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Masks
The night sky was dark, but it was illuminated by the lights of lanterns. The shrine was bustling. The stalls were swarmed with customers. Girls were walking around in their yukatas. Boys were gawking at their beauty. Friends walked in groups and laughed. People were stopping to make an offering and pray with all their hearts.
Hokusai Shizuka was with her date, and they stopped to admire the masks for sale.
"Masks…I remember those," said Akihiko. "500 yen, huh? I can actually afford these now…they were too expensive for me to buy when I was a kid."
There was a large assortment of masks on display. There were a lot of animals. She noticed a fox and a dog. There were panthers, snakes, and baboons. Some were just normal masks, decorated in bright colors and glitter that sparkled when the light hit it just right. Some only hid part of the face as feathers came out from the top.
Shizuka lifted the mask of a cat from the display and placed it over her face. How many masks did she wear? Who was she when she put on a mask? She brought the mask up to her face. Was she like Neko Shogun or a Nekomata who resided in her soul? She set the mask down and picked up the one with an array of rainbow feathers. She was Kartikeya now. Her eyes wandered over the rest of the masks. She could name a persona that could embody that mask.
Leopard. Ose and Flauros.
Dragon. Kohryu.
Baboon. Thoth.
Snake. There so many that could fit this mask. Lamia, Orochi, Naga, Vasuki, Samael…
There were three masks in a row, each one a different color. The mask on the left was black, the middle one was a dark blue with white, and the mask on the right was red. Shizuka immediately thought of Nebiros, Alice, and Belial.
There was a white mask with six white feathers coming out of it. She felt like this was Helel's mask.
As Shizuka's eyes wandered, she noticed a plain, white mask with a half of a purple butterfly's wing extending over an eye. It felt as though she had seen it before. Her hands rose up on their own accord to lift the mask off of the display. She brought the mask to her face and turned to Akihiko.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"Great!" laughed Akihiko.
As Shizuka put the mask down, she swore she saw a golden butterfly fly past her.
"Come on, let's go," said Akihiko.
Shizuka followed after Akihiko, but she took one last look at the masks. All of those masks on display…they were all a part of her and she was a part of all of them.
Written for Silent Prompt #12 from The Muse Bunny.
The prompt was a picture of masks on display that were decorated in glitter, various colors, and feathers. Masks are, of course, perfect for the Persona series.
The name I gave to the MShe is Housai Shizuka (family name, first name), which is the name I gave her in my game. (That will also be her name if anyone is following my "Dream World" story.)
I think it was in the original Shin Megami Tensei game that Alice first appears in. She died but her uncles, the Count Red and Baron Black, bring her back as a ghost. They create a barrier around Tokyo to protect the place from demons, but it also killed the inhabitants of the city and left their spirits to wander around so Alice wouldn't be alone. Alice asks the protagonist her signature question, "Won't you please die for me?" If the protagonist refuses, she throws a fit and sends her uncles after you. Count Red and Baron Black transform into Belial and Nebiros respectively and attack you. When you defeat them, the barrier around the city disappears with Alice along with it. I know Belial was not in Persona 3, but I still wanted to include him.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this piece.