Hello! Welcome to my new story, Persona: Mirror of Hopes. I worked hard on this one so enjoy reading till the end! Explanation at the end to see what the story revolves on.
I woke up in some sort of… aircraft. I could hear the motors outside and the floor shaking but as what I saw next was an old man with a long nose and bloodshot eyes. Someone was with him, a boy around the age of fifteen or so, wearing entirely dark blue clothes.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room. I am Igor. You have been invited here personally by me in order for the both of us to talk about the future that awaits you."
"And I am Ivan. An assistant. Pleased to meet you."
Igor laid out tarot cards on the table in front of him and magically divided them into ten different cards. He flips one of them. "The Tower. A future where a terrible catastrophe is bound to happen, no matter what changes." He continues to flip another one. "The Moon. Ah, this one represents 'mystery'. You will face a misfortune on your journey. Fascinating, indeed."
He magically collects all the cards into one pile. "Well, our meeting is coming to an end. Your journey is about to begin. I wonder what is bound to happen to you and to the ones who will follow you throughout your journey. Farewell and we will meet again."
I slowly fell unconscious and both the man and boy disappeared. I was soon awakened by the announcement that the plane will be landing soon.
"Attention all attendees. Please remain seated as we are about to land. Please take all your belongings and do not leave anything behind as we are not responsible for any lost items. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed your flight. Please, enjoy your stay at Fuefuki!"
I proceeded to walk down the aisle, grabbing my bag and looking for my aunt and cousin who was younger than me. More fun for me, I guess.
"Kazuki-kun! Over here!" A woman who looked like in her late 20's, early 30's. I almost recognized her by the way she dresses in her work clothes. I don't know how I still remember those clothes and why she still keeps them. "It's good to see you again, Kazuki-kun! You've grown so much over the years! Oh, I'm not sure if you remember me but I am Yua Hirayama." She is my mom's sister who lives near the school where I will soon attend tomorrow.
"It's great to see you again, Yui." I call her that nickname because I accidently called her that once. It stuck on me and I continued it. I saw my cousin, behind her and hiding from me. I don't know whether to say hi or to ignore but I should at least try to say hi. "Hey there. My name is Kazuki Hamasaki. What's your name?" He blushed and still hid from me. I don't blame him.
"Go, Takara-kun. Say hello to your cousin. Don't be shy." He still hid behind her. "Hahaha. Don't worry, he's like this around strangers." He gave a small punch on her leg. "Sheesh. Alright, alright we'll go. Did you get your bags? We don't want to miss anything now do we?" I nodded and we soon went off.
As we went down the street near the beach, Yua made a turn to a gas station to fill up the tank. "Takara-kun, can you take your cousin to the beach outside? I need to fill up the tank. Make sure you don't go too far. Kazuki-kun, take care of Takara-kun for me while you're there."
She got out of the car and told the attendee to fill her tank while she went inside to buy some snacks.
"Is this your first time here? Come on! Let's go to the beach!" That was weird. He was shy a few minutes ago and now he's all happy. I ignored it and followed behind.
The beach was surprisingly clean and the sea clear blue like the Hawaiian sea. A few families were out having a barbeque or waterboarding. The pier was somewhat filled with ships, old and new. It wasn't full but kept the pier company. I saw Takara running around the sand and touching sand crabs. I decided to let him be and went off to the pier.
I looked around and studied carefully around the boats. I was amazed on how big these boats are since they could fit around twelve-fifteen people and some could even fit thirty or more. That and I've never seen boats except the ones in books. As I was curiously looking around, I saw a blue haired girl that caught my attention. Her legs were in the water, letting the waves touching them and looked up to the sky as she was wondering about something. She then saw me and stared at me. She signaled me to come over. I cautiously walked to her and stood next to her.
"Do not be afraid. I do not bite." She was speaking like a robot but her voice sounds calm and I soon trusted her. "Is that how you people say it or is it 'I do not chew?"
"It's 'I don't bite.' You almost got it but say it with… more meaning." She smiled silently at me and continued to look at the sea.
"What do you think of the sea?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think there is in the sea? Sorrow? Despair?"
She was weird, like an Edgar Allen Poe kind of weird. "I think there's nothing out there. Just blue water and the sun."
"Hm. I see." She stood up and looked at the sea one more time. "I thank you for your time but… what is your name?"
"Kazuki. Kazuki Hamasaki."
"I am Merikuu. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Surname?"
"Hm?"
"Your last name? You don't have one?"
"I never had one or… I don't remember having one." She looked at the ground with sadness. "But it's alright. I'll remember in time." She began to walk into the city. "Again, thank you and farewell."
As I was about to call her out, someone yelled my name. "Kazuki-kun! It's time to go!" Apparently it was Yua. She must be done filling the gas up.
I wondered who she was though. She had a… mysterious atmosphere around her. Like she came from another world. Ha, I think too much. I should just leave it alone. She just might be a person of interest.
The story will revolve around a few years after Persona 4 storyline, say around 5-6 years after Yu came back to Inaba where everyone are grown up (Chie being a police officer, Rise going back to her idol self, etc.). Some characters could be cameos but let's just see who appears, shall we?