… The contract has been sealed. The world is facing loss of heart. Forces work in the background, trying to create disharmony. You are a new light in the dark. It is time for you to plant the seeds of love.
The train stopped at Nigaruma station. A teenager exited the train and looked at the scenery. It was crowded like a city, but the flora was of a more quiet town. He took out his phone and looked through his contacts. Upon finding the one he was searching for, he called them. A voice immediately picked up and yelled, "Katsuo!"
"Hi, grandpa. I just arrived at the station," answered Katsuo.
"That's today? Your grandma and I are busy right now." Katsuo's grandfather paused. "Just go to the subway, and take the pink line, and after the third stop leave. We live fairly close to there. Okay?"
"Gotcha. Bye."
"Bye." Katsuo's grandfather hung up, leaving Katsuo standing idly in the crowd. With a shrug, Katsuo went down to the subway and waited for the train for the pink line to come. He sat down and brushed his hand through his short brown hair. Bored, Katsuo took out his phone and looked at the time. 7:00 AM, April 10, 2019. Katsuo let a sigh escape his mouth. Then, a teenager sat down next to Katsuo.
"Ugh, my back is killing me," said the teen as he slumped over on the bench. The teenager was wearing a modified version of a school uniform. The navy blue blazer was unbuttoned, revealing a black shirt. His tie was a bit undone. His black hair a spiked slightly. The teenager looked over at Katsuo. "Are you a Kankei student?"
"I just moved here," answered Katsuo.
"That's why I don't remember your face. I'm Hinata Kimura, by the way," Hinata said as he sat up on the bench.
"Katsuo Ishikawa." After a few minutes of chatting the train for the pink line stopped at the platform. Katsuo got up and grabbed his bag. Hinata followed shortly afterwards. Once the train reached Katsuo's stop, Katsuo got his bag and began to walk away.
"Hey Ishikawa-kun," began Hinata, "see you around, I guess." Hinata shook his and got off the train to change lines. "He is one quiet kid."
The section of Nigaruma that Katsuo was in was less busy than other parts. Katsuo wandered around the area, looking for his grandparent's house. Soon he realized something. He was lost. He went into a flower shop to ask for directions. As he walked in, Katsuo noticed two people. One was the attendant working at the shop, another a teenage boy. The boy wore a dark purple t-shirt and black baggy jean. His hair was in a buzz cut as well. Katsuo went to the attendant and asked for directions. Katsuo thanked him and began to leave when he noticed something odd. There was an elevator off to the side. Knowing that is would be too much effort for something so small, Katsuo decided against asking about it. Walking out the door, Katsuo made eye contact with the boy for a split second, before the boy looked another direction. Finally, Katsuo made it to the house he will be staying in for a year. Katsuo set down his bag and knocked on the door. Quickly, the door opened to show an elderly woman. "Haruhi, is that Katsuo?" called out a familiar voice.
"Yes, Akimitsu," answered Haruhi. After a few seconds of silence, Haruhi spoke up. "What are you waiting for? Come on in." She motioned Katsuo inside. The house interior was rustic, with old furniture. "Your room is the second on the right, dear." Walking into his room, Katsuo noticed that the feel of his room is much different than the rest of the house. There was no real theming of his room, just furniture placed down. Katsuo threw his bag on the door and sat down on his bed. Suddenly, he felt extremely tired, and almost immediately fell asleep.
Katsuo awoke in a strange room. The lights were dimmed and of a blue tint. Getting up, Katsuo saw a man with a long nose and a woman with light blond hair and blue attire. The man was sitting at a nightstand, and the lady stood next to him. "Ah, you have woken up. Welcome to the Velvet Room," said the man. His voice was high pitched and odd. "I am Igor, and I'm humbled to make your acquaintance. This is Victoria. She will help guide you on your journey."
Victoria chuckled. "Charmed," she said.
"Allow me to explain. The Velvet Room is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who agree to the contract may enter." Katsuo looked confused. "Now, let me ask a question. Can you define love?"
"It's… well... " said Katsuo as he tried to answer.
"Love is a complicated concept, indeed. But soon you will truly learn what love is."
"Oh look at the time. Now, go back to the real world, child," said Victoria.
"I look forward to seeing you again," said Igor as he waved Katsuo goodbye. Katsuo's eyes felt heavy and he went asleep on the bed in the Velvet Room.
April 11, 2019
When Katsuo awoke, he was in his room. "Strange dream," muttered Katsuo to himself. Looking to his side, he noticed some folded clothes and a note. 'Won't be home when you wake up'. These clothes are your uniform for your new school. Your school is on Kibō Road. The note was signed by both his grandmother and grandfather. Katsuo put on his uniform and left for his new school. When he got to the subway station, Katsuo went to the rail map to figure out where he was going.
"Would you look at that," said a familiar voice. Katsuo turned around to see Hinata. "It looks like we're going to the same school after all."
"I guess you're right," said Katsuo. He noticed that Hinata wore the same uniform as him.
"C'mon, follow me," said Hinata as he started to walk away. "I'll show you where to go."
Kankei High looked like the average prep school. "Hey! Hey, Rio! Over here!" yelled Hinata. A girl walking into the school turned around to look at Hinata. "Okay, she saw us. Let's go." Katsuo and Hinata walked over to the girl.
"Who's this?" asked the girl as she raised an eyebrow.
"He's the new transfer student. Katsuo Ishikawa."
Rio smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ishikawa-kun. I'm Rio Ogawa." Katsuo looked at Rio's appearance. She had had short brown hair, with one hairpin on each side. She wore an altered version of the school's uniform. She wore a navy blue vest. And a short sleeve black blouse. Under her white skirt were black shorts.
Hinata laughed. "Since when were you this preppy?" Rio glared at Hinata.
"Oh, fuck off."
"That's the Rio I know," said Hinata as he lightly pushed Rio by her shoulder. Katsuo awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, that's right. You're a transfer student. Just go to the Principal's office, and he'll tell you where to go from there. Anyways, I'll see you around," said Rio ask she walked into the building, waving goodbye.
"Cya," said Hinata as he followed Rio. Katsuo walked into the building and the first room he saw was the Principal's office. Looking through the window of the door, Katsuo saw a man sitting at a cluttered desk. The man was bald but had a large scruffy beard, which was greying. The Principal wore a brown jacket, from what Katsuo could see.
"Ah, you're the new transfer student," said the Principal as Katsuo walked into the office. "Katsuo Ishikawa, correct?"
"Yes sir," said Katsuo.
"Now that we got formalities out of the way," began the Principal as he leaned back in his chair. "Your classroom is 2-E."
"Thank you, sir," said Katsuo as he got up and began to walk away.
"And remember you can come into my office anytime you need me," said the Principal as Katsuo walked out the door. As Katsuo walked to the stairs he saw a girl at her locker. She was holding a bottle with pills in it. She took one pill and swallowed it. She turned around and when she saw Katsuo her face turned to shock and slight fear but quickly corrected herself to a smile. She waved at Katsuo as he walked by. When Katsuo reached his classroom, he quickly looked inside. The teacher had just arrived, so class didn't start yet.
"Alright kids, quiet down. Class is starting," said the teacher. Katsuo quietly walked in the class. "So you're Ishikawa. Well, introduce yourself to the class." The teacher seems to be very relaxed.
"My name is Katsuo Ishikawa. Nice to meet you," said Katsuo.
"Alright, take a seat anywhere." Katsuo looked into the class and saw Hinata and Rio. Katsuo sat down in the seat behind Hinata.
"Wow, you're one lucky kid," said Rio. "You got the same class with the only two people you know at the school."
"She does have a point there, Ishikawa-kun," said Hinata. The school day proceeded as normal from there on out.
"You said you're living with your grandparents for the year, right?" asked Rio. Katsuo nodded his head. "Why don't we go and meet them?"
"Are you sure about this Rio?" asked Hinata.
"It's fine," said Katsuo. Katsuo lead Hinata and Rio to his grandparent's house.
When the three were almost there, something caught Rio's eye. "Oh, a flower shop! Let's get your grandparents some flowers!" yelled Rio.
"If it's fine with him, it's fine me," said Hinata. Rio looked over to Katsuo, who nodded, letting her know it was fine. Walking in, Katsuo realized that this was the same flower shop that he was in yesterday. Katsuo stayed at the door while Hinata and Rio looked at flowers. Looking around he saw the same boy from yesterday. "Hey Katsuo, check this out!" called Hinata. When Katsuo got to Hinata, he saw that he and Rio found the elevator.
"Where do you think it goes?" asked Rio.
"Most likely down." Hinata reached his hand out to the call button but was swiftly slapped by Rio.
"You idiot. Who knows if we are even allowed to go down there," said Rio.
"That's why you'll stay here and make sure nobody sees us, while we go check out what's down there."
"But I don't get to see what's down there."
"I'll take a video," said Hinata as he patted Rio on the shoulder. Hinata called the elevator, and when it arrived he got in with Katsuo. Katsuo noticed that there was only one button on the elevator. One the had a picture of a vortex. Pressing it, the elevator began going down, slowly at first, but over time sped up.
Once the elevator stopped, the door opened. Katsuo and Hinata got out and looked around. They were in a circular area, which had a pink tint to it. Off in the distance, there was a building, but it was too far to tell what it exactly was from where they were. There was a gate with a path the seemingly lead to the building. "What the fuck is this?" asked a shocked Hinata.
"I have no idea," said Katsuo. He walked up to the gate and began to open it.
"Yeah, maybe we can find out something about this place there." Katsuo opened the gate and they began to walk down the path. About halfway they could determine what the building was. "Is that a stadium? Am… am I dreaming?" Hinata shook his head. "C'mon, let's keep going." They were almost there when a mysterious figure appeared. Upon closer inspection, Katsuo found that it looked like a bouncer at a concert. However, instead of having a face, there was just a black void with sunglasses.
"What are you kids doing here?" yelled the figure.
Hinata laughed nervously. "We're just trying to find out what this place is."
"This is the great concert of the lovely Shaiwase Kimura," said the figure. Hinata's facial expression darkened when he heard that name. "What? Do you not think fondly of her?" Hinata remained silent. The figure took out a baton. "Say something when spoken to!' The figure hit Hinata with the baton, knocking him to the ground. The figure then continued to beat him. Katsuo tried to think of a way to save Hinata.
"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to save him?" said a new voice. Katsuo looked around and saw nobody else, and realized the voice was in his head. "Do you think that your own life is worth more than his? He is one of your only two friends, after all."
"No," said Katsuo quietly. The figure continued to beat Hinata, hitting stronger with every strike.
"Good… I am thou, thou art I. Thou who are willing to sacrifice thyself for other are worthy of my name. Now burn thy rose and bring upon altruism!"
"This will teach you for disrespecting me!" howled the figure.
"Hey, you!" yelled Katsuo. The figure stopped hitting Hinata and turned to look at Katsuo.
"Oh, are you with him? Then I will you down as well." The figure walked up to Katsuo, who stood still. Hinata struggled to get up to watch. Once the figure got to Katsuo, he swung his baton at him but was stopped right before by some sort of force field. The shock of the force field getting hit caused the figure to stumble back a few steps. Then, a rose floated down from the sky into Katsuo's hands. Without thinking, Katsuo threw the rose into the air and snapped his fingers, causing the rose to be engulfed in a pink flame. At that moment, Katsuo's clothes shifted from his school uniform to a black tuxedo with a beige undershirt. Then, a bright flash of light went off, and a tall figure appeared behind Katsuo. It had sleek white and beige armor, and it's helmet covered most of his face, besides his eyes. His eyes were bright blue. He held an iron shortsword.
"What the hell?" mumbled Hinata.
"I am the hero Beowulf. Thy love the dwells within you. If thou wishes to use thine power for altruism, then I shall aid thee," said the figure behind Katsuo.
"Yes... " said Katsuo.
"Very well."
"Who are you?" asked the other figure. "No matter, I will take you down all the same." The figure transformed into another creature. The creature looked like a blob of slime with eyes.
"Strike down thy enemy before you. Turn thy heart into power and release it upon thee!"
"Kouha!" yelled Katsuo as Beowulf unleashed an attack on the enemy, greatly wounding it. The enemy ran up to Katsuo and headbutted him, not doing that much damage.
"Now, use thy blade!" Katsuo realized that he was holding a shortsword, similar to Beowulf. He swung the sword and hit the creature, causing it to turn into a puff of black smoke. "This power is yours. Use it wisely." Beowulf disappeared and in his place was a rose. Katsuo took the rose and it disappeared.
"Let's keep going," said Hinata in an angry tone. Looking at his face, Katsuo noticed Hinata had a scowl on his face. "And I don't want to talk about it." Soon, the two made it to the end of the path. There were more bouncers there, all guarding the entrance. "Let us in." One bouncer talked into the radio, and after a few seconds, the bouncers moved to the side, opening the entrance for Katsuo and Hinata. Shortly after going down the hallway, they came across a wide open space. There stood a woman wearing flashy attire. The scowl on Hinata's face turned into one of fear.
"Oh, it's you," said the woman looking at Hinata. Her tone was one of disgust. She turned to Katsuo. "But... who are you?"
"I could ask you the same thing," said Katsuo.
"You're telling me you don't who I am?" The woman laughed. "I am the elegant Shaiwase Kimura.
"Elegant?" asked Hinata.
"How dare you disrespect your own mother!" yelled Shaiwase. "Do you forget that I am the one that birthed you! You should be grateful!"
"Shut up."
"What was that?"
"Shut up! I'll never be grateful for you. You're a monster wearing the skin of a mother. You hit me. You yelled at me. Prevented me from leaving."
"I don't like your tone," said Shaiwase as she kicked Hinata to the ground. She sighed and said, "When will you learn? I am the adult here. I get to do what I want, and I get to profit. While you get to sit and watch. I only hit you because you wouldn't obey. It was all for your sake after all," Shaiwase laughed. "Shall I beat you another time. I can always say you fell down." Shaiwase paused. "No, I have a much better idea. I'll kill your friend over there."
"No… please…" said Hinata weakly.
"Are you just going to submit to her?" asked a voice inside Hinata's head. "This toxicity isn't love. Allow me to help you overcome this challenge. You've gone through so much. Don't you think that it is time to rebel?"
"You're right."
"I am thou, thou art I… Now, get up and show her your true strength."
Hinata slowly got up. "I'm tired of being told what I can't do." Hinata began walking towards Shaiwase. "I'm tired of having my decisions being chosen for me." Hinata's tone became angrier. "I'm tired of you!" Then, Hinata's clothes changed from his school uniform, to dress pants, a button-up shirt, suspenders, and a black bowler hat with a purple strip. A rose fluttered from the sky into Hinata's hands.
"Guards!" yelled Shaiwase as she backed up. Only one guard came running in.
Hinata dropped the rose, and as it fell is was engulfed in pink flames. "I'm counting on you, Houdini!" Then there was a bright flash. When the light faded, a figure was behind Hinata. It was wearing a long covering most of its body, except for its head. Its hands were disconnected from the body, floating and wearing white gloves. Its head wore a bowler hat and a smiling theatre mask.
"I'll protect you!" yelled the bouncer as Shaiwase ran away. The bouncer transformed into a creature with the body of a man with the head and wings of an owl. A rose appeared in Katsuo's hand, and he threw the rose in the air, snapped, and the rose was engulfed in pink flames. Beowulf then appeared behind Katsuo.
Hinata looked over to Katsuo and smirked. "Let's do this." The creature used an ice magic attack on Katsuo, knocking him down. "Whoa! Katsuo? You alright?"
"Just a scratch," said Katsuo.
"Alright. Houdini, Psi!" Houdini unleashed a psychic attack on the creature, knocking the creature down. Hinata released he was holding a sledgehammer. He ran up to the creature and slammed the sledgehammer on its head, turning the creature into black smoke. Houdini and Beowulf both turned back into roses and then disappeared into Hinata and Katsuo. "Damn, Katsuo. What the hell were those?" Hinata looked around the room and saw that Shaiwase was gone. "She got away… Fuck!"
"What the hell are you two doing here?" asked an unfamiliar voice. Katsuo and Hinata saw a strange figure. It was a skeleton surrounded in pink flames.
"Are you going to fight us? We'll summon our thingies on you!" yelled Hinata.
"You mean your personas?" sighed the figure.
"What's a persona?"
"The physical manifestation of your personality. Now, are you going to come with me or am I going to have to you back by force?"
"Like that would happen," confidently said Hinata. Five minutes later he was being dragged by the collar by the figure, with Katsuo walking behind them. "Okay, this only happened because I let you."
"Uh-huh," muttered the figure, not even paying attention to what Hinata was saying. Soon, the three made it to the beginning of the path. The figure went to the elevator, called it, and threw Hinata in there. Katsuo walked in afterwards. "Go up." Katsuo looked at the buttons on the elevator and saw a button with a picture of the earth instead of the first one. Pressing it, the elevator began to go up.
When the elevator reached its destination, Hinata got up and saw Rio. "Well, what was down there?" asked Rio. Katsuo noticed that he and Hinata were back in their school uniforms.
"She was there," said Hinata in an angry tone.
"What do you mean she was there? How could she be there?" asked Rio and a worried tone.
"I don't know… But I know we'll find out." Hinata smirked.
"Are… Are you sure?"
Hinata sighed. "Yes, I'm sure. And we'll take you down there too." Hinata started to walk away. "I'm going home."
As Hinata left, Rio looked at Katsuo. "What happened down there?" Katsuo explained it as best he could. Upon hearing the story, Rio had a face of disbelief. "Personas? I don't..." Rio sighed. "I'll have to take your word for it. Now, let's go to your grandparent's house." Katsuo and Rio went to Katsuo's grandparent's house, and Rio stayed for dinner. After Rio left, Katsuo's grandfather went to Katsuo and said, "You didn't tell me you already have a girlfriend."
"She's just a friend," said Katsuo. "Besides, I'm not able to pull something like that off in a day."
"You never know. You should probably go to bed."
"... Will do." Katsuo got up and went to his bedroom, turned off the lights, and lied down in his bed. "Personas, huh?" said Katsuo before her fell asleep.