Chapter 2: Contracts

4/07/09-Tuesday

"So what you're saying is... I'm your twin sister, we were separated after the accident, and you transferred here after hearing that I'm moving here?"

"Yes"

"And you expect me to believe that? "

"Yes"

"Is that all you can say...?"

"Yes"

The girl sighed at his answer/s(...?). 'Was he really serious? He answered everything with such a calm, expressionless face!'

She bit the buttered toast and ran toward the door.

It was a seemingly ordinary morning. Bright, clear skies, warm sun, cool air, nothing out of the ordinary. One can really tell that a new school year had just begun. There were a lot of students on their way to school, with many of them talking about their vacation escapades or the teachers they're going to have... though mostly, the students were simply hyped about seeing old friends and new faces.

"But I don't remember having a brother!" She continued, after biting off another piece.

The two were on their way out of the dorm, with Yukari waiting just outside. She was tasked to guide the transferees on their first day. Not that Minako would need it, but she had to move on with the flow just to avoid any further suspicion.

"I wasn't expecting you to remember immediately anyway. Mom and D-" He paused and shook his head and turned to her. "Their death was a shock. It must have caused some sort of trauma..." there was a strange tone in his voice, as if he was holding something back.

Minako eyed him suspiciously. He didn't seem to be lying... and there's no reason to lie to her about it, or at least, she couldn't think of any as of now. Though there was something about him... as if he was hiding something...? Then again, she might just be over-thinking it... finally, she shook her head, sighed and stopped on her tracks that Minato got past her. He turned back to the girl with a surprisingly worried look. The girl merely shrugged before opening her mouth.

"... Oh well... I don't think the picture lies... might as well get along with it..." She said in an uncaring tone, though it had an evident hint of embarrassment. "B-but don't think I believe you 100%!" she added.

"Yeah... Take your time..." Minato grinned, hearing her words. It was a rather strange smile... For some reason, it seemed forced, at the same time, sad... The female couldn't help but think about it...

That morning, Yukari showed them the way to school and gave them instructions before leaving them together.

Minako wanted to part with her so-called twin and head for the opening ceremony all by herself, but he insisted on being with her and pulled her with him to the faculty. Yet again, it was another dejavu with Ms. Toriumi. Her conversation Minato that is. It sounded so identical to Minako's. One would think that the teacher's line in welcoming transferees was scripted. Minus the part of their history, of course, since she had read it beforehand and she remembered Minako this time, apparently, during their previous encounter, she mentioned:
"Oh... And your twin is staying here too! Well then... I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach Composition. This message is for you two, welcome to our school "

One thing seemed certain in this 'time line' (or whatever you call it)– they're really twins.

According to the records, or at least, Ms. Toriumi, Minako was taken in by her aunt (mother side), while her brother was taken in by their uncle (father side) after the incident in the Moonlight Bridge. They had to be separated due to financial issues... at least that was what she was told.

After their visit to the faculty room, the twins immediately went straight to the opening ceremony. Both of them slept through through the whole thing... after all Minako didn't have any sleep that night. As for Minato, he was just... being himself. His expression had always been blank and difficult to read, and his eyes always showed boredom or sleepiness. It was as if he always had difficulty sleeping at night. Most of the time, when he's actually not asleep, he would listen to music from his mp3. He also rarely talks, and when he does, he'd only utter a few words...

"Sup', dudes!"

Minako beamed at the sight of another familiar face. It was her cap-wearing 'best bud'. Minato, on the other hand, retained his poker face, though for a moment, the girl could've sworn his eyes twitched... The two of them were sitting beside each other on their respective seats when this boy appeared out of nowhere.

"Haha, you two look like deers in headlights!"he chuckled.

Minato kept quite. Minako stared at him, feeling both happy and creeped out. Happy for seeing that guy again and creeped out for another dejavu moment. Shaking her head, she decided to speak up.

"I'm Minako Arisato~" she smiled.

"You've got a quiet friend here don'tcha'?" he gave the blue-haired boy a quick glance, "I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya" he continued, with his gaze still on the twins.

Minato glared at him in return. "She is my sister. I'm her brother. Don't go after her" he stood up and pulled the girl to his side, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. Minako blushed, but didn't make any attempt to pull away.

"Whoa! Seriously? You two are like... polar opposites! You look nothing alike!" Junpei exclaimed in surprise, continuously shifting his gaze from one to the other. Minako finally shook away from Minato and brushed up her auburn hair.

"I'm sorry for his behavior. His name is Minato by the way" she scratched her head, looking apologetic for what her 'twin' had done. "To be honest, I'm still shocked after finding out I have a brother" She added, turning to Minato who was still glaring at Junpei. The glare this time however, didn't seem that of anger, but... something else. Again, it was difficult to tell, coming from the strange blue-haired teen.

"Chill man... I won't go after her... I was bein' friendly..." Junpei finally answered, looking rather pitiful. Minato finally let go of his icy stare, but his eyes were still locked on him, as if a predator eyeing on its prey...

"A brother huh? I guess having one is not so bad" she muttered to herself, burying her face on the pillow. The girl smiled as she reminisced everything she had done that day, meeting Junpei, chatting with Yukari, eating with Minato... they were simple moments, and yet, she treasured them. She was alive. More than anyone else, it was her who knew how precious life was, she had died once after all, and she had experienced so much, she had seen so many deaths, even Death himself. It was something no ordinary person could have gone through. It all felt like a dream...

'...Perhaps it was...?'

tick... tick... tick...

4/7/09-Tuesday, Dark Hour

"..."

Sadly, it was not...

'Tch... The Dark Hour again... I kinda wish this was all just a dream... dammit...' she bit her thumb, 'I should forget about Minato-kun for now and concentrate on this... I have less than a year...!' she paused and threw her pillow next to her. Minako stared blankly at the ceiling with a serious expression.

'I could try to stop everyone from killing the 12 shadows... but...' She sat up on her bed, and rubbed her chin before burying her face on her hands.

'...But the Apathy Syndrome will continue to plague everyone!' the girl groaned and lifted her head, pausing as if she was thinking about something. After a moment, her expression changed into a serious one, her crimson-red eyes gleamed with determination. The girl grabbed a pen and a small piece of paper from the drawer. She scribbled something on it and solemnly nodded as she stared at the white sheet.

'I have to protect everyone...' she tucked the paper under her alarm clock...

Go to Paulownia mall at midnight.

Don't tell anyone.

4/08/09-Wednesday

"You were the talk of the school y'know? Having a couple of cuties side by side... d'you know how many hearts you've broken in one day?" the friendly teen continued, when Minako suddenly spoke up.

"Er... I have to go now..." Yukari, Minato and Junpei turned to the girl who had stood up already. Minako walked out toward the door, Minato grabbed her by the wrist and stared with an awfully worried expression. He tried to convince her to let him come because a girl walking alone could be dangerous, but after persuading him to let her alone, he finally let her go hesitantly.

"Oooh... Looks like someone's got a sister fetish" Junpei joked at Minato who watched Minako before disappearing with the crowd of students. The boy shot him a another cold glare - which gave off the feeling of being naked in the middle of winter. The sharp silver eyes didn't help ease his feelings either. It was like that of a beast. Junpei froze after finally giving in.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry... I was just kidding... geez..."

"Haha! Looks like he got you Stupei!" Yukari blurted out laughing. Junpei frowned.

"Hey! Don't call me that..."

'I should've come here in the first place...' She sighed, standing in a dark alley.

It was an ordinary alley. It was pretty clean despite the fact that barely anyone ever even gives notice to it. There were even two seemingly healthy potted plants by the side; they were most likely fakes though... after all, there's no one to take care of them, and the sunlight could barely even reach the place. However, what was most peculiar was what stood in front of her, glowing in faint blue light. No one seemed to notice the suspicious door except her.

Minako shoved her hand in her pocket before pulling out a velvet key. 'Who would've thought I still had this...?' she clicked it into the door knob and twisted it.

Suddenly, but slowly, a flash of bright light began covering her body. The next moment, she found herself in the ever-so familiar blue elevator-like room. On one side, a white-haired man stood. He had golden eyes and he was wearing some sort of attendant's clothing. His skin was so pale and white, like snow. In the center of the room was a round table, behind it was a long-nosed, pointy-eared old man who seemed troubled with just the sight of her. If she didn't already know him, he'd be mistaken for a goblin.

She took a deep breath and casually walked forward and sat down the chair up in front.

"We were expecting you. Though, your contract has already ended..." The old man stared intently at her with his large, round eyes which might just fall off any time. They were abnormally huge.

-That's what Minako thought when she first saw the guy up close. She didn't react this time though. Minako had determination in her eyes, as if saying 'spill it out!'. She banged her palm on the table's surface.

"Igor! What's happening? There's Minato-kun... and me... and past ... and..." The male attendant raised a brow, the old man sighed.

"You seem distressed... allow me to shed you some light" The girl paused and seated patiently.

For a moment, silence covered the room. The only sounds were the ticking clock, their soft breathing, and the strange music echoing in the background.

Igor stared at her and began shuffling some cards. "It seems we have underestimated the power of the Universe..." he said, placing three cards face down, "A new beginning or the ultimate end? What was your choice? It was to mend what was separated. To take what was dearest to you, and to seek out the truth which you yourself had hidden... that was your choice" after saying those words, he flipped a card which revealed 'The Moon', in reverse.

"Thus, you are now in the middle of a crossroad- a new beginning" Igor paused for a while and placed his hand on top of the second card, "...you may turn a blind eye now if you wish; or, you may try to change the inevitable. Either way, we are here merely to guide you on which path you wish to take" The old man continued. This time, he stared down at his hand and flipped the second card up which revealed the image of 'The Wheel of Fortune'.

The girl's red-eyes widened, but she didn't dare ask further.

It still made barely any sense, but from what she had heard, the power of the Universe Arcana had something to do with it and the world she was currently in was somehow different. Sure, everyone else was there, everything looks the same, but events were messed up, and then there's him. He replaced her role, that's the only conclusion she could grasp. It seemed like the change of role was affecting her greatly that everything felt new.

There was another moment of silence before it broke.

"Give me another contract"

The old man smirked, the attendant tried to speak, but stopped after receiving another cold glare from the girl. He zipped his mouth, his right eye twitched. It wasn't normal for him, but the fire in her eyes were burning brighter than ever. It was as if no one could stop her.

"I said, give me a new contract. I need it to use the Velvet room right?"

"But there is more-" The girl glared harder at the attendant before turning back to Igor who had closed his eyes. 'Wow... I feel like I'm bullying Theo...'

He snapped his fingers and a paper and a pen suddenly appeared. It was the same old contract, but it had an extra line. It was at the bottom, in a strange, sparkly blue ink. It was written in a fancy font.

"Memento Mori...? Doesn't that mean...?" They nodded at her. She paused and signed it anyway. After finishing, it disappeared into a blue smoke.

"I have another request... could you... do something so that I will turn into a coffin just for tonight?" The two men raised their brows, puzzled by the girl's words. She appeared to be confident with her decision though, which made the old man smile.

"A rare guest indeed... such a strange one..." The old man chuckled. Good for you, your role is not one bound by fate..." He muttered.

Minako looked puzzled, but shrugged it off. She must have heard it wrong anyway.

The old man rested his chin on his right hand, moving closer to the girl. "But you must know. For that one night... you shall lose all the memories you hold dear... and your Persona shall be in slumber. The next Dark Hour will be its return. Do you still wish to continue?"

She didn't answer. Her red-eyes was locked onto his wide eyeballs. She had a serious look in her face.

"I thought as much... very well..." Igor smirked.

Again, he flicked his fingers. In an instant, another contract appeared. It just stated what Igor had just said. At least the first few lines were almost exactly as he said.

The girl signed in without reading the rest of it.

The old man smiled as he lifted the final card - 'The Fool'

"Ah, by the way, please send our regards to him..."

Immediately after dropping the pen, Minako's sight darkened... Everything blacked out...

Aaaand Chapter 2~

Anyway, in the part with the tarot cards... what Igor was saying is not necessarily the interpretation of the card he picked... it's up to you if you want to look it up though...

Buuut it's not like you'll discover anything...

I think...

In any case, if you have comments or if you find any mistakes, don't be afraid to drop me a message or type it in the reviews~ I won't bite XD

Oh, and if possible, please check out the poll in my profile ;)

=Persona 3 and any SMT series does not belong to me.=