PROLOGUE

If you are reading this letter right now, it might be safe to assume that I won't be able to see you again. Due to certain circumstances, I won't be able to see you in Inaba and there is a possibility that I might be already deceased by time this letter arrives. But it is really a small matter compared to the message that I will have to convey through this letter and please bear it with me; you will understand what I will state here.

By the time this letter was written, I had uncovered such a horrifying truth, the truth that was kept hidden under a thick veil of illusion created by those in the past. I am afraid the world that I had saved before along with the people I cherished will be put into mortal peril once again. I had done with everything I could, so the rest is up to you. I believe you are the only one that I can rely on.

Believe me that I have faith in you to complete my unfinished job and please be careful. If I am lucky enough to escape death, I am looking forward to see you in the future. Take care.

Souji Seta.

~divine fragment~

~written by tomato-kun~

~fragment 1: 9 years later~

"Twirl, twirl, like a little princess," a teenage girl with auburn hair was playing with her long hair in front of a mirror. She chuckled as she looked into her own reflection, an image that she had seen over the years. Somehow, she never thought she could grow up into such a lady like that. Her hair had grown longer and she had grown taller. Most things about herself had changed but there was one thing that would never change, her own 'self'.

The girl, Nanako Dojima smiled slightly after looking into her own reflection. She took another look on herself to see whether the school uniform looked perfectly fine on her. Satisfied on how good she looked in the Yasogami High school uniform, she clenched both her fists and said in such enthusiastic manner. "Okay, now I'm perfectly good! It's time to go off!" she announced to herself. "Opps, one more thing…" she took out a pair of ribbons from the drawer before she used them to tie her hair in pigtail fashion. She looked into her own reflection with a satisfied look.

She grabbed her cell-phone and looked whether she got any new messages. Oh right, there was one! She quickly opened the new message before she squealed happily as she found out that it was from her beloved Big Bro, Souji Seta.

"Nanako, what's up with that noise?" a man's voice was heard downstairs. It was Nanako's father, Ryoutaro Dojima, a police detective. He probably heard Nanako's squealing voice.

"Opps, I'm sorry Dad!" Nanako said before she went down from her room to the living room. There, she saw a middle-aged man, drinking a mug of coffee while reading newspaper. "Dad, listen to this! Big Bro's going to visit!" she said happily. Dojima turned his attention from the newspaper he was reading to his beloved daughter.

"Oh, that's good…" Dojima said, smiling while putting the cup of coffee on the table. Like his daughter, he too had grown over these years and it could be seen with his graying hair. Still, he still looked youthful despite the change. "So, when will he come?" he asked.

"He said this evening," Nanako said cheerfully. Then she looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Oh no, I'm gonna be late in this rate! Gotta go! See you later, Daddy! I love you!" she said before she went out from the cozy little house, leaving for the school. Dojima just sighed as he looked at the unclosed door. He stood up and went to the door to close it.

"Sheesh…" the middle-aged police detective sighed as she looked at the untouched toasts on the plate. He wondered if Nanako had brought some food for lunch. "That's Nanako for you, getting all jumpy when it comes to Souji. Oh well, its better that way I suppose…" he muttered before he returned to his seat and resumed his reading. He should enjoy his time of break once in a while.

While he was enjoying his leisure time, his cell-phone rang.

Nanako was walking to the direction of her school, Yasogami High. Some other students were also going to the same direction. Some of them were using bicycles while the others on their feet. They seemed to be busy talking with each others, whether it's about dates, rumors or whatnots. While she was walking, she was approached by a petite girl with short black hair.

"Nana-chan, good morning!" the girl greeted Nanako in such cheerful way. Nanako returned the greeting by giving the girl a gentle smile.

"Good morning!" Nanako said cheerfully. The black-haired girl was one of Nanako's best friends. "Let's do our best today, Kao-chan!" she said. The girl, Kaoru Tachibana was Nanako's classmate and best friend since elementary and they always played together as children.

"Yep, you too, Nana-chan," Kaoru replied before she studied Nanako's face. She rubbed her chin while looking on her best friend's face and she did that while both of them were walking to the school. "Wow, you look awfully shiny today, 'sup with that? Something good happened?"

"Uh huh, something good's gonna happen today for me," Nanako said, still smiling. "Today, my Big Bro will come home!"

"Oh, your big bro…" Kaoru nodded. "Do you mean that tall, handsome guy with silver hair?" she asked. Nanako answered her by an affirmative nod.

"Yeah, it's been a while since he came home. Last time he came here was three months ago, so I'm looking forward to see him today…" Nanako said. Her smile went wider.

"Haha, I'm happy for you, Nana-chan…" Kaoru said. "When he comes, send my regards to him, okay?"

Nanako nodded. Then, they proceeded to walk to their school while chatting about various things like TV shows, homework and many more.

The students in Class 2-3 were doing their own things while waiting for their homeroom teacher. Some female students were chatting about their favorite idols while some rumor-loving guys were talking about the newest gossips and rumors. Nanako was sitting on her seat, reading her notebook. Unlike most of her classmates, she didn't have any interest in rumors and gossips. She rather read than having conversations about rumors. Moreover, Souji once said to her to not believe in rumors.

"Sheesh… I wonder if they never got tired with this kind of stuff…" Kaoru sighed as she looked at the gossiping students. "Nana-chan, any idea about what they are talking about…"

"Huh? Well, I don't know either…" Nanako said. "My Big Bro said to me once that I shouldn't pay attention to rumors and stuff. I wonder what he meant though…"

Kaoru sighed. "Once again, thanks to your 'big bro', I finally have a friend who doesn't have any interest in rumors. You know, most people here love talking about this kind of thing. I don't really understand why since people are getting used to this…" she shrugged.

Then the door was opened before the homeroom teacher entered the class. The students retreated to their respective seats before they realized that a new face was following their homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher, a young teacher named Mr. Kagami stood in front of his desk before he began to talk. "Alright, students…" he said as he occasionally threw a glance to the new face, a bow with somehow white hair. "Today, it seems we're going to have a new face here. It's been a while since we got a transfer student in this school, so, introduce yourself, boy. Make it quick, will you?" he said.

The white-haired boy nodded before he said, "Greetings, my friends. My name is Arashi Nanakase. I'm new here, so maybe I can get some help from you guys," the boy smiled, making some female students in the class swooned. "Anyway, nice to meet you guys…" he bowed.

"Wow, he's so cool!" a girl whispered to her friend.

"Yeah, he looks like an artist!" another whisper was heard from another girl.

"This year is going to be fun!" a boy said.

"Okay, Nanakase-kun, your seat is over there, so please sit down. Make it quick, we're gonna start our lesson now…" Mr. Kagami said, gesturing to the empty desk which was located beside Kaoru's.

"Alright, thank you…" Arashi nodded before he went to the desk. He sat on the seat before he glanced at Kaoru. He briefly studied the petite girl's face before he stated, "So, we're gonna be neighbor for the time being, eh?"

"Huh? Well…" Kaoru was slightly startled as the new boy spoke to her. "It seems to be that way, I guess. Let's do our best, shall we?" she said, flashing a smile to the new boy. "Oh, I forgot. My name's Kaoru Tachibana, nice to meet you…"

"Me too," Arashi nodded.

"Save the introduction for later, kids. Now is time for Chemistry lesson. So, does anyone know how to solve this chemical equation?" Mr. Kagami started his lesson while writing some equations on the board.

All the classes finally over and the teacher went out from the classroom. Some students decided to return home as some others decided to participate in the club activities. Arashi was sitting on his seat, packing his stuff. Then Nanako and Kaoru came to him. Kaoru said, "So, are you gonna return home today?"

"I'd prefer to take a walk around this town for a bit, if there's someone who can guide me…" Arashi replied.

"Well then, why don't you join us? I'm sure we can help you to see things in this town," Nanako suggested. Arashi frowned as he looked at Nanako's face. Nanako realized it and bowed apologetically to the bow. "Excuse me for not introducing myself. I'm Nanako Dojima, Kaoru's friend. It's so nice to meet you, Arashi-kun."

"Likewise, Dojima-san…" Arashi said, smiling to the girl.

"P-Please don't be too formal. Nanako's alright…" Nanako said.

"Haha, you're just not used to it, Nana-chan," Kaoru elbowed her friend as she smirked playfully. "People here used to call your father 'Dojima', right?"

"I see…" Arashi mused. "That'll do it, I suppose…" he said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nanako asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, it's nothing, Nanako-san. I'm just looking forward to see this town…" Arashi said.

"Okay then, let's go!" Kaoru announced.

"Well, you see, there are not many interesting things in this town. You can expect that for a rural town like this. But I think there are some places you may go like Amagi Inn. A friend of mine is the manager. I used to stay at the inn overnight, you know?" Nanako explained to Arashi while three of them were walking along the street of Samegawa Floodplain. "Ah, there are more. You can get some part-time jobs here. My Big Bro used to take part-time jobs during his time as a student here…" she added.

"I see…" Arashi mused. "So, this town is interesting after all. Thanks for the guide, Nanako-san…" he said politely.

"Hehe, I'm good when it comes to be a guide," Nanako said bashfully.

"Put that thing aside, there's something that I want to ask you, Kaoru-san. It's about my desk at school. I have a feeling that before me, the desk was occupied by someone else. I want to know who it was…" Arashi looked at Kaoru.

"Hmm, is it important?" Kaoru asked.

"Just asking, I guess. So, the student who previously sat beside you had changed his or her seat in class or something?" the white-haired boy asked.

Kaoru rubbed her chin before she started. "I guess it happens two weeks ago. The student who sat beside me was Akane Hasegawa. Two weeks ago, she stopped attending class for some unknown reasons and two days after that, her parents found her in her room in comatose state. Well, you can hear it from rumor-loving people. Some people said that she tried to commit suicide but failed and some others said that she's a drug addict who went comatose after overdosing. But then, all of them are just rumors, I don't believe most of 'em," Kaoru shrugged. "I guess it's kind of disease…"

"I see. So, are you an acquaintance of her? I mean, do you know anything about her being comatose?" Arashi asked.

"Huh? Well… it's not like I'm her best friend or anything, but we knew each other since we were children. She's my neighbor after all. Geez, what with that question, Arashi-kun? I don't think it's very important to you…" Kaoru sighed.

"Oh, sorry," Arashi apologized. "My dad was a detective novelist. I grew up with most of his works, most of them about detective stuff. I guess it's hard to kill the habit, huh?" he smiled.

"A detective novelist, that's cool! My dad's a detective, but he's a police detective…" Nanako said. "I bet my dad and your dad can get along pretty well."

"Yeah, I'm definitely sure of it, Nanako-san, if he's still alive…" Arashi said.

"Huh? Do you mean…" Kaoru was slightly startled by what Arashi had said.

"Yeah, my dad died a year ago due to some illness. He was in the process to finish his final work when the illness started to eat him from inside. Until now, the work is never finished and never published…" Arashi stated in quite solemn tone.

"Uh, I'm sorry…" Nanako said. "I don't mean to…"

"That's alright, Nanako-san. But I still have my mother and little sister, you know? It happened that my mother was sent here due to something, so we followed her. If you don't mind, I can introduce them to both of you, especially my little sister. I think she may love to have new friends here," Arashi said, sounding friendly.

"Oh, I want to see your little sister, Arashi-kun! How old is she?" Nanako asked.

"Well… she's thirteen years old this month, so that's it…" Arashi shrugged. "She's always alone, so she'll be happy to have company once in a while…"

Suddenly, Kaoru's cell-phone rang. She abruptly took out the communication device. "H-Hello, Kaoru's speaking. Oh, Dad…" then she had a conversation with the caller. "Oh, umm… okay. I'll be there, alright? Sorry, I forgot about today. Yeah, thank you…" her face seemed solemn. "Love you, Dad. See you soon," she closed her cell-phone and put it back into her pocket. "Umm… guys, my dad's calling. It seems that he needs me to come. So, I'm sorry, Nana-chan, Arashi-kun. Maybe next time, we'll go out together again, okay?"

"Oh, fine with me…" Arashi nodded.

"See you soon, Kao-chan!" Nanako said. Kaoru nodded before she left both Nanako and Arashi. "Actually, Kao-chan's father is a sickly man. Every month, he has to go to hospital and he can't go on his own. So, that's why Kao-chan has to bring him to hospital, like what she'll gonna do today. Kao-chan's mother left both of them when she was two and they lived a hard life ever since. She has to take part-time jobs to support their lives."

"Sounds like she's living a pretty hard life…" Arashi commented. "Anyway, thank you for guiding me today, Nanako-san. I really enjoy your company today, really…" he said politely. "Well then, I've to return home now. See you tomorrow, Nanako-san," he said before he left.

"Okay, gotta back home now! Big Bro gonna come and I must prepare for that!" she said before she rushed to the direction of her house.

As she arrived at her house, she immediately opened the fridge and let out a sigh of relief since she could see a variety of food inside it. She decided to make a grand cooking for Souji who would come. She made them as she occasionally threw a glance to the door, seeing whether Souji came too early.

After completing with her cooking, she put them on the table. After that, she sat in front of the TV, watching her favorite TV show while waiting for Souji to come.

As the TV show ended, Souji didn't come yet. So, Nanako decided to take a look outside to find no one except some gossiping neighboring housewives.

The food she cooked seemed to be cold so she decided to reheat them back.

"Big Bro…" Nanako squeaked as she waited for another hour after she reheated the food. There were no sign of Souji coming. Tired of waiting for him, Nanako went to the couch and laid herself on it, deciding to take a nap. She hoped that after she woke up, she would see Souji's face.

"Mmm…" she mumbled before she closed her eyes.

Nanako found herself in an alien place as she opened her eyes. It was dark and the only thing she could see was the stripes on the floor which formed like circuits. It looked weird since she never saw something like that before. She wanted to find her way out but as she stepped forward, her head bumped with something invisible.

"W-What's this?" Nanako rubbed her forehead before she touched the invisible barrier in front of her. It felt like a wall. "I-Is this a wall? W-Where am I?" she muttered anxiously before she went to another direction. Then again, she bumped with another invisible barrier. She went to another direction and faced the same thing. Finally, she realized that she was surrounded by the invisible walls that prevented her from moving anywhere.

"N-No way…" Nanako put her hand on the invisible wall. "S-Someone, please help me…" she said. "I-I can't move!" she desperately tried to seek for assistance but it was futile because there were no one except her.

She slumped on the floor as her final attempt to break free from the barrier was thwarted. Her body trembled in fear. It was scary, she wanted to go out. She wanted to escape that place. She wanted to be saved.

"N-No, I shouldn't think about that!" Nanako suddenly muttered. "W-What will Big Bro do in this kind of situation? He won't tremble in fear! He won't cry for help! He will calm down instead! If he can do it, why can't I?" she tried to reassure herself that she could escape the place. Once again, she stood up, frantically trying to find the way out.

"Calm down, calm down…" Nanako chanted while she sought for an exit. While she was searching for the way out, her eye caught a glimpse of someone familiar. Her eyes widened in disbelief to see that person. Despite the darkness, she could clearly see that person.

"Calm down…"

The voice was disturbingly familiar. Now Nanako could get a full view of that person. It was her beloved cousin, Souji Seta. His eyes that matched with the shade of his hair were looking straight into Nanako's. He smiled gently to Nanako and somehow, his smile soothed Nanako's anxiety. Before Nanako could do anything, Souji turned behind and began to walk away, leaving Nanako.

"N-No, Big Bro, don't leave me!" Nanako cried before she tried to pursue him. Miraculously, the invisible barrier vanished. So, Nanako chased him but no matter how hard she tried to pursue him, she couldn't reach him. It seemed like the more she tried to get closer to him, the further he went away. "Big Bro, don't leave me alone! I'm scared! Please don't leave me!"

Souji stopped before he glanced over his shoulder. Suddenly, Nanako slumped to the floor, feeling like her limbs weighed a ton. She struggled to lift herself again but to no avail. She couldn't bear it any longer as tears came out from her eyes, rolling on her cheeks.

"Nanako-chan, don't worry. Soon, I will need your assistance…" Souji said in rather echoed voice. It sounded like he was talking in a cave. "I'm sorry, Nanako-chan. I can't keep my promise. I can't go home…" he said before he turned and continued to walk away.

"B-Big Bro, don't go!" Nanako cried as she slumped helplessly on the floor. "P-Please don't leave me alone! Don't leave me! Big Bro, Big Bro!"

"B-Big Bro, don't leave me!"

"Whoa, what's up, Nanako?"

Nanako found herself lying on the couch and found her father who had his worried face. She touched her face and it felt wet because of her tears. It seemed that she had quite a bad dream, a really bad dream.

"There, there, Nanako, don't cry…" Dojima tried to comfort his daughter. He wiped Nanako's tear.

"Dad, has Big Bro come yet?" Nanako asked squeakily. Dojima gazed down, trying to find suitable words to be said to her. After contemplating with himself for a moment, Dojima sighed.

"Not yet, Nanako…" Dojima said. "I'm sure he'll come tomorrow. I think he might have problem in his way here. Don't worry, okay?" he tried to sound reassuring to his daughter but he didn't sure whether he succeeded or not.

"O-Okay…" Nanako nodded weakly. She glanced to the untouched food before she let out a weak sigh. "I guess these foods are for nothing…" she said miserably.

"Don't say that. Here, I'll finish them for you. Let's eat them together, shall we?" Dojima suggested.

"Umm… thanks, Daddy, but I'm not hungry…" she said. Then she looked at the clock. "Oh, it's almost midnight. I have to get into bed early, so…" she stood up. "Good night, Dad…"

"Wait, there's something for you, Nanako…" Dojima said. Nanako frowned. Then she realized that there was a package beside Dojima. On the package was a letter. "Here, this thing for you…" he said, handing the package to Nanako.

"Uh, is this for me?" Nanako asked. The package was a large one, about half the size of their dining table. Based on its size, she assumed that the package contained something long. "Well, I'll look into it once I get into my room. Dad, good night…" she said.

"Nanako, don't worry. I believe he'll come soon…" Dojima said reassuringly. Nanako nodded before she went upstairs with the package.

As she entered her room, she placed the package on her desk. Then she undressed her school uniform, leaving her with undergarments. Then she sat on her the couch in her room before sighing heavily. She untied the ribbons, letting down her long auburn hair.

"Big Bro…" she muttered. She sighed again before she threw a glance to the package on her desk. With nothing else to do, she went to her desk and took the package before she put it on the floor. Carefully, she opened the wrapping paper and took out the things inside the package. She gasped as she looked at the things.

The first thing that she saw was a sword or appropriately a katana, complete with its scabbard. The hilt was wrapped with black leathery sheath as the scabbard was made by pure wood. She lifted the sword and found out that it was quite heavy for a girl like her. She gulped before she put her right hand on the hilt before she pulled out the blade from its scabbard, revealing the shiny metallic part of the blade.

"What should I do with this thing?" Nanako muttered before she looked at the second item from the package. It was a disc, a video game disc. She looked at the cover of the game. "Other Self Online, I never heard about this before…" she said, studying the cover of the game. Judging by its cover and title, she knew that it was a computer game, an MMORPG to be exact. Somehow, the title of the game was written in Old English Text and there were no picture on the cover. The circuit-like pattern on the cover seemed familiar but she couldn't recall anything about it.

Then she looked at the letter that came along with the package. There were no name and address of the sender on the envelope. Slowly, she opened the envelope to find out another envelope inside it. This time, she could see the name of the sender and she was surprised by seeing the name.

"Souji Seta…" Nanako read the name written on the envelope. "It's Big Bro!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note:

Hello there, this is Tomato-kun. For anyone who read this story, I will gladly thank you for your willingness to read this story. As you know, this story is about a grown-up Nanako Dojima (who will become the main character of this story) who will search for her beloved Big Bro, Souji Seta who goes missing due to some unknown reasons. This time, there will be no more TV World stuff like the original game. Nanako will be able to wield her own Persona (and please be surprised when I introduce her Persona in later chapter) and she will have her own set of comrades and the original Persona wielders in original will be side characters who may or not may play major roles in this story. Like most original story, I will accept suggestions from readers about the original characters and their Personas. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review.

Tomato-kun©