bold skills here
italics flashbacks here
'insert thoughts or comm communication here'
This story is a work of fiction.
Similarities between characters or events to persons living or dead in your world are purely coincidental.
Only those who have agreed to the above have the privilege of partaking in this alternate game.
I agree.
...The contract has been sealed.
The world is not as it should be. It's filled with distortion, and "ruin" can no longer be avoided.
Those who oppose fate and desire change… From time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters.
Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion.
But in this alternate game… The role of Trickster is filled by another.
A helicopter speeds in, zooming towards the blinding lights in the distance. Surrounding those lights are the sprawling metropolitan area of Tokyo. The scene then transitions into the origin of those lights, a casino un-befitting of the area, but otherwise a remarkable sight to behold with its neon signs. Almost as if a bit of Las Vegas had merged right into the city. Breaking the sounds typical of such a place, the ringing of an alarm spreads throughout the building.
People shoulder to shoulder in this gambler's den notice something is strange apart from the blaring noise of the alarm. A black figure moving about as if a Phantom along with men in suits entering the area. It is only until a man's shout do they take notice of the figure into their sights, standing upon one of the chandeliers.
The figure was in his late teens, with short black hair covered in an old Japanese school cap and grey eyes poking from a Venetian mask covered in black but white within the outlines of his eyes. His costume was unorthodox, clothed in a black business suit not unlike the men below. What stood out from them was the equipment belt filled with tools and weapons, a red inner shirt with a white tie, red gloves, and a cape that covered his right side that hung from his back. In his arms, a non-descript briefcase you could buy almost anywhere.
"Hey... Up there!" He shouted, pointing upwards to the figure in question.
The men in suits respond in kind.
"He's here. Move in immediately." One radioed in to his chain of command.
The figure grins with teeth blaring at the men below and proceeds to his destination. Adrenaline starts pumping into his body. Knowing that the chase begins now.
(Life Will Change -instrumental version-)
I stood upon one of the bigger chandeliers in the casino while making my escape. As I landed onto the next one, I suddenly heard voices.
'Good. Now get running!' A boyish voice chimed in.
'This is our only chance!' Another voice said.
'Stay calm! You can get away now!' A girl's voice added.
I decided to respond.
"Thanks for stating the obvious! It's not as if I wasn't running already!"
'No back talk, mister!' She said.
"Sorry!" I said back to her.
Another girl's voice responded instead.
'We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end.'
Before I could respond, a unknown transmission interrupted me.
'...suspects...not….confirmed...hold...your...positions…'
'Hm…? What was that…?' The first girl said.
"Sounds like trouble." I said to her.
'Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!' The boyish voice from before told me.
"Roger."
I began to move from platform to platform.
'But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move.'
"I hope they got my good side." I cheekily added in.
'Mwehehe. Fine work as always, Spectre.'
"No probs, M-." Before I could finish however, the suits had caught up to me.
"THERE HE IS!"
Uh-oh.
"RUN AWAY!" I yelled as I kept moving, jumping from the platforms to reach a higher gambling floor area. But they had already arrived as well.
"Stop right there!"
"You can't get away!"
Two suits had reached me and revealed their true form.
Shadows.
One had also arrived behind me as if expecting to ambush me.
"You're not very clever, are you guys?" I said as I jumped into the air landing on the one behind me.
'Take 'em down, Spectre!' Another girl on my team cheered.
"You know it. Now, I'll reveal your true form!" I said as I ripped the shadow's mask off, transforming it into the "Sacrificial Pyrekeeper."
'Comparing power levels… No Threat. Get 'em, Spectre!'
"Good to know. Let's go!" I ripped my mask off, and from the depths of my soul, arrived a silhouetted figure behind me.
"Eigaon!" Cursed energy shot towards my enemy and sent him flooring to the ground. A critical hit.
'Everyone else, head to positions! Use Route B!' Support girl told the team.
"All according to plan. And for the finale, BRAVE BLADE!" The floating figured kicked with all its might, dealing severe damage. I had finished off the lone shadow.
'Ok, pull out before their backup gets there.' She told me.
"No need to tell me twice! And their already here actually!" I told her while avoiding the shadows by jumping onto a nearby platform. Grabbing onto the railing of the next floor close to me, I hoisted myself over it to reach my destination. I went into the door in my nearest vicinity, arriving into the backrooms of the floor.
'You should be able to get out that way! Hurry!'
'Dude, can he even hear us!?' Another boy on my team asked.
"Are you deaf my dude? If not, just go and focus on the plan." I told him in a condescending tone.
'Don't worry, I'm picking up everyone's voices. Just go, Spectre!' Support girl said.
"Third time's the charm, huh..." I whispered back as I made my way through the floor avoiding the suits.
'Tch! Don't give me shit right now man. We got away from a bunch of those guys in black, but there are still loads more of 'em…' Rude sounding boy responded back.
"Complain later. Sneak now." Rude boy groaned.
I entered another room with glass windows and quickly crouched down against the wall as a suit came by.
"Where'd they go!? Damn it!" The suit put his hand towards his ear.
"I can't confirm the intruder's location." The suit ran in another direction away from me, letting me move on.
Before I could however…
'Up ahead! Stop!' Support girl told me. I looked to one of the suits in my way.
'This is bad! Hide, Spectre!'
I quickly hid back behind something nearby. I quietly swore beneath my breath.
"Shit…"
'You'll never get away if you just keep fighting.' Support girl informed me.
"Way ahead of ya. Sneaking mission, start." I moved from cover to cover and reached the stairs near the suit.
"...Hey, are you sure he came in this way? Hmm? Understood. I will continue the search!" The suit ran past me into the previous rooms.
"Dun dun da dun dun, dada dun dun dunnn." I mouthed as if to congratulate myself as I left cover to run for the stairs.
'Impressive, Spectre.' Support girl added.
'She got the reference.' I smirked inwardly.
'Quit messing around and get out of there already!' The boyish voice yelled, chiding me. I winced in response to the loud voice.
As I reached the higher floors, suits crowded the hallways near the stairs. Finding a floor without too much heat, I found myself near a command room of sorts. Moving past it as the people inside were distracted, I found another set of stairs and moved upwards.
Hearing the resounding footsteps of my pursuers, I hurried along and found myself in another room with more chandeliers and people on the bottom floor.
'Something wrong? The exit should be up ahead.' I looked across the room only to see a huge mosaic glass window.
"Looks more like I'm making an exit instead."
'Nnh…! That's just how it is. After that commotion, the bottom floor's completely closed off. Hey, can you make it!?'
"It's not a question of "Can I make it?" ." The suits had reached me as I turned around to face them.
"There's nowhere to run!"
I grinned and climbed atop the floor's railings to make my escape, reaching the exit in no time.
"It's more like "I will make it." !" Covering my head with my arms, I burst straight through the mosaic window glass making a stylish exit.
'What a showoff.' Support girl said.
'You're so reckless. You know that?'
"I try." I told her as I landed. Before I could stand up however, I was in for a last surprise. Countless bright lights turned on, as if to glare at me. I covered my eyes with my right arm to avoid being suddenly blinded. The voices of my team becoming a blur in my mind as my adrenaline spiked as I faced down countless police forces in front of me.
'Enemies, here!? These readings… It can't be!'
'What happened?'
'An ambush!?'
'Spectre, can you handle this!?'
'Spectre!'
"Handling it!" I yelled and started running to my left.
"CAPTURE HIM!" And with that command, the police rushed forth.
I screamed inwardly.
'ShitshitshitshitshitshitshitOHSHIT!' I ran as fast as I could and saw a ladder. I jumped with all my might and hoisted myself up to climb it as quickly as I could. Before I could reach the end however… the police had already anticipated my actions.
They were waiting for me at the end of the ladder. One of them knocked me down with the butt of their gun before I could react.
"FUCK ME-AHHHHH!" I fell to the ground with a resounding 'Ugh' echoing my pain. The police surrounded my vicinity and secured me to the ground.
Someone walked towards me.
"Suspect secured." Someone said.
"Didn't expect to find some kid." The person walking crouched down before me.
"You have your teammate to thank for this." He then grabbed my head and hat, lifting them up.
"You were sold out."
Looking past him, I could a see figure. A figure I didn't expect at all.
I could only whimper out in response.
"...No… Way…" The man stood up and walked away.
"Suspect confirmed. Cuff him."
"Rrrgh! I have the right to remain sil-!" I tried yelling before I was conked in the head. My vision faded and I could only see darkness.
Before I fully regained my senses, my mugshots had already been taken.
Trying to open my eyes I could only hear footsteps walking towards my direction. On the floor I could see an empty syringe. My head hurts like absolute hell.
'What the fuck did they do to me…?'
Everything feels like I'm wading through mud. I realize I'm tied to a chair with my hands cuffed behind it.
"Guess the drug was too strong… Wake him up!" The man said.
Water was splashed onto me. Some of my faculties and senses returning as I opened my eyes. I found myself in a room with a camera and three men. The one walking towards me with an especially uncaring stare.
"No dozing off." He told me.
I tried to struggle a bit but no luck. The cuffs were tight.
"You still don't get it, do you? Just give it up!"
"Augh!" He kicked me off the chair into the ground.
"Nngh… You… asshole!" He pressed his foot onto my head.
"Quite the mouth on you. C'mon, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?" I shot a defiant look while looking past him. He noticed this.
"Huh? What about the camera? You thinking it can used as video evidence?" He crouched onto a knee and grabbed what he could of my hair, lifting me up.
"I'm not an idiot you asshole..."
He slammed my head into the ground with a resounding thud and kicked me in the stomach.
"Keep that smart mouth talking! We'll see how far it gets ya."
I coughed hard. As I wheezed in breaths of air, he moved away from me to grab a clipboard from one his buddies.
"Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons… Manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works. To think that all those crimes were led by a punk like this… And you seem to be enjoying every second of it… Huh?"
'What is he… talking about…?' I thought. My mind's hazy. I can't remember things correctly...
"I have… the right… to remain silent…" I wheezed out.
"...You should know your place." The man made a motion and his buddies uncuffed me. My arms felt sore from being cuffed as I rubbed my wrists.
"Sign here." The man held in his hand a document on a clipboard towards me.
"It's a confession under your name."
I read the document quickly.
'I don't remember any of this… But I don't want pass to out again…'
"Fine... Gimme a pen."
He pulled one of out of his suit pockets and inched his face real close to mine.
"Don't expect to walk outta here in one piece. We're going to make you understand… One must take full responsibility for their actions..."
'The nerve of this bastard…!' I angrily thought.
"...I know that better than anyone." I told him, looking straight at his eyes as I grabbed the pen from him. I signed the confession with my name and handed it to him.
'Johnny Murakumo.'
A woman with gray-brownish hair and a black business suit walked down a hallway seeing an officer and a detective at her destination. The detective blocked her path.
"Excuse me, but this area's off-"
"I'm Niijima from the Public Prosecutors Office." She said.
"The Prosecutor's Office? What business do you have here?" The detective asked in a condescending tone.
Niijima had a irritable look after hearing that.
"Just let me through; it's urgent. There's something I need to confirm with the suspect." She told him in a firm voice.
"Niijima, I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides..."
A man arrived from behind Niijima. An older detective.
"Are you Prosecutor Sae Niijima? There's a call from your director. Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you're being an inconvenience." He told her.
Sae's smartphone vibrated from within her pockets. She answered it, hearing a loud sigh from the SIU Director.
'I thought I ordered you to stand by.'
"I'm responsible for this case, yet I'm not even being allowed an interrogation!?" She told her director in a somewhat angry voice.
'I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up.'
"I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself." With another sigh, the director relented.
'Good luck to you then. I won't be expecting much though...' He ended the call and Sae put her phone back into her pocket.
The older detective decided to speak again.
"Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important. Your time will be cut short. We can't permit you to talk with him for long."
Sae turned her head and gave out a loud sigh, as if expecting this response.
"..."
"It's for your own sake. His methods are unknown. After all, we don't even know if it's safe to simply meet and speak with him."
"...I understand." She turned and proceeded into the room guarded by the uniformed officer.
I had my arms crossed upon the table as I heard the door open to see a woman in a business suit walk in. I tried to avoid eye contact and saw my crumbled school cap on floor. I grabbed it and aired it out before I put it back on my head, facing forward. The woman had already sat in the chair opposite of me as I returned to my previous sitting position.
"...I didn't expect it'd be you. You'll be answering my questions this time." She told me in professional tone. She turned her head and made a face as if she saw something disgusting.
"Those bastards…"
'Probably the syringe…' I thought.
She leaned forward.
"Can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here… and I can't stop them." She leaned back and crossed her arms.
"That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either." She decided to change her tone to a softer one.
"What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution."
"Heh." She didn't like that. Her tone became firmer.
"It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it."
I decided to respond.
"If you could figure it out, I would've been in here much earlier…"
"True." She softened again.
"There's no way I could be convinced of such a… "world" just by reading the reports. It seems you're coherent."
"...Just barely. You're friends are at fault for that..."
"Don't blame me for something out of my control. Now, when and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal another's heart? Tell me your account of everything."
"...You mean it?" I asked her as I looked up straight at her eyes.
"...Start from the very beginning." She confirmed.
"...Alright… Just let me think real hard…"
Before I could start recalling my memories, I heard the sound of a song I could faintly remember. Along with the fluttering of a blue butterfly appearing before my sight and a voice I couldn't recognize.
(The Poem of Everyone's Souls)
"...You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none."
'That's encouraging…' I thought depressingly.
"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…"
'So I do have a chance…'
"...I beg you. Please overcome this game… and save the world…"
'..."Save the world?"... Ain't you asking a bit much of a bastard like me?'
"The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds. The truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day… when the game was started half a year ago… For the sake of your world's future… as well as your own… you must remember..."
'I'll try my best.' I responded within my own thoughts. As I did so, everything turned white as I began recalling the beginning of everything. That day on the subway.
"Ah!" I woke up to sudden shaking of the subway train. I looked around to see not that many people around me.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer there for all subway rides. The doors to your left will open." The subway speaker announced.
'Almost there huh…' I thought to myself. I began to fall into my memory of that day. Of how I found myself in my current situation.
I saw a woman being assaulted by a drunk man.
She said "Please, help!" to me.
I wasn't going to just let this drunk have his way.
I put my hand on the drunk's shoulder to give him a light shove.
"Hey, leave the woman alone!" I told him.
He then swung his arm at me and fell from losing his balance. He ended up with a gash on his head.
"...Aw shit…" I muttered, realizing now that I've become the assaulter.
The man covered his head to somewhat stop the bleeding. Eyes full of anger.
"Damn brat… I'll sue!"
Before I could even have a chance to process my thoughts, I was already being arrested and shoved into a police car.
I shook myself out of my memories and listened to some gossipers on the train.
"What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?"
"It's the truth!"
"To a person though? That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"
"Gossiping and giggling about someone having a shutdown? Do they have no respect for the dead? Sheesh…" I muttered under my breath.
I've been hearing about those mental shutdowns a lot since I came to Japan a year ago to study abroad and get life experience living on my own. Nowhere can I find a place where I won't hear people gossiping about it. Then again, I've found people here to be quite the gossipers in public compared to America.
'At least people have the decency to do that in private places.' I added into my train of thought. I didn't want to hear any background noise so I decided to put on the headphones hanging from my neck and plug it into my phone as I exited the subway train and heading into Shibuya to transfer.
'I'll put on "Burn my Dread". It's been awhile.'
(Burn My Dread)
While walking through the streets of Shibuya listening to music, I was browsing twitter for the usual memes and jokes while constantly checking my navigator for directions. Then, I looked up to see I had reached the fabled Shibuya Crossing, with tons of people in the area crossing the streets.
'This place is way bigger than the small town I was living at… I think it beats Austin by miles.' Thinking back to my life in Texas.
Looking back down to my smartphone, I saw a strange eye looking app icon appear on my navigator and suddenly fill my screen.
"What the…? Some sort of spyware app? When did it install this?"
I tried pressing my screen but nothing seemed to happened. Soon though, things began to change around me. Sounds and people slowed to a crawl, as if they had stopped.
"What the hell? Did someone just stop time?" I wondered aloud. I looked around only to see my predicament become more of a reality to me.
"This is some sort of joke, right-?" I said to no one before I looked forward to see blue flames in the distance form a figure. I saw vision of myself with yellow eyes grinning madly.
Before I knew it, time had resumed and people were crossing again.
"...I must be tired from the trip. Now I'm hallucinating. Stupid spyware…."
I held my finger against the app on my phone and tossed it into the trash bin for deletion and headed to my subway transfer.
I sang a bit beneath my breath.
"I will burn my dread…"
4/9
Saturday
"Yongen-Jaya. This is Yongen-Jaya." The subway system announced.
"I'm here." I exited the subway line and headed up the escalator to my destination.
As I arrived to the backstreets my navigator told me to go to, I found the street surprisingly packed. It never fails to amaze me how Japan has so many places to go in such compact residential areas.
'I might check out that secondhand shop on my left at a later date. I really hope Mom was able to send me some necessities at the address. I only really brought the stuff I had in my old place that I already brought over from America. I hope my desktop and consoles are okay.' I was overthinking things as usual and lost myself in my thoughts. I shook my head and focused myself.
"Okay, so I'm going to be living with a Sojiro Sakura. I need to find his house around here."
I walked around the streets looking at the various places they had here. A local market, a closed theatre, and an apartment complex. I turned to my right to find an alley and found a large house with a delivery truck next to it along with the supposed delivery man. On the nameplate of the residence was Sakura so I was at the right place. I rang the doorbell.
*ding dong*
But nobody came.
"No one's home huh."
"Yeah. Usually Sakura's at his cafe around this time." The delivery man said to my outloud thought.
"Cafe?"
"Yes, it's called Leblanc. It should be in another alley back the way you came. I've already made a delivery there for some electronic stuff so I won't wait and deliver the other things for him another time. Got other deliveries to make."
'Electronic stuff? Must be my things, but why have it delivered at his cafe?'
I walked back the way I came to find another alley like the man said on my left and saw the sign for the cafe.
" 'Coffee & Curry Leblanc?' Maybe I'll get to have free coffee." I entered the cafe.
Inside I found a very rustic cafe with a homely atmosphere. It wasn't like a Starbucks you could find anywhere. It was an honest to good coffee shop with coffee beans in jars stacked and labeled on shelves meticulously. I saw a man that could look like real life Daisuke Jigen from Lupin the 3rd sitting down in an apron reading a newspaper while an elderly pair of customers were sitting at a table. The TV was blaring in the background with one of those tabloid channels on.
"How frightening." Said the elderly man.
"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" Said the elderly woman.
Meanwhile, the Jigen clone with glasses was busy muttering to himself doing a crossword.
"Vertical is… the name of a shellfish used for farming pearls…"
I decided to answer him.
"That should be 'Oyster' right?"
The man looked over to me with a surprised look while filling in the crossword.
"That's right, thanks- wait." He looked at date on the newspaper as if realizing something.
"...Oh, right. They did say that was today." He put down the newspaper behind on the bar counter and stood up.
The elderly couple stood up as well.
"We'll be going now. The payment is on the the table."
"Thanks for coming."
"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here." The elderly man said off-handedly.
Jigen clone seemed surprised at the comment.
"A what now?"
"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here." The elderly man said.
"It's none of my concern." Jigen replied sternly.
"Haha, we'll see you next time." The elderly duo went towards the exit as I scooted out of their way.
Jigen clone groaned loudly.
"...Four hours for just a single cup of joe. So, you're Johnny?"
"Yes sir, if you're Sojiro Sakura then thank you taking me in." I replied formally.
"Yeah. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?"
"Unruly kid…? That how mom described me huh…" I felt a bit hurt over that statement.
"You're lucky I'm an old friend of your mom. She contacted me as soon as- Well, not that that matters… Follow me."
I followed Sojiro up the stairs of his shop to find the definition of a disastrous and messy room. It was as if I stepped into a rustic garbage can. It was very spacious though.
"This is your room. Hmm? You look like you wanna say something."
"It's… a fixer upper."
"That's all on you."
"I'm fine with that, sir. By the way, did my and the stuff from my mom get here?" I asked nicely.
"Yeah, the stuff your mom sent is in that box near the bed. The stuff from your previous residence is right there near the couch. Be grateful that I was careful putting everything up here. I've also provided you with sheets for your bed."
"I appreciate it, sir."
"I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble." Sojiro told me in a stern parental voice.
"Noted." I nodded in affirmation.
"Now then… I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?"
I pulled my cap down to hide the resignation to my situation.
"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?"
I stayed silent.
"...And now that you've got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. There was talk of having you sent back to the States, but the courts overruled that decision and ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your mother approved of."
'Damn it, do I have to get this shit right now?' I thought.
"In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass. It's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted."
I let go of my hat and decided to speak.
"...I'm still surprised they left me off with probation. I was sure with the way everything went in the court, I was going to go off with a sentence much worse."
"It's a miracle your defense lawyer was able to do that. Remind me to ask you for that Fey woman's Law Firm. Anyways, cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."
"That's my school, right?"
"Right. Shujin Academy. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know. Ugh, what a waste of my sunday." Sojiro then left downstairs.
I went towards the cardboard box near the bed in the corner. Packed inside were clothes and necessities.
'Like mom promised. I have to thank her via Line later… Time to change out of this uniform since I'm not going today like I expected to.'
I changed into my casual clothes for the cold months. Brown leather jacket, white shirt, and grey jeans with some nice sneakers. I looked over the junk piled everywhere and decided to use the rest of the day for something constructive. I stretched my arms out.
"Let's get this room clean."
I worked on cleaning the room well into the evening after learning where I could take out the trash from Sojiro. It happened to be near a bath house and a dry cleaners so I'll be able to clean my clothes and take a bath when I need to. I put the box mom sent me onto a shelf near the stairwell. The room looked way cleaner and organized than before, but the stuff from my previous place such as my PC and stuff were untouched near the couch. It's late so I'll have to get to setting everything up another time.
Sojiro came up as I was taking a breather.
"What the heck? You really did clean up everything well up here." He took a look around as if inspecting the place.
"Actually, the place doesn't look too bad. Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy. Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right?"
"...You're not wrong." I answered tiredly.
Sojiro nodded.
"I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?"
"Wait. You wouldn't happen to have Wi-Fi here, would you?"
"Yes, actually. It's for private use, but since you're going to be living here, I'll give you access so you don't have to spend your money at some Internet Cafe. It wasn't set-up by me so put this on a note somewhere in case I happen to forget the password. Network is Leblanc and the password is "wakaba23" with zeroes replacing the a's." I inwardly screamed in joy as I put the info on a note on my phone. Free Internet.
"Thanks, night Mr. Sakura."
"Later, kid." We waved each other goodbye before he went downstairs and locked the shop up. I changed into my night clothes, turned off the lights, and went over to lay on my bed to think over things. But suddenly my phone pinged.
"It's probably mom…" I took my phone out of my pocket and looked to see not a message from my mom, but the same spyware app from earlier.
"Again? What the hell man… Is it like some sort of trojan? Damn, I don't want to have to pay to get my phone to be formatted…" I promptly deleted the app again and quickly went into Line to send a message to my mom.
'I made it, mom. Mr. Sakura seems like a cool guy, but a bit rough. Well, good night. I'm tired.'
My eyelids start to get heavy and I set the phone down next to me with the alarm set for tomorrow and fall asleep.
I open my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. Blue fabric covers the walls and chains hang from the aforementioned ceiling. The eerie sound of water dripping down fills my ears. I stood up to see my clothing changed to prisoner garb and my hands chained to large cuffs.
I found myself within a cell of some sort.
"...What kind of trip is this? Did I eat something bad on the way to Shibuya? Or this a look into my future…?" I asked myself.
Before I could think of my questions, footsteps came from outside my cell. I saw two little girls dressed in some weird cosplay with eyepatches on. They looked like twins, and had unnerving yellow eyes. Their expressions matched the opposite of the other.
I tried to move closer to them, only to find my left leg chained like my arms to a iron ball. I moved towards the cell door. My vision becoming clearer, I could see someone behind the twins. They moved out of my vision and I saw a man that could've come straight out of a fantasy novel sitting at a desk in the middle of a circular room outside my cell.
He noticed I had my eyes on him and proceeded to introduce himself.
"Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room."
"Velvet...Room?"
"So you've come to, Inmate." The twin on right said.
"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You're only experiencing this as a dream." The twin on left said.
"You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" The right one yelled to me.
I complied immediately as to not provoke her.
"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter. I am Igor. The master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."
'Igor? Like from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?' I wondered. I decided to ask a question.
"What do you mean by "Important matters" ?" I asked.
As if to ignore my question, he looked around.
"Still, this is a surprise… The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a "prisoner" of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."
"Quit the anime bullshit. What the hell do you mean by "Ruin" huh!? What the hell is going on!?" I yelled while shaking the bars of the cell.
The twin on the right smacked my cell with her baton, leaving my ear ringing.
"Shut it, inmate! And just listen to our master!"
My silence answered for me. Igor began to speak once more.
"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be "rehabilitated". Rehabilitated toward freedom… That is your only means to avoid ruin. ...Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"
"...I don't want everything to end." I answered.
"An adequate reply. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." The twins then stood at attention facing forward towards me.
"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."
Caroline spoke first.
"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like."
Then came Justine.
"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. ...That is, if you remain obedient."
Igor decided to end their introductions there.
"I shall explain the roles of those two at another occasion." Justine and Caroline turned to their master.
"Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time… Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…"
With his final piece said, an alarm rang throughout the room.
"Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline told me.
"I have had enough of your attitude! Let me out of here! LET ME OUT!" I continued to struggle against the cell bars only for my vision to slowly turn to black.
4/10
Sunday
"End of THE WORLD! Sono Chi no Kiouku!"
The sound Ora's filled my room as I woke up and went to prepare my uniform and get ready. I left the blazer unbuttoned with my white shirt depicting Star Platinum from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure for all the world to see. I put on my old school cap and sat down on my bed for a quick breather and to turn off the alarm on my phone.
"I had the weirdest dream… Ruin, Rehabilitation, End of Everything… It sounds like something straight out of anime. I think I need to get out more." I said to myself.
"Looks like you're up." Sojiro said coming up the stairs to my room. He had a white trilby on.
Now he looks even more like a Daisuke Jigen clone.
'Has my life actually turned into anime…? What karma god did I piss off?' I thought to myself in relation to recent events.
"Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there without having your pass yet, and the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."
"Alright. Let me grab my stuff then." I replied.
Sojiro turned and moved towards the stairs.
"Sheesh… Men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat."
We made it to the school. Sojiro stopped in front of the gate entrance to lecture me quickly.
"Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right? Don't get me wrong though, I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble." I pulled my cap downwards to hide my eyes a bit.
"Crystal clear, sir." I answered. We entered the school.
'Shujin Academy, huh… More like "Prison" Academy unironically…'
We reached the principal's office to find a very, large man sitting down and a female woman in the room. Sojiro began to sign documents on the desk as they discussed things as I tuned them out. The principal turned his face towards me.
"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will be immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side… and your academics showed you to be very studious on contrary to the actions that led you here. You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your previous residence, but you will behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind." He said.
"I understand, sir." I replied.
The principal smiled at my answer.
"Good." He turned to the woman next to him. "This is the teacher in charge of your class."
She looked towards me with a look of indifference.
"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." She put it on the table. I moved to grab it and put it in my wallet within my pocket. "Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all. ...That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"
"Mmhm. He is responsible for all his actions."
"But really though, why me…? There should've been better candidates."
"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening."
Sojiro decided to speak up.
"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to."
The Principal looked at him with a stern look.
"Mr. Sakura, please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble outside…"
Sojiro put his hand behind his neck.
"Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in."
Kawakami sighed.
"Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."
"Thank you. I appreciate it, ma'am." I bowed. We left the office and upon arriving near the exit, Sojiro spoke up.
"They're treating you like some kinda nuisance…"
"Well from their perspective, it's not wrong…" I answered with a sigh.
"I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go." Sojiro said while turning a bit towards me. "By the way… if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"
"I'll just do what I've always done in school. I'll be extra careful from now on I guess. I don't know if I can become a honor student again though..."
"Hmm." Sojiro looked around for a second and sighed. "School never changes, huh…? Come on, we're going home." He said as I followed him back to the car.
We ended up stuck in traffic for a while.
"Traffic's not moving at all… You're taking the train starting tomorrow." Sojiro said with an annoyed tone covering his voice. Calming himself down a bit he tried talking more.
"...So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"
"It'll be easy. School was never that tough. Just talking to others and rumors is going to be the tough part…"
"That so… Well just listen up. Don't even think of doing anything stupid. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you."
"I know."
Sojiro shook his head.
"...If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too… What a troublesome kid I've taken in…"
Ouch.
I decided to put my hat over my eyes again and decided to take the chance to ask Sojiro.
"Then… why did you take me in? Because of mom?"
"Yeah. I owed her a favor from another time… I couldn't exactly say no. I've already been paid for it too, after all." He answered.
The newscaster started saying stuff about subway derailments but I decided to ignore the rest and take a nap on the way home.
It was evening by the time we came back to Leblanc.
"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic… What a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the cafe today…" Sojiro said.
I felt bad. This cafe was probably his livelihood after all.
"I'm sorry." I said facing him.
"... Whatever. Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give to you."
As we headed upstairs, Sojiro read aloud some news from his phone.
"Talk about a gruesome accident… Eighty people were involved." Inwardly I hoped the people were alright. If any of them had died, rest in peace.
Sojiro put back his phone into his pocket and took out a booklet.
"It's a diary. Make sure you write in it." He threw it onto the nearby table. "You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities." Sojiro's phone rang so he turned and took the call.
"Hey, what's up? … I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time. ...Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." He hung up and turned to me.
"Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow… You better head off to bed, all right?" Sojiro left. I went towards the desk he left the diary on and picked it up. I decided to write what he told me to write about and go to bed. Before I could however, a phone was ringing from downstairs. I decided to pick it up and see who it is.
"Yo, it's me."
"Mr. Sakura?"
"Yeah uhh… I closed up the shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to CLOSED. It's too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you flip the sign for me."
"Got it."
"Well, I'm sure no one's gonna come, even if it says OPEN. Thank goodness, I was able to reach you. Sorry. I make it a habit not to save guys' number on my cell phone. Anyway, I'm glad you answered the phone over in the shop."
"It's no problem. I'll be sure to turn the sign right now. Night, Mr. Sakura."
"Night." I hung up and went outside to flip the store sign and went straight back in.
I walked upstairs to my room and took the time to change into my sleeping clothes while heading to bed.
While laying down, I gathered my thoughts for tomorrow.
"Remember, Yongen-Jaya, Aoyoma-Itchome, and then Shibuya. From there it's just head to school. Easy, right?" I decided to browse my phone while reading the messages my mom sent me over Line. I sent her a goodnight only to see the app there yet again.
"That's it. Deleting you again and then restarting my phone. Goodnight." I deleted the app and set my phone to restart. I set it near me and decided to call it a night.
My eyelids start to become heavy.
Thank you for reading. It's been awhile since I've actually written this much even if it's a lot of stuff just from the game. There's not exactly a transcript of Persona 5.
Please visit this trash can again whenever chapter 2 rolls by.