Well, here we go! The start of the improved story, with some slight changes already! Hope you guys will enjoy it just as much as you did the other! The first chapters will be a lot easier to make, since all I need to do is improve the things I already have written. New chapters will take some more time, but I'll do my best to release them as soon as I can, or at least as time lets me. I'm gonna keep Persona 3: Forever Bonds alive for a short while more, and will get rid of it when I catch up. Either way, let's get the show started and hope it lasts longer than the other one! I'll do my best!
Just listen to Wild Fang by Janne Da Arc before reading, it really fits the story as a whole. I'm sure you'll all understand what I mean later on. Now then, enough bla bla bla! Read!
- Monday, April 6, 2009 -
"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry. We will soon be arriving at Iwatodai Station." the announcement echoed loudly over the PA system on the train.
Hearing the announcement, a young girl got up excitedly from her seat. She had long auburn hair which was kept in a high ponytail, along with silver barrettes which formed the roman numeral XXII. Her eyes were an unusual crimson red. She was wearing a red scarf, a light orange sweater, a red checker skirt, black leggings, and orange boots. She also had an MP3 player hung around her neck. As she turned down the volume, she looked at the boy who was peacefully sleeping next to her.
He had dark blue hair with long bangs, which completely covered his right eye. His visible eye was of a greyish-blue color, with the pupil hardly visible. He was wearing a light grey double-breasted jacket, dark pants, a khaki turtleneck sweater and blue boots. Just like the girl, he had an MP3 player hung around his neck.
As the train slowly approached the station, the girl started shaking the boy, trying to wake him up.
"Onii-chan! Onii-chan! C'mon, wake up, Minato Onii-chan!"
"Mmm? Wha? Ugh." the boy, now identified as Minato, groaned as he opened his eyes to find himself face to face with the smiling girl.
"Good morning!" the girl cheerfully greeted the now half-awake Minato.
"Good night." he sleepily answered, turning away from the girl.
"Onii-chan, wake up already! We're almost there!" the girl said while shaking him again.
"I need more sleep." Minato responded yawning.
"If you don't get up, I'll tell gramps that you're goofing of again." the girl smiled.
Hearing these words, Minato quickly sat up, a hint of dread in his eyes.
"No! No, don't! I'm up! I'm up, I was always awake!" Minato sighed.
"Iwatodai. This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure." the PA system echoed on the train as it screeched to a halt. The doors opened wide, ready to let the only two passengers out.
"Alright." Minato said while yawning again. "Let's go, Hamuko."
"Yeah!" Hamuko happily nodded.
The two of them took their bags and quickly left the train, just before the doors closed.
The moment they stepped ground, silence fell upon the two of them.
"Well... Here we are again." Hamuko smiled sadly. "We're home..."
"Yeah."
"It's been ten years. Why..." she continued. "... did we come back here?" she looked down.
"To grow up." Minato answered coldly. "It's what the old coot wants us to do, we have no say against it. Let's just try to get this over with as quickly as possible, so we can go back to the mansion."
"Yeah, you're right." Hamuko nodded. "Let's do our best!"
After their little chat, they put on their headphones and headed out of the station. Before they could leave, however, the electronics and the lights in the building suddenly cut off and the music from their headphones was silenced. The night sky, as well as the moon, assumed an eerie green color and small puddles of blood appeared all over the place.
"What, it's midnight already? Huh, talk about a bad day. Let's hurry! It was safe at home, but we don't know what may be lurking around here." Minato told Hamuko.
"Right!" Hamuko responded. " Where do we have to go again?"
"Iwatodai Dorm. You know, the Old Dorm."
And with that, the two left the station.
As expected, the streets were no less creepy. They were literally overflowing with blood, and the sickly green moon illuminated the sky. It was like a scene from a horror movie. The scariest though, were probably the dozens and dozens of black, blood covered coffins that manifested seemingly out of thin air.
" As creepy as ever, I see." Minato remarked.
"You're right. Even after seeing it hundreds of times already, it's still really unnerving. Wonder what it's like inside?" Hamuko asked, poking at one.
"Hey, leave that alone!" Minato scolded her. "You know there are people in there. We can't just go around messing with them. C'mon, we're almost there."
Surely enough, after another five minutes of walking, they finally arrived at their destination.
"So, this is the Old Dorm now?"
"Looks pretty cool!" Hamuko smiled.
"Yeah. But let's hurry. I want to finally get some sleep." Minato started complaining.
"What? You've already slept six hours on the plane and one hour on the train! Don't tell me you're still tired!" Hamuko stated, slightly annoyed.
"I need at least sixteen hours of sleep a day to be active." Minato answered, clearly amused.
The two kept arguing as they entered the dorm. Upon entering, they couldn't help but look around a little. They were surprised to see that the place was just like a hotel's lobby. There was a table, chairs, several comfortable looking couches, and a T.V. There was even a counter, which probably served as the check-in desk. Beyond the lobby was the kitchen area. To the left of the kitchen were the restrooms and the stairs.
" Wow! They really did a good job renovating the place, didn't they?" said Hamuko. "And to think this was considered a danger zone now ten years ago!"
"It was probably a lot of work, but I think it was worth it." Minato answered. " What should we do now? Even if anybody was awake, they probably turned into a Coffin."
"I guess we'll just have to wait here until it's over then." Hamuko sighed.
The two removed their headphones from their ears and were about to explore their surroundings, when a creepy voice called out to them.
"You're late." the voice said. Minato turned around to see that a strange young boy in prison wear-like clothes was at the counter. The boy was really creepy and was giving off a vibe of mystery and dread. "I've been waiting for a long time."
'Waiting? Is this creepy little boy supposed to be our welcoming committee?' Minato thought. 'More importantly though, how come he didn't turn into a Coffin?'
"If you want to proceed..." the boy continued, pointing towards a single piece of paper which suddenly appeared on the counter. "... then please sign there. It's a contract."
"A contract?" Minato asked, slightly unnerved.
"There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions." the boy assured Minato.
'A contract? A dorm contract maybe?' Minato asked himself.
"Alright." Minato said, taking the quill pen from the counter in his hand. He quickly signed the name 'Arisato Minato' on the line. "Does my sister have to sign it too, or is my signature enough?"
"Don't worry, yours will suffice." the boy smiled. "At least, for now." With that the boy took the paper from the counter and slowly walked backwards into the shadows. "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away." he said, taking one step back at a time. "And so it begins..." the boy uttered, finally fading into the darkness.
'Okay... creepy.' Minato thought.
"Onii-chan! Wake up!" his sister yelled while shaking him. "C'mon, snap out of it!"
"What? What's the matter?" Minato asked confused. "Hey, stop shaking me already! I'm awake!"
Hamuko slowly let go of him. "What happened?" she asked, still worrying for her brother. "You suddenly started talking to yourself about contracts and signatures."
'What? Talking to myself? Does that mean she didn't see or hear the boy? What the hell is going on here?' Minato worried. "I was...uh...dreaming!" he said laughing. "I...uh...probably fell asleep and started acting all crazy again!"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Hamuko asked skeptically.
"Yeah, of course!" Minato assured her. "You know how I am when sleepwalking! Remember last year when I broke into the neighbor's house and stole all their sweets?"
They both started laughing at this, recalling the hilarious events of that night.
"...Who's there?" a voice suddenly shouted out, startling the siblings. They quickly looked around and sure enough, they found the owner of the voice: a young girl standing near the stairs. She had shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a pink sweater with a red bow, a black skirt and brown loafers. She also wore black knee-highs and had a choker around her neck. On her left arm was a red armband with the initials 'S.E.E.S.' on it. She had a gun holster on her right thigh with a silver gun inside. The girl quickly drew her gun and took aim. Minato instinctively stepped in front of Hamuko, trying to keep her out of harms way.
"Are you one of them?" the girl asked the twins in a scared voice.
Luckily, before she could pull the trigger, yet another voice shouted out:
"Wait!"
'What's with all the disembodied voices around here?'
The gun-wielding girl turned around to see another young woman descending the stairs. She had violet eyes and long dark-red hair which partly covered her left eye. She was wearing a white blouse with a red ribbon, a long black skirt and black knee-high heeled boots. Just like the other girl, she had a 'S.E.E.S.' armband on her left arm. As soon as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the eerie green light slowly faded away and the power cut back on. The siblings turned off their MP3 players which were working again. The brunette smiled in relief and put her gun away while the other girl approached them.
"I didn't think you two would arrive so late. My name is Kirijo Mitsuru. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." she introduced herself.
"...Who're they?" the brunette asked Mitsuru.
"They're transfer students and fraternal twins. It was a last minute decision to assign them here. They'll eventually be moved to the correct dorms." Mitsuru answered.
"...Is it okay for them to be here?" the brunette asked.
"I guess we'll see..." Mitsuru said. "This is Takeba Yukari. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you two."
"Hi, I'm Yukari." the girl shyly introduced herself.
Hamuko quickly looked at her brother, as if asking him how they should react. The older brother just nodded once, before turning back to the two girls.
"I'm Arisato Minato. It's nice to meet you." Minato bowed politely.
"And I'm Arisato Hamuko, but you can just call me Hamuko. It's very nice to meet you two! I hope we can be friends!" Hamuko smiled.
"Um...yeah. It's nice to meet the two of you, too." Yukari said, slightly embarrassed. "Mitsuru-senpai, it's getting late. We should show them to their rooms so they could get some rest."
"You're right, Takeba. All right! Arisato's room is on the second floor and Hamuko-san's room is on the third floor. Your things should already be there." Mitsuru explained.
"Oh... I'll show Minato-san the way." Yukari said.
"Okay, then I'll take Hamuko-san to her room." Mitsuru replied. "Good night, Arisato and Takeba."
"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow! Good night, Yukari! Good night, Onii-chan!" Hamuko waved as the two girls went upstairs.
"Yeah. Night." Minato waved back.
"C'mon, let's go." Yukari said to Minato. She took him up to the second floor and then led him to the end of the hallway.
"This is it..." Yukari announced. "Pretty easy to remember, since it's at the end of the hall. Oh, and here's your key. Make sure you don't lose it, or you'll never hear the end of it." she warned Minato while giving him the key. "So, any questions?"
'Hmm... Time to gather some info.' Minato thought to himself. 'There are a couple of things I still don't get. Like that boy and that contract.'
"Yeah, two." Minato answered. "First of all, I'd like to know if I'll have to sign a dorm contract or something like that?
"A contract? No, I don't think so. At least, I didn't need to sign anything." Yukari said.
"I see. My other question: How many students are staying at the dorm right now?" Minato asked.
"Hmm? Well, let's see. There's you and your sister, me, Mitsuru-senpai and then there's one more senior. That would make five of us." she answered.
'So, according to Yukari, there are no prison escapee children staying at the dorm who make people sign weird contracts. But then who, or what, was that kid?' Minato pondered.
"Okay. Thanks." said Minato.
"Sure, no problem." Yukari smiled. "Um... Can I ask you something? On your way here from the station, was everything okay? Did anything weird happen?"
"That depends. What do you mean by weird? "
"You know what I..." Yukari started but quickly caught herself. "Never mind. It seems like you're alright. Well, I'd better get going. Good night. Oh, and I'm sure you have some more questions, but let's leave them for some other time, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. See you tomorrow."
After Yukari left, Minato finally went inside his new room. It was nice and fairly simple. It had a small closet, some bookshelves, a table with a chair, a sink and a mirror, a mini refrigerator, a stand with a T.V., and, of course, Minato's favorite type of furniture: a large and comfortable bed. He quickly threw himself on it, not even paying attention to the many boxes waiting to be unpacked.
"Ah, yes! Bed!" Minato exclaimed. "I'm going to sleep really well tonight! After all that craziness, I'm really tired!" He happily rolled all over his bed, then looked around his new room. "So, this is my new home, huh? It's really nice." he remarked. "I wonder how much the city has changed since we were last here? It's been ten years already since 'that' day." his expression darkened. "Damn, way to ruin my mood. I almost forgot I need to call the old man."
Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Minato got up from bed and answered the door. It was his sister.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Minato answered stepping outside and closing the door behind him. They then quietly made their way down the stairs and out of the building. After checking a few times that they were alone, Minato pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number. After a few rings, someone answered.
"It's a little late, don't you think?" a cold voice asked.
" Hey, don't complain, you're the one who wanted us to call. Besides, it's 1 P.M. where you are right now."
"Indeed. So, have you arrived successfully?"
"Yeah, we're here. Got a little late though, so we had to make our way through a few Coffins."
"I see. You're sister didn't end up breaking any of them, did she?"
"I was able to stop her in time. It may have a slight crack on the side though..."
"Make sure you play close attention to everything. That city is full of secrets, some more dark than you can possibly imagine. Did you find any possible leads yet?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Two girls staying at this dorm, they were active even during the Darkfall. No Coffins, no signs of fatigue or anything."
"Hmm, most interesting."
" We're gonna keep an eye on them, I'm sure they have a few secrets. Do you think there are any chances of them being relatives?"
" No, most likely not. But we'll need to do a full background check to make sure. I'm gonna be busy for a while, so I'm giving this job to Naoto for now. Send her the info you got tomorrow."
"Got it. And... well..."
" What is it?"
"...No, it's nothing. We're gonna go now, it's late and we've got school tomorrow."
"Okay. Be careful."
And with that, he hung up.
" As charming as ever, gramps." Minato stated, causing Hamuko to chuckle.
" Aww, c'mon, you know he loves us. He just doesn't know how to show it."
"Must have been the heart of all the parties, that guy."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Hamuko asked curiously.
"There's not much we can do for the time being. Just act normally and observe as much as you can. If you find anything suspicious make sure to tell me. And if you get the chance, snoop around the dorm a little as well. I'm sure it also has a secret or two. But above all, make sure you don't get caught."
"Okay." Hamuko agreed. "Well, then! It's about time we go to bed! We've got school tomorrow."
"Yeah. Let's go. I miss my bed."
Back in his room, Minato didn't even mind to change his clothes. He turned off the lights and collapsed on his bed, ready to sleep.
'Heh. Things are going pretty well. At the very least, we've found some leads we can follow.' Minato thought. He then took something out of his pocket and held it up in front of him. It was a ring, with a large crimson red gemstone decorating it. "Above all, make sure that when you go, they never mourn. I guess you both failed that. But don't worry... I'll find out what happened." Saying these final words, Minato fell asleep, looking forward to the next day.
Meanwhile...
- Monday, April 6, 2009 -
- Iwatodai Maximum Security Prison -
-23:55 PM-
As the moon finally came out from behind the clouds and shined its light through the barred window of a cell, the cell's sole inmate got up from his bed and looked out towards the moon. As time passed and midnight approached, the prisoner couldn't help but smile. Sure enough, the moment the clock hit midnight, the world changed. The moon took on a sickly green color, and blood-like liquid started oozing out of the walls and the floor. After a short time, the captive heard a growling noise coming from behind him, along with the sound of his cell's door opening.
"You're early." the man said in a bone-chilling voice, turning around. "It's been a while since I've last seen you." he continued, now looking at the weird monster that was before him. The creature resembled a black blob with no legs and two long arms, which seemed to end in claws. It had a white mask on its face, with a 0 engraved on its forehead. "Go tell the others I'll be back in a day or two." the man ordered. As the creature quickly left to carry out its assignment, the man took one more look at the moon. A sinister smile spread across his face and his unusual crimson red eyes started glowing, as if from excitement.
"And so it begins..."