Summary: Sometimes, it is called chance, coincidence and at other times luck. Yet in rare moments like these, we call it fate. A series of shorts about meetings that intertwined by this 'fate'. Events are not in any form of game or timeline order.
WARNING: Chapters may greatly vary in length.
Chapter 1: Counselling and Therapy
As a therapist, encountering people with various emotional and mental scars was not an uncommon occurrence. The child being caught in the middle of divorcing parents, the man who had lost his loved one, hallucination of strange things that should never be there and sometimes even the most common cases of chronic depression.
Maki Sonomura opened her file and quickly glazed through her latest client's profile. While it was not out of the possibility range, this was the first time she had such a young patient. Most who saw her were usually teenagers or young adults.
"Accident in Tatsumi Port Island…"
Maki had seen it on television a few weeks before. According to the news, there was a large explosion that happened on the island's "Moonlight Bridge", resulting in the casualties and deaths of several innocents. Unfortunately, the child's parents were also counted in those numbers.
According to the information she received, the child had become increasingly withdrawn from school and was home-tutored ever since the incident. His guardian, a cousin, had also recorded numerous incidents where the child would tell him off seeing shadowy figures hovering over certain people and that when the child got up at night, the moon would be full and the whole world would be green. Hallucinations post traumatic events were a very common issue that Maki had to deal with, but for someone that young to go through all of it...
The poor child, Maki sighed and leaned back in her chair, he's only seven and already so many unfortunate events have befallen him.
She looked up at the clock on her wall. Six in the evening, that meant the child would be the last client for the day. At times when there were little to no patients, Maki's thoughts always drifted to a few years back to the Mikage Ward incident. Horrifying scenes of the town being swallowed up and attacked by demons filled her mind. Flashes of her friends as they battled with their personas against Kandori. Images of herself...no, the 'ideal' Maki travelling with them through the alternate world.
Images of his smiling face...
A soft knock on the door quickly alerted Maki, informing her of her clients arrival.
"Come in, the door's open."
That was the first encounter Maki Sonomura had with Makoto Yuuki.
As she exchanged greetings with the older man she assumed to be his foster parents, Maki stole a quick glance at the child. He had an unusual, navy blue hair that floated slightly over his right eye. Instead of the usual large curious eyes of many other children, his were laden with dark circles that were only seen on working adults and his gray eyes seemed to just stare at...nothing.
Also, Maki swore it might have been her imagination, but as the duo entered the room, she could feel the air growing heavier. She felt the battle ready senses that had not started for a long time.
"Do you need me to be here, Makoto?"
The blue haired boy glanced up momentarily at the question from his cousin. Without saying a word, he turned back to the ground before shaking his head. After a sigh and a short bow, the older man left for the waiting area.
Wow, he's really brave to be in here by himself.
Turning to Makoto, Maki decided it was time for her session to start, "Alright, Makoto-kun, if you could just lie down over there, we can get star-"
She felt it then.
A few moments she could dismiss it simply as fatigue and drowsiness after a long day of work, but now she knew that it definitely was not the case. Even as he simply stood across her, she could the familiar, intense spiritual energy that could radiate from a single kind of person: a persona user.
Yet, it was far different from just spiritual power. It felt akin to that of a demon's, but far more destructive. What troubled her even more was that in the depths of her mind, she could feel Verdandi crying out, warning her over and over again to stay on her guard. For a moment, Maki swore she saw a shadowy figure, clad in multiple coffins and wielding a menacing blade loom over Makoto's small frame.
"Sonamura-san?"
As quickly as she saw those visions, the sound of Makoto's soft voice and the gaze of his weary eyes made it all vanish, "You're pale."
Maki blinked and for a moment, before giving the boy a nervous laugh, "Haha...sorry. I guess I'm just tired after working so long."
"...oh."
Yeah...I'm probably just tired...
Shortly after, the boy placed his little bag to the side and lay down on the recliner as instructed. Wanting to break the tension between them, Maki did her best to smiled at him and began, "Just relax, alright Makoto-kun? If there's no rush for you to go anywhere just take your time."
Makoto nodded obediently and allowed the therapist to conduct her session.
Maki was not sure if she came across as unfriendly or it was simply his nature, but Makoto would hardly speak even when she asked him simple questions. Most of his answers were either light nods or a soft "no".
From what she gathered, Makoto lived in a pretty big house with his parents and a slightly older sister. He now had a caretaker and the cousin who came along and stayed with him as his guardians. Beyond that, Maki could not get much else out of him.
Even when asking about the strange green colours he saw at night or the shadowy figures he had seen, the child merely replied with a description how the things around him looked, seemingly not bothered by the fact that they might not be real.
It was only when she brought up the topic of the accident did she manage to see him crack any form of emotion at all. Once in awhile as Makoto recounted the incident, he would go into a shaking fit and start calling out various names he knew.
"And...and then...after the sky turned the green, the big black monster...papa...mama…"
It could very well be hallucinations...but...
Something about the way Makoto described the incident felt real to Maki. When he talked about a girl in gold battling a monster, something in her mind told her that the boy was not exaggerating, but simply recounting an event. In fact, of all people, Maki herself had been through an adventure filled with demons, personas and alternate dimensions.
I wouldn't want to scare someone so young though...
When she tried to simply console him and try to convince him that those images were not real, the blue haired child would only look at her pleadingly, as if desperately wanting her to believe that it was all true. Eventually, it came to the point where the young child could not manage his words and started to sob.
He's so different from when he first came here.
She knew trying to talk to him in this state would be pointless, working long enough in this line of work taught her that. Maybe in a not so direct way, Maki kind of knew what Makoto was going through. An unfamiliar environment where parents were pretty much non-existent, having to deal with loneliness and retreating into oneself. Sure, maybe her scenario and his were quite different, but she could empathise with the boy.
Without thinking, the former persona user reached out and embraced the younger one. As he continued to shiver and cry, all Maki could think about was to at least let Makoto have a temporary outlet to get his feelings out.
"Papa…! Mama…!"
"It's okay...it's okay."
Once more she felt that powerful sensation that she had felt before. This time, as Maki looked past him, she could vaguely make out a dimly glowing figure. She could not quite make out what it was, but the aura of it was definitely recognisable.
Ah...then he really is…
Eventually, the boy's crying and shivering started slow down and stabilise, soon becoming nothing more than sniffles. Maki decided that now would be an appropriate time to speak, "Feeling better?"
"Kinda...I think," came Makoto's muffled reply. A small smile graced the older woman's face. While it certainly would not have an extremely long lasting effect, crying always did help one to vent emotions out.
"Makoto-kun."
The boy stared at her quizzically as she continued, "Right now, there's something special that I want to do. But I'll need you to close your eyes for a moment."
Makoto blinked his slightly red eyes for a moment, before nodding obediently at the smiling older lady, doing as instructed. Reaching into her bag, Maki pulled out a set of headphones and placed it over Makoto, the latter twitching a bit at the unfamiliar sensation around his head but eyes still kept closed. Adjusting it slightly so it would not fall off, Maki hit "play" on her walkman.
"I hear a voice the causes me to start walking
So that I can go to all sorts of paths…"
Though initially tense, the St Hermelin Graduate could see the child's face slowly relax as the song went on.
"...louder."
Maki complied, turning it just a wee bit higher to ensure it was still safe enough for his ears. As she looked upon him, Makoto's face slowly looked like one of pure relaxation. Unconsciously, Maki's smile started to widen.
Back when she always used to feel alone, she could always coop herself up in her room and just listen to songs over and over again. Even now, her old habits still carried on. She was not sure if it would work, but it seemed to do the trick.
"I hear a voice telling me not to give up
So that I can go to all sorts of paths…
Your hear a voice that causes you to stay by my side…"
Just as the song hit its middle verses, Maki stopped the player and removed the headphones from the younger one's ears, "You can open your eyes now."
Despite the cross features that were now present on his face, Makoto opened his eyes, only to have the older one place something into his hands: a grayish, rectangular walkman with a single cassette tape loaded into its dock and a pair of oversized, gray headphones.
Initially, the child was delighted, though not shown through a smile but the wide eyes and and constant fumbling with the music player was a clear indication to Maki. After a brief moment, he stopped and looked up to her with a curious expression. The older woman simply grinned and ruffled his hair, "Of course you can."
That was all the prompting it took for Makoto to quickly unzip his bag and carefully keeping the new gadget he was given. Moving closer to him, Maki crouched down to his level and patted him on the head, "Also, don't worry about giving it back soon or anything, alright? Just remember: if you ever feel like you're worried or scared, just listen to it."
The young boy glanced up at her hand on his head, albeit slightly annoyed by the gesture, but nodded respectfully to her advice.
"Good," Maki smiled in reply and stood back up, "go tell your cousin that I'll arrange for the next meeting in about two weeks or so, okay?"
Makoto nodded, albeit with slightly more force, eliciting a giggle from the therapist. She could probably guess that he wanted to get to using his new device as soon as he got a chance to.
As Maki watched his retreating form go towards the door, a single thought passed through her mind while she packed her things.
If that really was a persona I sensed from him, I only pray that he doesn't run into any other supernatural powers too soon.
"...ank you…"
She head tilted at the sound of Makoto's voice once more.
"...thank you, Sonomura-san. See you."
Maki smiled and waved at him. As the door slowly closed, she thought she once again saw the glowing figure. White hair that draped across its face like Makoto's and a harp stuck to its back. As it looked back at her, she could almost feel it saying something to her.
Thank you
Maki could only smile back at it as the doors shut.
And this is it for the first chapter of Crossroads.
If you do have any characters that you want to appear in a crossroad chapter, do drop me a message or leave it in the reviews! I'll consider them thoroughly along with the ones I already have in mind!
Reviews will be appreciated and see ya later~