V.E.: Oh boy, it's been over a month since I last updated this story and a bunch of stuff has happened or come up in my mind. I'm going to address some of those things right below here.
NOTE, READ THE STUFF BELOW HERE!
Update Schedule: As I hope you guys/girls noticed, I have other stories that need my attention and I tend to update in a cycle. I'm breaking this cycle this time, but expect a wait before you get the next chapter.
Poll: I've only gotten seven voters (which has made it a tie at the moment) when I know there are more people reading this. If you're a guest reviewer, I'll take your vote in your review. This poll will be open until Yukiko is rescued by the group. The question is, who should I pair Yu with? The choices are Yukiko, Rise, and Marie. I'll explain why I only chose these three along with my other two pairings for this fic at the end of the next chapter.
New Persona 5 Trailer: I got to admit, I went into this trailer with no expectations, but was completely blown away. I'm a little worried how the trailer only seemed to show four characters, but who knows, maybe they'll be more people who join the party later in the game. I have no idea what kind of message or mythology this game is going to be tackling, but I'm really curious. More than anything, I think is going to be a darker game than Persona 3 or 4. The only other I know is that Atlus is currently kicking Square Enix's but! (PG version of what I was really thinking.)
Now then, roll the quote and on with the show!
Quote: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."- Edgar Allan Poe (This doesn't really ties back into this chapter, but overall I think it's a pretty cool quote.)
Time was relative when it came to the Velvet Room.
While time may march on for its guests in between visits, the inhabitants of the blue interdimensional plane did not feel the effects of the passing seasons. Instead, time was measured in the specific guests that visited and the form the Velvet Room would take on for them. After all, that was the place's purpose; to help their guest on his/her journey.
As such, while it may not have been for as long between visits as it would be for their guests, the residents of the Velvet Room were left waiting for periods of time for their guest to return.
Igor mused on this as he set up the next reading, while Margaret sat patiently to his left (quite the contrast between her younger siblings' behavior). Even though he had already read the cards for Yu Narukami (their new guest), there was very little else he could do in the blue limousine form that the Room had taken (other than indulge in the selection of alcohol which he would do later). Besides, even though performing his readings multiple times for the same person usually yielded the same results, there were times that some of the cards would change, signifying a change in the guest's situation.
He turned over the cards going in the same order that he done not so long ago for the future wielder of the Wild Card.
The Tower, a terrible disaster imminent. The Moon, hesitation and mystery.
The hunched man with an overly long nose merely nodded at the results. It didn't seem like there were any current changes in store for his new guest than what he had already seen.
He was just about to dismiss his cards when something his attention that he hadn't noticed before.
A lone card face down on the plush velvet blue carpet.
The proprietor of the Velvet Room stared at the card for a few moments, his outward expression unchanged but nonetheless rather surprised. He was sure he had counted all of his cards together, never having dropped his cards before.
And yet…didn't he know better than anyone that nothing in this room happened without a purpose?
Turning to his right side, the pointed eared gentleman bended down to pick up the card.
His action didn't escape the attention as the blonde young looking woman's expression showed some surprise. "Master?"
Igor's expression did not change as he flipped the card to face him. For the longest time, he just stared at the card in silence.
Margaret spoke again, her voice with a hint of worry. "Master, is there something wrong?"
He didn't take his eyes off the card. "Interesting, very interesting…"
Then he turned to his assistant, his smile a little bit larger than before. "It seems as if we are going to accommodate more than one guest this time around."
The platinum blonde woman's face lit up with surprise and confusion. "Another guest? Who is it?"
Igor chuckled before turning back to look at the card. "Who indeed?"
The Fool.
When the bus had pulled up to the stop Makoto was supposed to get off, the blue haired teen was NOT in a good mood.
After several minutes of trying every phone number (in which the letters for the names were replaced with strange symbols) he had in his address book TWICE, all of them had come as being 'no longer in service.' His potential lead shot down before it even began, he took one last look at the cell phone strap's little toy before shoving the phone back into his pocket.
The rest of the way there, he had taken another glance at the big file of documents. This time, he had taken a much in depth examination and examined the papers one at a time.
This approach had revealed a lot more details than the cursory glance he did on the train. Apparently, the reason he had moved around a lot was because his parents had died when he was young in car accident and he had been shuffled around between distant relatives ever since.
Makoto felt a bit mixed on this information. On the one hand, he felt a bit skeptical about how he had spent his life from home to home since he was about seven. Am I really that difficult to deal with?
But in regards to his parents…that felt right. Call it a gut feeling, but he was pretty sure that was one part of those files that was the genuine truth. There was a part of him that wished that he might have found a picture of them somewhere in the papers, but the only photo in the file was the one of himself. He gave a small sigh for his wishful thinking right before the bus pulled up to his stop.
After getting off and crossing the street, the blue haired teen finally took a good look at inn, not knowing what to expect.
The building in front of him had a traditional Japanese style, with about three or four floors (at least he was guessing it was). It looked very picturesque, like the quintessential Japanese inn. Heck, maybe there's a hot springs to go with it.
Figuring that just standing right below the archway entrance wouldn't really move things along, he moved past the arch and opened the doors.
The inside of the inn was just as traditional Japanese style as the outside was, with a few touches. A lowered tile floor with above it a wooden floor with cushions and flowers in vases to welcome the guests, the straight path leading to the front desk. It was overseen by a woman who looked to be in her forties to fifties with black hair that was graying pinned into a neat low bun and glasses, in a pink kimono who seemed to be leaning over to write something down on some papers.
Makoto was about to speak up to get the woman's attention when she looked up with a tired expression. That expression changed to a friendly one as she called out to him, taking off her glasses. "Oh, welcome! Give me a minute, I'll be right with you."
The blue haired teen nodded, slipping off his shoes and carrying them on top of his file before stepping on to the wooden floor as he waited. When the older woman had put away the papers and her reading glasses and finally came over to greet him, he spoke calmly. "Hello, I'm..."
The woman smiled as she interrupted him. "Makoto Yuki, right?"
The teenager was somewhat taken aback by her forwardness, answering unsurely. "Yeah, that's me."
The older woman nodded and bowed slightly. "We've been expecting you, I was getting a bit worried whether you would make it today since you're supposed to start school tomorrow. I'm Sayoko Amagi, owner and manager of the Inn. Follow me please."
Makoto nodded and walked right behind the manager, the older woman chatting as she led on. "Your guardian made all the arrangements, though I don't know why he'd have you stay here in Inaba just to finish up high school. Most people who come here often have relatives to stay with. Your guardian mentioned you missed a lot school because an extended stay in the hospital, right?"
The blue haired teen nodded warily at the mention of a guardian, going with what the files had said for now. "Yeah, something like that."
The woman smiled as she went on before noticing and calling out to someone. "Well, I'm glad you'll staying here. You're the longest paid for guest we ever had. All of your stuff arrived here yesterday, I told the staff to leave it unpacked since I figured you would want to do it yourself. Oh, Yuki, come over here!"
A young girl came over from the right in a blue yukata. She looked right about Makoto's age, if not a bit younger. Long black hair, dark brown eyes, and gentle features; she looked at Sayoko Amagi as she waited for what the older woman had to say. "What is it Mom?"
Sayoko Amagi gestured to the blue haired teen and back to her daughter as she introduced them. "Yuki this Makoto Yuki, he's the boy I was telling you about earlier. Yuki-san, this is my daughter Yukiko. She's a second year at the high school you'll be going to so she'll walk there with you tomorrow."
The manager than turned to give complete focus to her daughter as she spoke next. "I'm going to be giving Yuki-san a tour, do you think you could watch the front desk until I get back?"
Yukiko nodded with a smile. "Of course."
Sayoko turned and motioned at the young man to follow her, which he did as they went off to the right. The two walked on for quite a bit while Amagi-san discussed the history of the inn and it's services. "This is a small inn, but it really works for this kind of a town. At the same time, it can be inconvenient when we don't have enough room during the busy season. Most of time, we have out of towners come for a business trip or a party so we the dining halls are used often. One of our biggest drawing points is our hot springs. Depending on the hour, one will be open to men and the other to women. Don't worry, there will a sign near them to tell whose turn it is."
The silver eyed teen nodded, taking in more of the Japanese décor. Of course they have hot springs. Probably should check them out later on. .
The manger went on to ask something of him then. "Now, would you like your food brought to your room or do you want to use the dining halls with the other guests during the year?"
Makoto smiled tiredly as he answered her. "I don't mind the dining halls, but right now I just really want to get settled in and go to sleep. Could I just get to my room?"
Sayoko Amagi nodded in understanding as she gestured in the direction towards the elevator. "Of course, right this way."
The two walked on, but just as the older woman was about to push the elevator button, another woman that was the same as Yukiko's though more around the manager's age spoke to the woman in the pink kimono in a hurry. "Sayoko-san, thank goodness I've found you!"
Sayoko's eyebrows raised as she addressed her worker. "Kasai, what's the matter?"
"There seems to be a bit of a mix up in the kitchen, something about some of the orders getting swapped…"
The manager sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose before turning to Makoto. "I'll take care of it in a minute. Do you think you'll be able to find your room on your own, Yuki-san? It's on the next floor, Room 204."
The blue haired teen nodded. "I think I can manage that. And you can call me Makoto."
Sayoko Amagi nodded, pulling out a key card from one of her kimono's sleeves and handed it to the high school student. "Here's your key, if you need anything else don't hesitate to use the phone in your room."
Makoto nodded, grasping the keys in his hand (from the arm that wasn't holding the file and his shoes) and reaching over to push the elevator button. "Got it."
Sayoko spared one last smile for the new guest. "I'll check in on you in the morning. Have a good evening, Makoto-san."
She then turned and walked off with Kasai by her side, leaving Makoto to wait for the elevator to get there. It didn't take long for the telltale 'Ding!' and the doors to open revealing an empty elevator. Getting in and pushing the button with the label of 2, Makoto shifted the things he was carrying to be more comfortable. When the doors did open onto the second floor, it seemed there was somebody waiting for it.
The person was a woman with short black hair and brown eyes along with lips tinged with red lipstick. She had a simple, but striking appearance with a white collar shirt, a black skirt, and black flats she seemed to have been tapping while waiting for the elevator.
She walked forward, bumping into the blue haired teen as she went towards the elevator and he walked out of it. "Excuse me."
Makoto nodded to her, turning to face her to do so. "It's okay."
She smiled at that before the doors closed, a light flashing above indicating she was going down to the first floor.
With that little encounter out of the way, the blue haired teen took a slow pace as he glanced at the room numbers to find his own. 200…202…here it is, 204!
Quickly sliding in his key card, the door opened to a rather large room in the traditional Japanese style that he had seen throughout the inn. Aside from the room's décor (that included a large TV, a phone, and other things), there were several boxes laying around with a scissors laying on the table. Must have been left by the staff for when I wanted to unpack.
Taking the scissors and leaving the file and his shoes on the table, he went over to the first box near him and sliced through the tape. He opened the box to find black school uniforms, on one side of the collar a pin for the Roman numeral three III, the other side seemed to have pin that was the school's symbol. Must be my new school uniform, better lay it out for tomorrow.
Picking up the uniform and grabbing some hangers that were below it while leaving the scissors back with the opened box, Makoto walked over to the small closet that had opened just a crack. After hanging up all the hangers, he hung the uniform jackets and pants he had with still some hangers free.
Just as he was about to go back unpacking the boxes, he was interrupted by three rapid knocks on his door. Makoto made his way to the door and opened it to see who was there. "What is it?"
Standing there was a young girl that looked around Yukiko Amagi's age that was a little shorter, with pale skin, brown eyes, and hair that was a lighter blue than his which was braided and adorned with a hairclip of Chinese design. She was also wearing a light blue yukata that must have been the standard uniform for female workers at the inn. In one of her hands, was a plate with several rice balls on it.
She stood there for what seemed to be almost a minute in complete silence, staring at him. Then she handed him the plate which he took while she spoke in a monotone. "Here, the manager thought you might be hungry."
He nodded his head and kept his answer brief. "Thank you."
The girl nodded before she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Also, you're going to be needing this."
Grabbing it with the hand unoccupied with the plate, the teen glanced down at the colored paper. It seemed to be a coupon for half off a ramen meal at a restaurant called Aiya's. He looked up from the coupon as he spoke. "Is this some kind of a promotion the Inn does?"
The girl shook her head before going on to explain in her less than excited voice. "I only work here at the Inn occasionally. My main part time job is at Aiya's, I do the deliveries. It's down in the Central Shopping District, you should stop by as soon as you get the chance."
"Do you advertise to everyone talk to?"
She shook her head before she turned to leave. "I can tell you're going to be a frequent customer. Name's Aika by the way. Have a good evening."
With that, she walked down the hall towards the stairs instead of the elevator. Makoto gave her one last glance before shutting the door, giving a small sigh. And I thought I was weird.
Putting the things he received on the table next to the file and his shoes, he worked through the rice balls as he unpacked the rest of the boxes. As he went on unpacking, he noticed very few individual items as most of the stuff seemed to be the books for his new school along with his ordinary clothes that looked rather plain. There were a few persona items, such as a very good looking violin in its case and a few books (the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes and a few novels by Edogawa Rampo), but none of the things stirred something in its memory.
Just he was thinking that, he felt a yawn coming as he covered his mouth just as it was beginning. It must be getting late. Better turn in.
With that resolve, he went to put on a white and blue striped pajamas. He then crawled into his futon where sleep immediately over took him as soon as he closed his eyes.
Fog. Endless fog.
Makoto had opened his eyes to this type of surreal dreamy like world. The only thing he could really see was the odd bricklike red path below him, all the rest of his surroundings were shrouded in fog. As for himself, he seemed to be dressed in his new school uniform.
He got out from his kneeling position to look behind him, finding a dead drop in the red path. The only way to go, it seemed, was forward.
Stepping about as carefully as he could, all he seemed to find walking forward was more fog. As far as he could see he was the only person that was in this strange world of continuous fog. He thought about opening his mouth to call out for someone, but his mouth would not open.
He had walked for quite distance and had figured he was the only thing in this fog period, when a voice coming from nowhere spoke. "Do you seek the truth…?
He had stopped moving as he waited to hear the voice again, unsure of whether it belonged to a man or woman, whether to a child or an old person. After a few seconds of no answer, he resumed walking on the red bricklike path.
Once again, after he had walked a distance the voice spoke again, seemingly coming from somewhere ahead of him. "If it's truth you desire, come and find me..."
This time the teen didn't pause, only walking straight until he came across a strange sight. In front of him, a square that had squares within it with a red and black pattern. He put his hand to the square, the middle square opened up as the other squares turned and opened with it to make a doorway. Without any hesitation, the blue haired teen stepped through the door.
The area was still foggy, but at the center of the area he could see the shadow of a person's figure. He walked as quickly as he could, before stopping at a short distance from the shadow at the sound of the voice from before. "So…you are the extra player in this game…"
The shadow's hand raised to give a snap, a wave of fog coming at him so fast he closed his eyes and braced for the impact. As soon as he felt the wave pass, he opened to his eyes that widened in surprise to find a short sword in his right hand and his left hand resting towards his pocket where a gun was.
Before he had any time to process a thought about this, the shadowed figure spoke once more, with the blue haired teen unable to pinpoint anything specific about it. "Now…let's see what you are capable of…"
Without much thought, Makoto proceeded to lunge his sword at the unknown person.
It seemed to hit as he pulled back and the person commented again. "So…you can still see a little despite the fog? How interesting….just like him. Is it because the two of you share the same power?"
Not knowing or really caring about what the person was saying, the teen took out his gun, but instead of pointing it at the figure he pointed the gun to his head. Pulling the trigger, he heard a strange sound as another shadowed figure emerged. But this figure didn't speak or do anything to him, rather it seemed to hit the other figure with something it was holding.
Instead of sounding angry or hurt, the unknown person sounded almost amused. "Very interesting…even without your memory you still put up a fight…But you will not catch me so easily…If what you seek is the 'truth,' then your search will be even harder…"
As the voice said this, a crackle of red light glowed, surrounding the area with even more fog. Now it was so think, the teen couldn't see anything. Nonetheless, he tried to stab the person once before, but it seemed that his sword didn't hit at all. He once again shot his head, summoning the shadowed figure from before, but even that didn't seem to connect to this unknown enemy.
Feeling a bit tired, the unknown person spoke again as if pondering something aloud. "Everyone sees what they want to…and the fog only deepens….Will we meet again...at a place other than here…?
The being gave a chuckle at the notion. "I look forward to it…Redeemer of Man…"
And as soon as that statement finished, the teen felt himself losing consciousness and whiteness of the fog turned to black.
Shooting up where he had been sleeping and throwing the covers away from himself, Makoto Yuki woke up in a cold sweat and was gasping for breath, only moderately aware of the sound of rain outside and the clock in the corner that flashed 6:30 am. What…the hell…was that?!
As soon as his breathing even out and a sense of calmness brought by waking up calmed him down, he looked at his hands which promptly turned his panic up again but a little bit higher.
On the light sheets that he had been laid out on before, his right hand was grasping the same short sword that had been his dreams while his left hand was right over the gun, which now that he looked at it was pretty unusual looking but familiar.
It was taking everything in Makoto not to descend into full on panic for waking up with weapons that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Those thoughts were interrupted by several sharp knocks on the door that made the blue haired teen's body jolt in surprise. He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound as calm as possible. "What is it?"
It must have worked since the person knocking didn't seem to notice. "It's me, Yukiko. Umm…my mother sent me to tell you breakfast is ready in the dining halls. Would you like to join us?"
"Sure. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll be right down."
"Okay."
As soon as he heard her walk away, Makoto looked down at the weapons again and sighed. Okay, first I better stash these away where no one will find them. Then, I'll get dressed and head down to breakfast. And then after school, I'll figure out what I'm going to do with these things.
V.E.: Great…over 4.2 thousand words. Why does writing always look simpler with a bare outline?
This chapter was the result of much blood….sweat…tears…and Diet Coke. Can't ever forget the last one. So please, REVIEW!
I hope to see you all next chapter, where the first day of school begins.
I'm Valkyrie Elysia, I remember it so you don't have to! (in case you didn't notice, I like the Nostalgia Critic.)