A/N: Hello, everyone. My name is Adam, and I was hoping to share this story that I've been brainstorming for a long time. It's a story set within the Persona universe, with heavy connections to both Persona 1 and Persona 2, most notably Innocent Sin, but it takes place within the year 2013 between the events of Persona 4 and Persona 5. This one will pretty much span the entire year of the main character's senior year at a Japanese high school, where things beyond his control will alter his life and those around him forever. As for how it's structured, I'm kinda also blending in the method by how P3 and P4 were structured in terms of time blocks and location changes.

Also, this story is going to be split into about three volumes. And yes, I did post this story before but I'm revising it from the beginning.

That being said, please enjoy the prologue of Volume 1 of "Scarred Memories".

Prologue: A Guest's Welcome

Date and Time Unknown / Location Unknown

My name is Daniel Spencer.

I'm a high school student, and I'm originally from the United States. However, due to circumstances, I no longer live there.

But that's not the story I wish to tell. I want to tell you the story of when my life had changed in a way I never expected. The question you're probably wondering is, "How does it begin?"

In reality, the more accurate question would be, "When does my story intertwine with those of others?"

That question I can answer. The thing is... are you sure you want to know? You might find it unbelievable, even impossible, to believe. But trust me, it really happened to me and those around me.

I might as well begin at a rather fitting point. Namely, the day I arrived in a strange room...

Darkness.

All around me, there was darkness. It was so thick I wouldn't have been able to see my own hand in front of my face even if I tried. Despite this darkness, I felt calm even in my half-asleep state, my eyes closed.

And then, I heard the sound of waves. It was like I was in the middle of a vast sea. It felt so... tranquil, so perfect. I always loved the sea. It would always put me at ease.

And as I listened to the sound of the waves, it was then that I realized something. I was also hearing voices. Soft, quiet voices. It wasn't creepy or anything. But rather, it was like the sea: calming. I wondered whether I was dreaming... or I was dead and in the afterlife.

That last thought, however, was what compelled me to wake up. When I finally opened my eyes, what I saw was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

I was inside what looked like one of those fancy dining halls on a cruise ship, only the room was all colored blue. Or rather... it was all colored "velvet". And much like your usual dining hall, it had an air of regality to it. And sure enough, I noticed that I was sitting at a dining table. Only, there were no utensils, napkins, or even plates.

And I wasn't alone. An old man with an impossibly long nose and bulging eyes simply stared at me from across the table. Standing at his side was a beautiful woman with silver-blonde hair and a velvet dress. What intrigued me about her were the eyes behind her thinly-framed glasses. They were a golden color.

That's rather... creepy.

"Oh... It seems that you've finally awakened..."

I turned my head to the source of the voice and I realized that the man was addressing me. So I opened my mouth to respond, with words that would have been very obvious for anyone to say in a situation like this.

"W-Where am I?" I asked with a shaky voice.

Smiling, the old man addressed me again in a tone that belied his appearance. It was actually calm and dignified. "Welcome to the Velvet Room..."

Taking a deep breath to settle my nerves, and feeling calmer due to the old man's gentlemanly countenance, my thoughts were finally coming to focus again. Turns out that I definitely didn't recognize where I was. Last I recalled, I was on a plane to Japan because I had applied for citizenship over there some time ago. I was also planning on finishing my high school life over there.

See, I was a high school senior. And the place I was transferring to was said to be quite awesome. The place was Kanetsugu Academy in Shinjima City. The academy was split between the junior high and senior high branches, the former being for grades 7 to 9.

Obviously, I was transferring to the senior high branch, in grade 12. I was to be a third-year student. To everyone else, it would be weird for a student like me to transfer when I was only a few months away from graduation. Even so, I had my reasons.

But that is a story for later.

The old man noticed my growing nervousness and spoke to me again, the woman standing by his side still.

"This is quite interesting. A guest from a foreign land. Not like the previous guests I've seen..."

"Huh? What's going on?" I questioned, still feeling a little out of it. The old man continued to stare at me, his hands folded and beneath his impossibly long nose.

"I see you have many questions. Unfortunately, I cannot give you as many answers. Our guests should be able to find the answers on their own."

In other words, I knew nothing that could help me understand where I was even more than when I woke up. Not exactly the most helpful when it came to trying to understand what was happening around me.

"Now tell me, what is your name?" the old man asked, eyeing me intently.

Considering that I was basically asked to introduce myself, the gentleman in me obliged. And so, I spoke my name as I nodded to him as a sign of affirmation.

"...Daniel Spencer."

The old man nodded, accepting my answer and my introduction. "Welcome to the Velvet Room, Mr. Spencer. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Um... it's nice to meet you, too," I replied, returning the nod. It was then that the old man, Igor, motioned towards the young girl next to him.

"Ah, I should introduce my assistant to you. This is Rosemary. She's new to this place, and thus her awareness of the world around her is... lacking."

"Oh, um... Hello, I'm Rosemary. Pleased to meet you," she said with a rather jittery tone. Rosemary had seemed to be nervous. Also, there was something about her that felt... off. Then again, this whole situation felt off. I wasn't sure if it'd be even more off than it was at that moment.

"It's nice to meet you both," I replied as I gave a nod of affirmation. At that, Rosemary was looking into my eyes, curious.

Why is she looking at me? Is there something on my face?

"Um, Master? Are you certain about this? He seems so... misguided and lost."

I'm not sure whether or not I should feel insulted by that...

Igor was chuckling as he spoke to his assistant, "I am positive. You need not worry."

It was then that Rosemary and Igor both looked at me, quite curious about how I would react to all this. It was then that I remembered what happened earlier.

"So why am I here? If I recall, I was on a plane to Japan..."

"Right now, you are currently in a dream," Igor explained. "I merely summoned you here from within your dream."

"Summoned from within my dream?" I asked in utter disbelief. The entire notion sounded rather ridiculous and stupid. This was clearly one hell of a dream. And yet it felt so... real, so I had no reason to doubt this feeling. But even so, I wasn't sure what the hell they were talking about. And to be frank, I didn't think anyone would blame me if they saw how skeptical I was.

Rosemary had noticed the look of disbelief on my face as she spoke up. "It's not as complicated as you think, Mr. Spencer. We who reside in this room have this ability. You see, we're here to act as your guides on your journey."

"When you arrive at your destination, you will come across a great misfortune," Igor added. "And thus, you must rise up to the challenge and overcome that misfortune."

I was even more confused than when I first woke up. Nothing that they were saying made any form of sense. "...A misfortune?"

"You will see for yourself, Mr. Spencer," Igor answered. "For now, we will summon you here again when the time is right. When that time comes, you will have already signed the 'contract'."

More questions and still no answers... "I don't understand. You're not making any sense at all."

"You will understand in time, dear guest. Have faith," Rosemary said.

I rolled my eyes at that. "You're not exactly filling me with confidence."

"You will see, Mr. Spencer. You will see. Until we meet again, farewell," said Igor as a sign of saying that our meeting was over.

At that, my vision blurred, and I fell unconscious again. I was unsure as to whether I would end up waking up again on the plane this time. Instead, all I did was close my eyes and go back to sleep.

That's how my story begins.

Strange, is it not? Like I said, it may be hard to believe.

But I'm not the only one with a story to tell.

There are others like me with a story. Others who also had to deal with this "misfortune".

It's only fair that their story be heard as well...

Sunday, April 7, 2013 – Early Morning / Somewhere in Shinjima City, Japan

My name is Hinata Suzuki. I'm a high school student living in the city of Shinjima in Japan. In fact, it's my second year of school now. I'm sixteen years old and, to most people, I don't really look all that extraordinary. Well, little do they know that I'm far more intelligent than I appear.

I live in this dorm meant for "special students". And by "special", I mean those with special needs such as not having a home to go to before and after classes. And obviously, I'm one of those students.

But that is another story altogether...

Now, you're probably wondering, "How did a girl like me get into a situation like the one I'm going to tell you about?"

Well, better pull up a chair or something and strap in. It all began much like any other day...

I awoke to a beautiful Sunday morning in my dormitory room on the 3rd floor. The sun crept through the blinds, the warm glow illuminating my face as I stood up to stretch. I had a rather strong feeling that today was going to be quite a good one.

That was quite a nice sleep. Just the thing I needed after such a tiring workout last night.

I soon let out a yawn as I rubbed my still-sleepy eyes. I checked the clock and it showed that the time was only 6:00 AM. A rather early time to wake up for a Sunday morning.

Feeling sufficiently stretched, I walked to the window and pulled down the cord, lifting the blinds up and exposing the sun to my field of vision. I found myself temporarily blinded as I accidentally stared in its direction, but I was still smiles as I then cracked the window open and leaned against the windowsill, taking in the fresh spring air. Outside, the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, the petals scattering in the soft wind.

"Good morning, world. Today's going to be another mew-tiful day," I said to myself out loud. I had to giggle a little; my old habits of inserting cat puns into my speech were showing again. "I'm still a child at heart, despite being 16 now. Such is my life, I guess."

Leaning back away from the window and closing the blinds again, I reached for my slippers that were lying beside my bed and put them on, feeling how soft they were. I changed out of my pajamas and underwear as I reached into my closet for my usual pink bathrobe because I really needed a good shower. After all, my dorm mates and I were going to have a new resident living here today. And just in time, because the school year was officially beginning tomorrow. My second year as a senior high student, at grade 11. His grade, on the other hand, was grade 12.

His flight should be landing later this afternoon. I should get ready just in case.

As I left my room and headed to the bathroom, I was honestly surprised at how early I was compared to the other two residents here. There were no sounds coming from my senpai's room, and the only other resident here hadn't made any noise either.

"They must still be asleep. Oh well, early cat gets the birdie."

As I muttered that to myself, I soon reached the bathroom, and once I stepped inside, I undressed myself and started up the water. As soon as I stepped inside the shower, I instantly felt the temperature and shivered, jumping back out.

Brrr! It's cold! I still can't believe they haven't fixed the damn water problem! Why is it that the second floor bathroom has perfectly warm water while the third floor has us practically bathing in the fucking Arctic?!

I was definitely not fond of taking cold showers, but there was no other choice than to just deal with it. It was better than showing up dirty and smelling bad in front of our upcoming resident, and I really wanted to make a good impression for him.

"I can always think of this as endurance training," I said out loud, trying to assure myself that the problem wasn't that much. Still shivering, I braced myself and simply allowed myself to get drenched in really cold water. A good fifteen minutes later, I turned the water off. And as I stepped out of the shower, I let out a sneeze.

"ACHOO! Oh, great. I'm gonna catch a cold. ACHOO!"

Grabbing my bathrobe, I quickly tied it closed as I let out yet another sneeze. I really needed to get into some warm clothes as soon as possible.

Doing my best to dry off and brush my hair in front of the bathroom mirror, my thoughts began to wander as to who our new resident was. Apparently, he was a transfer student from the United States who decided to come here. I really wondered what would make him want to leave his own country, but then I felt like I was overthinking things that were really none of my business.

The guy did look cute according to his photograph, though.

I found myself blushing slightly. Fortunately, no one else was around to witness it. I calmed myself down, feeling silly for thinking about some guy that I hadn't even met yet. I wasn't even sure as to what kind of person he was. For all I knew, he'd be some athletic prodigy or an academic genius. For all I knew, he'd just be ordinary. I honestly didn't have any basis to go on, except that I'd no doubt find out once his plane landed later today.

Putting the brush down, I reached into the bathrobe pocket for my familiar red bands, and then styled my hair into my usual twintail style. I soon tightened the knot that held the robe together as I put on my slippers and headed back to my room to find some proper clothes.

As I stepped back into my room, I checked my smartphone and a text message was in my inbox. I unlocked the phone and checked what the message was.

It was a text from my cousin.

To: Hinata Suzuki

From: Sakura Miyazaki

Subject: Good Morning

I heard from big brother that you're going to have a new student live at your dorm today. You should tell me all about him once you get to know him. After all, you're always in need of wanting to make new friends.

Well, I better go make something for breakfast. I'll see you at school tomorrow.

Sa-chan

Smiling, I thumbed my reply to Sa-chan's text, replying that I would tell her about our new resident once I got the chance. Then, as soon as the message was sent, I set about to go find an outfit to wear. Today was definitely going to be a very interesting and productive day. I could feel it.

To Be Continued in "Chapter 1: Arrival"