First of all, I'm not dead, yet, nearly died though, just kidding. *cough* Okay, so this story is published last September and hasn't been updated since then, for that I'm sorry. I always maintain a balance of updating my 4 ongoing stories one by one, and this story was supposed to be updated in January. Why that changed, you may ask. Well, my professor retired, so I have to redo my thesis from the beginning under a new professor and with a new topic. And well, redoing your thesis isn't exactly a walk in the park, at least for me. *sigh* Story of my life. Anyway, enough of my mopping, you guys come here for my story anyway, so here you go. Happy Reading.
P.S. I own nothing except the plot. And please ignore the other Persona fic I have. And also thank you for those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story.
Chapter I - The Magician
7th April 2009, Tuesday
As Minato finished wearing his new school uniform, he heard knocking from his door. He could faintly hear Yukari's voice from behind the door.
"Hey, it's Yukari. Are you awake?" Yukari asked.
Minato answered by unlocking the door and opened it.
"Good morning. Did you sleep okay?"
Minato just nodded to answer.
"Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. Are you ready to go?"
Minato nodded again.
"Okay. Then, let's go," Yukari said as she walked out of the room.
Minato looked out of the window of the New City passenger train, Anehazuru. From inside of the train, he could see most of the artificial island that was Tatsumi Port Island.
"We have to take the monorail to get there. Bet your last school wasn't like that, huh?" Yukari said, snapping Minato out of his musings.
"No, not really."
"Well, this is my favorite part... when it feels like you're gliding over the sea. Our stop is Port Island Station at the end of the line. From there, we walk. Have you ever heard of Tatsumi Port Island? It's a man-made island. They built our school right in the middle. Oh, look, you can see it now!" Yukari exlaimed and pointed to something outside of the train.
The school was huge, even compared to all of Minato's previous school. And Minato at least changed school once a year, so that's saying something. From the entrance to the school complex, Minato could see blooming Sakura trees lining the way to the main school building.
"Mornin'!" a female student called out to them.
"Morning!" Yukari replied.
Standing in front of the school's entrance, Minato somehow felt in his very soul that something was very different regarding this school. The whispers that he had heard along the way here had somehow became stronger and clearer the closer he got to school. As he got older, Minato had mastered his "ability" in hearing the whispers that he could unconsciously choose which one he would hear and which one would be muffled. This time, however, all of the whispers managed to pierce through his subconscious. It's fortunate that Minato was already used to them, or he wouldn't be able to function at all.
"Well, here we are... Welcome to Gekkoukan High! You're gonna love it here! C'mon!" Yukari exclaimed. Both of them then entered the school. As soon as he entered the school complex, Minato confirmed it. There's something in this school, and he felt that it's somehow connected to him.
"You're okay from here, right?" Yukari asked once they're inside the school.
"You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty Office is right there to the left. ... And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"
"No, not really," Minato answered.
"I see... Hey... About last night... Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? ... See ya later," Yukari then left to her class.
After Yukari left, Minato turned to look at his surrounding.
'Well, what should I do now? Should I just go to the Faculty Office now, or...,' Minato contemplated. He then saw some students gathering in front of the bulletin board.
'Hm, I should probably checked which class I'm in first. Let's see here... Hm... Where is it? Oh, there,' Minato thought as he looked at a small note on the board.
'Arisato Minato - Class F, huh. My homeroom teacher is Ms. Toriumi. Hm? It seems I'm in the same class as Takeba-san. Well, I guess it's time to go to the Faculty Office,' Minato then walked towards the Faculty Office according to Yukari's direction.
Homeroom had ended, so Minato just decided to laze around first in the classroom before he left the school. To be honest, his mood wasn't really that good ever after meeting . Sure, it's not her fault that she hadn't read his files all this time, but did she really have to mention it? Even now, he could still see it clearly if he closed his eyes. The raging fire, his parents, still trapped inside the car, the sound of gunshots, and especially, the shadow with skull as head.
"Oi, dude."
"Hey."
"HEY!"
At the shout, Minato woke up startled and his head hit the person behind him in accident.
"Ow, ow, ow! Hey, man, look before you just headbutt someone on their nose, will ya?" the student who just shouted rubbed his nose.
Looking at the student, Minato asked, "Who are you?"
"Me? I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in 8th grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid... So I wanted to say, 'hey' ... See what a nice guy I am!"
"..." both of Minato and Yukari, who came to see what's the commotion about, were just silent at the male student.
The male student had tanned skin, with dark buzzcut hair under his cap, a goatee, and grayish eyes. From what Minato saw, Junpei seemed to be slighly taller than him.
"Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again," Junpei said with a grin.
"*sigh* At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?" Yukari asked in exasperation.
"What? But, I was just bein' friendly," Junpei plead.
"If you say so...," Yukari said, not believing it one bit. "Anyway, some coincidence that we'd be in the same homeroom... Funny, huh?"
Minato just nodded at Yukari's statement.
"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too?" Junpei tried to pull attention to his existence.
"Anyway," Junpei said in cheery voice, "I heard that you two came to the school together this morning. What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" Yukari stuttered. "We just live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay? Why are people even talking about it, anyway?! Now you have me worried..."
"Hey...," Yukari suddenly whispered to Minato. "You didn't say anything to anyone about... you know what, did you?"
Minato just leaned his head.
"Don't tell me you forgot already! Seriously... Don't say anything about last night, alright?"
"...," Junpei just stared at the other two with unbelieving stare.
"Wh-what?" Yukari said, unnerved by Junpei's stare.
"L-last night...?" Junpei asked, drwaing his own conclusion.
"W-wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea! Listen! I just met him yesterday, and there's nothing between us! Geez...," Yukari explained.
"Look, I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!" Yukari then left the classroom.
"Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid...," Junpei said in exasperation.
"But, hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talkin' about you! Believe it or not, she's actually popular. You da man!" Junpei said in a very excited manner. "Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year, I can feel it!"
Minato just gave a small smile at the boy's antics.
'Don't worry, I won't cheat,' Minato silently thought, and the grumbling inside his head stopped.
8th April 2009, Wednesday
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," an old man with glaring eyes and immpossibly long nose said.
That was the first thing said to Minato once he closed his eyes to sleep. He knew that outside it should be happening, so this might be connected to it. Except the meeting with Junpei yesterday, there's nothing that was meaningful, so Minato went to bed early, and also because he's a bit tired. Today though, Minato met him.
To say that the man known as Ikutsuki Shuji was unique would be an understatement. Minato knew that everyone had darkness inside of them. Junpei had them, Yukari had them, and even Mitsuru had them though in a slightly bigger quantity than the former two. That man though, was something else entirely. All of Minato's alarms went off in that man's presence, and so Minato did whatever he could to get away.
"My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquintance," the old man, Igor, introduced himself.
"This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like myself," Igor introduced the other person, being, there in the place besides himself.
"Pleased to meet you," the young woman, Elizabeth, said. She had short white hair and yellow eyes. If Minato had to comment on her, he would say that she was beautiful in a mysterious sort-of-way. And there went the grumbling inside his head again.
"This place exists between dreamand reality, mind and matter... Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place...," Igor said, showing the contract that Minato had signed a few days ago in front of him.
"Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make."
"I understand," Minato nodded.
"Hold on to this...," Igor then gave Minato a bluish purple colored key.
"'Til we meet again..."
9th April 2009, Thursday
Once Minato woke up, he couldn't help but be reminded of the strange dream he just had. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he just went to the bathroom to take a shower. Once he's done, Minato directly went to school. Once school's done, Junpei had offered a tour around the Paulownia Mall, where students usually hanged out once the school was over. There were cafe, karaoke box, arcade, pharmacy, police office and CD stores. There were also a club and a closed shop which seemed to be an antique shop. Right now though, Minato was too tired to even do any extra studying, so he decided to just hit the bed. All in all, it's quite the eventful day.
Minato awoke to the loud noise that seemed to have come from the lower floor. Changing his clothes to a more casual and comfortable one, he decided to go and take a look. When he went to open the door though, Minato heard loud knocking on his door and a frantic Yukari.
"Wake up! Sorry, I'm coming in!" Yukari then forced her way in using something that seemed to be a spare key.
"I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!" Yukari said in a hurried tone. Minato just nodded at that.
"Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" Yukari then turn to leave. Before she went outside though, she gave Minato a short sword.
"... Take this. Just in case," Yukari said. Receiving the weapon, Minato then followed Yukari outside.
Yukari thought that both she and Minato would be safe once they reach the back door. Well, it turned out she's wrong. There're two of the things, and it seemed the other one whom Akihiko saw was the one chasing them.
Frantically running up the stairs and the floors, Yukari only let out a relieved sigh once they reached the rooftop and locked the door, thinking that they're safe. Well, sad to say, but she's wrong once again.
It appeared, crawling the wall using its numerous arms that seemed to be too many to count. The arms that weren't used to move were holding silver swords, one for each arm. Its face, or what seemed to be the face, was a blue colored mask with a face of a sad expression with the Roman numeric I on its forehead.
"You gotta be kidding me...! It climbed up the wall...?!" Yukari exclaimed, not believing what she saw.
"That's the thing that attacked this place... We call them Shadows!" Yukari explained.
"O-oh yeah... I have to fight... I... I can summon mine... No problem...," Yukari suddenly became scared of something, something that seemed to be not the giant 'Shadow'.
Pulling something from a holster on her thigh, Minato recognized it to be the same gun that she had on her on the night where Minato first arrived at the dorm. Putting the muzzle on her forehead, she tried to pull the trigger, and yet she's paralysed because of the implication of what she would do. Before she had any time to strengthen her will though, the giant Shadow attacked using its swords. Receiving the direct brunt of the attack, Yukari was thrown off wuite far, though Minato's sure she just fell unconscious.
Picking up Yukari's gun that was thrown off to his direction as a result from the Shadow's attack, Minato looked at it for a moment before paying his attention back to the Shadow.
"I know what you are... And you should know, or feel, what I am... Is there no way to settle this peacefully, o Magician?" Minato said in a voice that could only be heard by the thing. How he could even pull it off, nobody knew.
Unfortunately, the Shadow didn't give any reaction if it even caught what Minato had said. Sighing to himself for what he would have to do, Minato steeled his resolve. Putting the gun's muzzle to his temple as easy as putting on a pair of glasses, Minato uttered the words that would seal his fate.
"So be it... Per... so... na..."
Pulling the trigger, Minato could hear the sound of a glass breaking, along with the sound of something being summoned, released from within his mind. Appearing behind him was a something resembling the shape of man, and yet from a glance it could be seen that its body was mechanical in nature. If one were to look at its face, they would find that its face was identical to Minato, the one who summoned him, only with white hair, black skin, and blue eyes. A giant harp could be seen on its back.
"Thou art I...
And I am thou...
From the sea of thy soul I cometh...
I am Orpheus, Master of Strings..."
Examining his connection with 'Orpheus' within his mind, Minato was sure that this so called 'Persona' would follow his every commands. Commanding Orpheus to attack, the newborn Persona glided through the air and bashed his harp on the Shadow, though it seemed to be not very effective.
'It's not working...,' Minato thought.
'You're not strong enough at the moment, Tou-san. Let me help you.'
'... But your condition.'
'Don't worry. You've just awoken. It's enough for me to manifest even if only for a while.'
'... Alright. Do it.'
Once Minato gave the permission, he suddenly felt an excrutiating pain in his head, along with a series of breaking glass' sound. Clutching his head, Minato tried his hardest to not let out the scream that had piled up in his throat. Even Orpheus didn't escape from the same fate. The Persona also clutched his head as it floated in the air. After a while though, it's clear that Minato could no longer hold himself back, and so let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"RAAAAHHHH!"
Black mists appeared and surrounded Orpheus, solidyfing around him. Making it seemed as if Orpheus was contained inside a cocoon. Soon enough though, a pair of white gloved hands bursted out from within the cocoon. Ripping the cocoon open, a demonic skull with gaping maw and hollow eyes, the only semblance of a face it had, could be seen emerging from within the cocoon. Once it fully appeared, Minato could see the 8 floating metal coffins that were chained together to the shoulders of the being's body. Its body was clad with a black military uniform with red border, with a black belt featuring a golden buckle with the Totenkopf emblem on it. A long single-edged blade could be seen attached to the belt.
"GRAAAAAHHHH!"
The being let out a bloodcurdling scream as it pulled the sword from its sheath and charged towards the giant shadow. It continued its numbing scream as it slashed and pummeled the Shadow with berserk abandon. The Shadow stood no chance against the death personified. None of its swords could pierce the being's skin, and even the flame it summoned could do nothing against the being.
Soon enough, the slaughter ended. The eerie being glided to in front of Minato and nodded, as if saying that it's done doing what it seeked to do. With a flash of black light, the being changed back to Orpheus, which then dissapeared into blue colored glass fragments.
Slumping to his rear, Minato was breathing heavily as the adrenaline had stopped and now he could feel the extreme fatigue he was under. He only managed because of his sheer willpower and the stamina that he had nurtured throughout the years. Before he could rest though, he could hear knockings on the door to the rooftop. Figuring it must be Mitsuru, he stood up from where he sat tiredly and trudged towards the door.
Along the way to the door, Minato once again heard the voice within its head.
'It has begun, Tou-san...'
'Yeah. And I swear, we will not fail...'
So, that's the official chapter 1. Kinda short, I know, and the pacing is kinda all over the place, but I tried to follow normal Persona pacing while adding my own twists, but I guess it isn't a complete success. Anyway, feel free to ask me via PM or review if you have any questions.
May We Meet Again.