Chapter 1: A Repeat of Fate
11:57 PM
4/8/14
Nagahashi Residence
Kazuo stared at the clock. He sighed.
Already this late? Geez, this essay is really annoying, he thought. He questioned that classic lit teacher, giving a 5 page essay on the second day. Maybe he shouldn't have transferred to that expensive school.
Gekkoukan was a demanding school after all.
Well, his uncle said it was okay. After all, he was acing his previous school. He was practically a Genius. Well, at least that's how he considered it.
Kazuo stared at his room, momentarily distracted. He glanced longingly at his 3DS and PS4. They hadn't been touched since starting school. The white walls and lone TV stared at him. He sighed. School work first, unfortunately. Well not that it was hard or anything. It just took up time.
Typing the final words, he closed his laptop in relief. Kazuo flopped on the bed, exhausted after his second day. He glanced out the window. People were still roaming around, probably from a party. He stared at the moon, which looked awfully big today, and-
Wait, why's the moon growing?, he thought as he gaped at the growing moon, turning a sickening shade of green.
?:?
?/?/?
Nagahashi Residence (?)
Kazuo simply watched at the the moon, and noticed the scenery. His water bottle turned red with...blood?! The atmosphere became heavy and green was virtually everywhere. What was this place? This wasn't his room, that's for sure. His uncle would have-
Wait, Uncle is-
He jerked from the bed and sprinted to his uncle's room. The floorboards creaked heavily as he ran by.
"Uncle, what's-"
He stopped. On the bed, where his uncle should have been, was a giant coffin. Despite looking heavy, it seemed to float over the futon. Kazuo stared at heavy box, and was completely and utterly confused. He rushed over and tried to lift it, but to no avail.
Wait, is this uncle? But...
"The phone!", he exclaimed. Kazuo lept for the handset, only to meet complete silence. He pressed the number aimlessly, and was given nor response. He tried his uncle's phone as well, but to no avail.
What?! What's going on? Why is there blood in my bottle? Where's uncle? Damn, what the heck is happening?
Kazuo looked around, and finally noticed something. There were other coffins outside the room, in the middle of the street, and one right on the bench nearby…
Wait, are these coffins people? Which means that the coffin on Uncle's futon… is him? What the hell…, Kazuo gulped.
He was unnerved by the silence. The green made him feel sick…
Kazuo passed the mirror and stared at his reflection. He seemed normal. His black hair parted to the left, with a single tuft sticking in the opposite direction. His lean physique and toned body gave him the looks and qualities of the track team star. His mind began to wander as he thought about…
Wait, this is no time to be thinking about such things! I have to figure out what the heck is going on!
He looked out the window. Everything else seemed similar...even the huge tower that seemed to touch the moon was there.
Wait, huge tower?
What the heck? Isn't' that where the school is? Where did that come from?, he clenched his fist. He stared at the moon once more.
Kazuo did a recap. He was in some kind of mysterious place. His uncle, possibly in a coffin, as well as other people.
His mind relaxed slightly as he began to turn the gears. He would go outside and see what was happening. If this is another world, he could move freely, right? Then he would go outside and see how to fix his situation.
He grunted softly in frustration as he laced his shoes. His mind seemed to handle situations better than other people. He wondered where he inherited that from as he cautiously stepped outside.
Kazuo walked the empty streets, with coffins strewn everywhere. He felt the atmosphere pressing him, like an invisible weight. He had read about the legend of Atlas, who was forced to bear the weight of the sky. It was his punishment for revolting against the gods.
So this is what it feels like, huh…
Kazuo walked on, passing Wakatsu chain stores, his favorite restaurant. He would always go there, sometimes to eat, sometimes to study a little (although now it was only eating), and he was well known by all the employees. He peeked inside, only to see more coffins.
Okay, so the coffins are really people… Now to test something…
Kazuo walked up to a nearby coffin on the street, and kicked it with all of his might. It barely budged.
So these coffins are relatively safe. Uncle should be fine for now, if anything happens. As for me, that tower….
He stared at the tower, relatively closer now. He could confirm that it was in the same location as the school.
Kazuo warily approached the strange structure, and glance at the sign.
The sign still read "Gekkoukan High School", but it was definitely not the school he saw two days ago. The seemingly impossible structure towered over the rest of the land, and its peak aligned eerily with the green moon.
Kazuo stared at the tower. He felt his pounding heart, and shook a little bit.
What is happening? Is this a nightmare? If it is, it's pretty damn realistic, he exhaled.
Kazuo stared at the somewhat improved entrance. The bright light contrasted the rest of the structure.
Kazuo looked around. Silence stared at him in the face.
Then suddenly, a scream echoed out.
Kazuo gasped, "Where-"
Then he saw it. The black blob with a mask on it. An "I" was implanted in the center of its mask. And it was sliding towards him.
Kazuo stepped back. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. He was struck with fear. In the corner of his eye, he spotted and old crowbar. He grabbed it with his left hand and bashed the (blob?). It made a squelching noise in front of him. It burst into black and red mist with a single strike.
Panting, Kazuo turned around, only to see four more blobs of similar caliber. He leapt forward, with a strength that didn't feel like his own, and bashed the four shadows in one fell swoop. All of them burst in unison, and one actually dropped 2000 yen on the floor. Startled, he picked it up. The face of Hideyo Noguchi stared right back at him.
"...Ooookay then…", he spoke hestantly.
Turning again, he looked at the tower once more, which seemed to be shrinking.
Wait, shrinking?
Just as suddenly as it had grown, the building began to shrink down, the individual parts combining with others to form his new school.
The real Gekkoukan had returned.
Startled, Kazuo watched as the blood puddles began to change color, and the heavy atmosphere was lifting. The sickening green was changing as well, and the moon began to decrease in size.
And as strangely as it began, he came back to what he could hopefully call, the real world.
12:01 AM
4/9/14
Corner of Gekkoukan and Paulownia Mall
Kazuo looked around startled. Once he was sure no one was watching, he let out a huge breath he held. He was back.
He knew it can't be a dream now. He was still in front of the school. It must be something different.
But what?
He clutched his head. He felt the oncoming of a headache. He shook his head and moved on.
The street lights were back on. He glanced at some flashing signs now. He was definitely back.
Kazuo's mind wandered as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He had entered some kind of strange world, and found some things near the tower.
Kazuo paused. Wasn't the time after midnight?
Which means I may be able to enter that place tomorrow if I wait.
Kazuo shuddered a little. He was slightly scared to go back. But he had an overwhelming sense of curiosity, of what caused this thing. He was sure it didn't happen before. Or at least fairly sure
He walked on past Paulownia. He heard Escapade's booming music, and some poor fool who set the karoake speaker to "Broadcast". Even from a distance, Kazuo heard the person's terrible singing, screeching into the night. He felt slightly at rest. At least the world felt somewhat normal.
Kazuo returned his thoughts again to his experience. He realized then that what scared him most wasn't the blood everywhere. It wasn't the coffins, or the heavy atmosphere. It wasn't even the mysterious blob things, either.
It's just…
Why did that tower feel so familiar?
12:02 AM
4/9/14
Somewhere Else
The woman stared as the moon shrunk back to its original state. She could only stand and stare at the moon. Tears immediately formed in her eyes thinking of the hardships she and the others endured five years ago.
She could feel the heat in her chest. She could see a little red emanating from herself. Her emotions were overworking her.
She immediately wanted to contact her comrades, but she stopped, as they probably knew by now. After all, they must have at least felt the awakening of that time.
She checked the security footage. The unfortunately familiar tower appeared once more. Kirijo electronics were able to capture the Dark Hour.
And suddenly, a boy walked up to the school. She gasped.
A person in the Dark Hour? How?! Wait, does that boy have the potential too? Further clarification is required.
She watched as the boy turned to see a blob, a simple Maya. Although she could see the fear in his eyes as he bashed it, the shadow went down too quickly.
The woman watched in wonder as he eliminated the shadows directly behind him.
This needs to be reported to Kirijo, she thought, an unknown person of this strength must be traced.
She paused the recording, deep in thought. A small nagging began to creep inside her head.
She felt for the key, deep within her belt. She always carried it with her, no matter where she went.
To remind me…
It was an old key. It started to rust a little, and no longer retained its color. However, its elaborate design was intact...
And it began to glow a certain shade of blue in her hand.
Well.
Never expected to actually write something. But this idea was bouncing in my head for a long time, so i decided to become a contributor. Please, take some time to review. Uploads will generally be 1-2 weeks, so stay tuned!
(By the way, I'm bad at solo monologues but will get better over time. I advice knowing at least some of Persona 3. P4A and Trinity Soul not canon in this.)
Edit: Just a few editing mistakes corrected.