for you, though! Pass it back to me tomorrow or after the summer break okay? And call me Ha-mu-ko, Odagiri-san, it's not like you don't know who I am!" She retorted while crossing her arms in annoyance. "What were you doing outside a girl's toilet anyway?" she eyed me suspiciously.
(Personal motto: when caught in an embarrassing situation, respond curtly and with dignity) "Hmph. Being part of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee, it is my utmost duty to find the perpetrator of the cigarette butt incident. Life cannot exist without rules. Discipline cannot go unchecked. My search for more clues has left me here." I replied rather pompously.
"Outside a girl's toilet?" she offered sarcastically.
"Well, it c-could have been a female student…" I squirmed a little.
There is this one thing I liked about Hamuko Arisato – she didn't probe further if she sensed the discomfort of the other party. And she knew me well enough to understand that I was being entirely serious about my Council responsibilities, too. Thankfully, she decided to throw me a lifeline.
"Always the Council Disciplinarian that I know, huh," she smirked and uncrossed her arms, placing them behind her hips while tracing the ground absently with her foot. Somehow she always looked so adorable when performing this action. "Well, I've gotta go, Yukari-chan is already waiting outside the gate. Don't forget the handkerchief! See ya around! Ta-ta!" She winked brightly, waved and disappeared around the corner. For a long moment I stared transfixed, blinking as she ran ahead. Something told me there was something mysterious about her beneath her perpetually cheery side which she was trying to hide, though I could not pinpoint what exactly it was.
I jumped as someone smacked me heavily on the shoulder. "H-Huh! Oh it's you, Keisuke." The friendly face of Keisuke Hiraga appeared as I turned around.
"Did I startle you? You look like you're in a daze or something." Keisuke quizzed. "Hey dude… your nose is bleeding!"
"Oh, er…that. Yeah I got that just now while trying to investigate cigarette butt case." I said while rubbing Hamuko's handkerchief against my nose.
"Did somebody hit you because you tried to accuse him?"
"No- er, yeah. Something like that." I hastily lied. No way was I telling him that I banged my nose because I stood face to face with the door of the female washroom!
"Hey wait a minute, whose handkerchief is that you are using?" Keisuke caught sight of the little piece of cloth which I had used to stem the nosebleed.
"Oh er…er that's mine. I-I bought it some time ago. What?" I stuttered as he relentlessly stared at the offending piece of fabric.
"Mmm? Something pink and fluffy with a heart and the letters "H-A-M-U-K-O" sewn onto it?" he pointed out evilly and grinned. Oh snap, I blushed. What a lousy day today was turning out to be.
"Anyway, seriously, Hidetoshi-san, take a break from the cigarette incident once in a while. Cigarettes may be bad for your health, but so can seriousness be, too!" he laughed. Shy as he was to others who didn't know him personally, Keisuke was one of the few people who can bring a smile to my face any day. Maybe that is why we are such good friends together; we both have some slight… issues with social interaction, though I would never openly admit it.
"Hmm… what say you that we should go study together somewhere for the night? I could read up some of your notes for next year!" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"Hey dude, relax! Its summer; you should be out enjoying the sun and catching movies and, you know. Aren't you smart enough already?"
"Says the person who got 2nd overall in the senior cohort," I blurted.
"Okay fine, whatever. Tell you what, Mum and Dad are going out for the night, but she prepared two sets of dinner, so you're welcome to come around whenever you like."
The hours flew by as we spent the night eating, studying, and occasionally watching a bit of television in Keisuke's living room.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
Dong.
All of a sudden, the room went dark.
The glass that I was holding onto slips from my fingers and splinters into a million tiny fragments on the floor; the sound of the breaking glass magnified by an uncanny silence that seemed to stretch for miles across. It startled me, shaking me out of the deer-in-headlights reverie which the sudden blackout had caused. As my eyes became accustomed to the faint green glow around me, I saw a reddish substance spilling out from the remains of the glass and staining Keisuke's carpet. It looked suspiciously like blood. Checking myself to ensure that no part of me was its source, I caught a glimpse of the jug on the table. What was water in it just moments ago was now that same disgusting red liquid. Before I had enough time to wonder about the sudden change in the color of water, I sensed an ominous shadow looming from my 12-o'clock.
I turned around, and gave a most unmanly yelp which echoed across the silent hallway.
A coffin stood in front of me.
In my panic, I stumbled backwards and instinctively stuck out my left hand to break the fall. A very real stab of pain shot up my left arm as my palm landed fully on the broken glass from moments before, erasing whatever notion that I had previously that this was all but a dream.
"OW SHIT- Keisuke! Keisuke are you there? What's going on! Where are you?" I shouted while fumbling for a tissue from the box on the table to stem the blood flow.
Wait a minute, wasn't he behind me a minute before?
I glanced at the coffin again and an eerie realization flitted across my mind.
Holy shit.
"KEISUKE! Keisuke are you in there? ANSWER ME! Damn it, what the hell is going on?" I banged my uninjured fist against the coffin door, hoping against hope that he would emerge from the coffin and laugh it off as a joke…not that anyone I know of would attempt to pull off such a tasteless prank (except maybe that guy with the blue cap from 2-F), much less the well-behaved model student Keisuke Hiraga. As I frantically ran my fingers along the coffin door in search for the opening, it suddenly dawned upon me that the lack of hinges could only mean one thing: There was no way for me to open it.
Keisuke was trapped inside, and there was nothing I could do about it. It sickened me, adding on to my incredulity towards this whole crazy situation.
Calm down Hidetoshi Odagiri, I told myself. People recognize you for your stern, unwavering composure, so ferchrissake get your act together and think. What should you do in this situation? With a deep breath, I steeled myself together and bandaged my hand with Hamuko's handkerchief. First, let's try getting some help from outside, I thought as I tiptoed towards the door.
Creeeak! I gently closed Keisuke's main door and scurried into the corridor. In the darkness around me, I bumped into something before giving another start as I saw a second coffin sitting in front of the elevator. This is getting seriously creepy here. I pressed the elevator switch in vain before realizing that they are not supposed to work in an electrical outage. Cautiously, I crept down the stairs, careful not to fall in the near-zero visibility of the blackout.
Outsides, there was no electrical light. A coffin lay against a lamppost on my left; below it, a freshly discarded cigarette was still smoking on the floor. Two coffins stood on my right, side to side, resting against the wall of a fountain spewing blood. Above all, the moon glowed unnaturally powerfully in the night sky, showering the earth in a sickening shade of green. Was it just me, or was the moon five times bigger than before? I meandered my way slowly past the coffins along the Iwatodai Strip Mall with a growing sense of apprehension.
"Helloooooo!" I shouted.
"...helloooo... helloooo... helloooo..."
"Somebody! Anybody! Can anyone hear me! Is anyone alive?"
"…alive… alive… alive…" Only the feeble echoes of my shouts replied in the dreary darkness of midnight.
I felt terribly alone.
Not quite.
I looked up just in time to see five formless black blobs slithering towards me. In the middle of their… faces were peculiar-looking masks that could have blended in perfectly with the Mardi Gras. From their bulbous bodies there extended a pair of hands which were armed with some dangerous-looking claws. ...the hell? Gotta get out of here. Quickly! my mind screamed. As if aware of my thoughts, one glob in particular closed in quickly, cutting off my escape. Though its expression on the mask remained constantly vacant, I sensed the wicked anticipation oozing from it for having cornered its prey. Fearfully, I raised my right arm in defense as the black thing leapt right towards my face and-
Swish! Splat. Splat.
-fell onto the floor in two separate halves. In the flash of an eye, the silver gleam of a naginata's blade whistled across the air and found that its aim was true. Foolishly, I gawked at the remains of the first blob-like assailant, which writhed violently before dissipating in a smoke of black and red. The cheerful face of a pretty brunette in Gekkoukan uniform greeted me with a nymph-like smile before turning towards the livid, hissing amorphous black beings.
"A-Arisato-san!" I stuttered.
"How many times must I remind you to just call me Hamuko-chan! I'm not some random new girl from another class whom you've never seen before, so please dispense with the formalities!" Hamuko snapped irritably. "Anyway, stay behind me, Odagiri-san, I can handle them from here," she continued more warmly. Gently but firmly, she tapped my left arm from behind her to stress her message while eying the remaining four masked entities warily. So here you are, instructing me to call you by your first name while you call me by my last, I thought dryly. Then again, this isn't the time to be arguing about this. Fine, you win. Whatever.
She considered for a moment, and then reached for something strapped onto her left thigh. My mouth fell dangerously open as she drew what appeared to be a gun from the thigh-holster under her skirt.
W-W-What? Such… severe contraband in the possession of a student, flaunted with utter disregard for the school rules… in the full view of the leader of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee! But I-I guess I'll let this one pass without incident. J-just for now. Yeah.
Oddly enough, she cocked the gun and coolly placed it against her temple.
Huh?
"NONO WAIT-" I screamed, waving my hands wildly in persuasion.
"Per-so-na."
Bang! A swirling haze surrounded Hamuko, subsiding to reveal the hulking stature of a 2m-tall man in a white suit of armor with a white headband and a spear. A sudden gust of wind parted the long locks of black hair concealing his face, and for a split second I saw the unmistakable killing intent beneath his onyx eyes. For the second time of the night I found myself with my ass to the floor after having stumbled in fear. Ignoring my presence, the white spearman stepped in front of Hamuko and pointed his spear at the advancing black blobs, waiting purposefully.
"Cu Chulainn, Mazionga!"
Ominously, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing as a blue orb of energy began emerging on the tip of the white warrior's spear. A loud crackle could be heard as four blue bolts of electricity burst across the spear tip and slammed relentlessly into the four enemies. With a wretched, otherworldly cry, the masked blobs began to dissolve into nothingness while the white guardian also began to fade.
For a moment I simply stood open-mouthed at the absurd one-sided battle that I had just witnessed, and then gave a sigh of utmost relief. Gingerly picking myself up from the ground, I swept the dust off my jacket, trying my best to look nonchalant in front of the cute girl who had just saved my life... but damn, my voice just had to betray my fear and astonishment.
"Um, well, that was uh, e-electrifying. Right." I nodded solemnly in an attempt to brush off how lame that had sounded. –seriously, Hidetoshi Odagiri? What the heck was that for? "Anyway, t-thank god for that… no I mean, uh, thank you, Hamuko -but can you tell me what the hell is going on here? And what was… how did you… who-"
In my fluster I failed to see her snicker suddenly disappearing into an expression of utmost alarm when she saw what was behind me.
"LOOK OUT!"
Without warning, she flung herself onto me, causing me to (again) collapse unceremoniously on the floor. A split second later, a massive fist the size of a human child whizzed across our heads, pulverizing the pavement barely a feet away from us. As I gaped at the sight of the crater formed in the ground, a metal chain followed through, lashing violently across Hamuko's back as her body shielded me from the blow!
"…H-HAMUKO!"
"Mnnhh!-" Hamuko exclaimed in pain. A splash of blood fell onto my face, trickling slowly down my cheek. It felt awfully warm. Before I could react further, a hairy hand grabbed and flung her ten feet across the street, causing her to crash into a row of bicycles parked in front of the mall. Though she clung on to her naginata before she was tossed effortlessly away, the silver gun slipped out from her grasp and landed neatly beside my right hand. Satisfied that the greater threat was for the moment out of contention, I watched in abject horror as the enormous beast turned around to face its weaker prey.
I have read about great beasts in Greek mythology, but never in my sane mind could I have ever imagined that such monstrosities exist anywhere other than in our textbooks. Over 10-feet tall, with the body of a giant humanoid and the head of a bull, the Minotaur that hunkered above me was an abomination that inspired pure, unadulterated terror. The only discernible exception to the textbook description of this beast was the almost-comical mask that obscured its face. Yet this unusual appendage did nothing to alleviate my fears, for my attention was focused on its colossal arms, the powerful rusting chain attached to them, and the pair of horns on its head the size of my entire right arm. With a great bellow, the monster began advancing to me slowly, mockingly, almost reveling in my fear which kept me petrified to the earth.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Too afraid to move, let alone get away, I could only squeeze my eyes firmly shut as the Minotaur raised its huge fist for one final, crushing blow.
Thud.
A pebble the size of a grapefruit flew and smacked into the back of the beast's head, ricocheting off its tough leather hide. Seemingly oblivious to the blow that would have knocked out a grown man, the creature nonetheless heard the words that followed after, and lumbered towards its source.
"Your… opponent is… me."
Pain evident in her voice, Hamuko struggled to stand up while leaning heavily on the naginata. Despite her wounds, she forced herself into a battle-ready stance; her fiery red eyes gleaming with determination. The barrettes in her hair had loosened, and her brown tresses flew freely with the wind. In the eerie green glow of the moonlight, I saw the silhouette of a beautiful, dangerous, modern Jeanne D'Arc poised for combat, and wondered how long she had been living in this crazy world of blood, coffins and creatures from our wildest dreams.
"Odagiri-san… get the hell out of here… while you still can! I… should be able to buy enough time for... you to take shelter in… one of the stores!" she shouted urgently through labored breaths. The sound of my name galvanized me into action, and I broke into a run for the nearest circular stairway.
Sensing the sudden movement, the Minotaur bounded eagerly towards the stairway with astonishing speed. I leapt clear just in time as the behemoth made a ferocious swipe at the staircase, the impact of which jarred the metal stairs so forcefully that it broke out of its foundations and fell with an ear-splitting clang onto terra firma!
Holy shittttt! That was too close- "Aargh!"
I felt a searing pain as the metal chain whipped across and caught my right heel, causing me to hit the dirt. A glint of silver spun out of my right hand to stop several feet away, and I realized what I had been holding onto that I had forgotten the whole time.
A gun!
Strangely, the blow I was expecting did not come. Instead, the gargantuan creature roared in pain, a matte of dark blood staining the fur on one of its legs, courtesy of a valiant slash from Hamuko's naginata. She swiftly ducked onto the floor to dodge the first fist of retaliation; rolling towards one side as the second punch shattered the tiles on the road, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake.
"Hiyaaaaaa…!" With the lithe grace of a dancer, Hamuko launched herself from the ground and deftly sliced her naginata across from the chest to the chin of the hunched beast, causing flecks of blood to fall onto the floor. Not all of it was the great beast's; the effort had cost Hamuko dearly, and to my horror she suddenly crumpled onto the ground, panting, biting back the tears that welled up from the excruciating pain in her back.
My initial ecstasy at this small victory became dread as I realized that the strikes from the naginata did nothing beyond inflicting flesh wounds against the hide of the creature, presumably as thick as a rhinoceros's. So beautiful, so fragile, I thought as I saw Hamuko struggling to get back onto her feet. What kind of man am I, to just leave her alone against the wrath of this seemingly unstoppable freak of nature while I run for my life? A surge of courage overcame my sense of self-preservation as I dashed forward and snatched the gun from the floor.
"GET BACK HERE you big fat son-of-a-bitch; pick on somebody your own size!" I yelled and raised the gun towards the back of the head of the monster.
Click.
Click. Click.
Nothing happened.
Ignoring my taunts, with its rage focused on the aggressor, the Minotaur pummeled angrily at the wounded girl. She raised her naginata in defense, but the force of the blow caused the weapon to splinter into three pieces, wasted. The standard follow-through of the metal chain lashed outwards, hitting the girl on her left shoulder, flinging her to the ground.
With a vicious finality, the Minotaur grunted like a mad bull before lowering its horns towards that pesky little fly, and then jutted its head cruelly forwards.
NOOOOOOO! OH FUCK!
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. I pulled against the trigger repeatedly, lamely, as the gruesome spectacle unfolded before my horrified eyes.
"AAHHHH…uhhhh…-" A torrent of blood spurted violently as the biggest horn that I have ever seen gored its way brutally through Hamuko's stomach. Her eyes widened momentarily in shock before her body sagged completely as the Minotaur flicked her from its horn some distance away; she flew and slammed against the wall above the takoyaki stand. Several streaks of blood smeared against the "Octopia" sign, staining the face of the cute black octopus that perpetually beckoned its customers to eat. The girl dropped onto the ground, rolled three times, and became deathly still.
END OF CHAPTER 1
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hurray, so here's the first chapter of my first piece of work! It doesn't feel quite like how I wanted it to be, partly because I don't have a complete idea of who Hidetoshi Odagiri really is. I'm not really good at writing emotionally appealing pieces heh. Anyway I'll try my best to flesh him out more vividly in subsequent chapters, and the personalities of his (future) friends as well. For now I have a rough idea on how the story begins and ends, but now I need to think of how to build up on the middle such that it ties in with the final chapter.
This being my first story, I am kind of unfamiliar with the rating system here, so could anyone tell me if this should fall under a 'T' or an 'M'?
I tried (very hard) to abstain from making Hidetoshi use the f-expletive, being the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. Then again anyone who wouldn't say it after seeing what he just saw is either (i) a liar (ii) a mute (iii) a saint (iv) Aigis
"Um… cliffhanger! Yay! No wait…
OMFG WTF DID YOU DO TO POOR HAMUKO YOU F^&%$#&!"
Oh I'm so, so sorry for making Hamuko go through all that! I just wanted to come up with something different from the other entries that popped up. I daresay some people will want to stop reading after all that violence and such. Oh well, go ahead and turn up your spiffy noses if you have an aversion towards violence! but Hamuko won't die. Oh snap, I spoiled it. Shit!
Anyway I started Chapter 2 at the same time as Chapter 1, though I stopped halfway to think about a better introduction to the latter, so it should come up pretty soon. I hope you've enjoyed reading so far! I'm quite unfamiliar with Japanese honorifics so please shoot away if you find any mistakes! It's my first story so there's definitely room for improvement, so here's hoping that you can all help me point out my shortcomings if you happen to drop a review :)
TRIVIA:
-Hidetoshi's S-Link is the Emperor Arcana, which symbolizes authority, rigidity, discipline, egocentrism and experience.