Disclaimer: I do not own Persona. The characters and story belong to Altus, the amazing company that brought us the games.

Spoiler: I do not recommend reading this if you haven't completed Persona 3, Persona 4 or Persona Arena as it contains spoilers of these video games.

Author's Note: Hey everyone, it has been way too long. I want to apolgize for suddenly putting this story on such a long hold without any warning. I am really motivated to continue this story now that there's finally been a still point in my personal life. Not to go into much detail but I'm working full-time, doing college full-time, in the process of buying a house and, on top of all that, am having mayor girl issues! I personally think the last has been the biggest factor. Anyway, the storm has settled, for now, and I'm working on the next chapter. This is the same old chapter as before but I've revised it here and there.

Contemplation

March 28 (Monday)

Early Morning

Overcast

Monday was a mirror reflection of YU's mood: dark and daunting. His parents had left: Raijin to the new financial firm under his supervision and Yuri—to whatever unnamed antics, leaving the silver-haired man alone to mull over his thoughts.

I say you take your chances, muttered the voice in his head, acting as his advisor.

Yu sighed, leaning back in the leather chair. Maybe, he mentally replied. But, I don't think Madea was kidding. The look in her eyes said otherwise and I get the feeling she's used to getting her way.

Perhaps…but, regardless, it really shouldn't be your main concern now, should it?

Yu couldn't help sighing again, running a hand through his silvery-hair. Earlier in the day, much to his dismay, he had received a call from Margaret. Her message was simple and sweet, informing him to check his E-mail (how she got his number or E-mail address she wouldn't explain) for further instructions relating to the ordeal. Just as she was about to hang-up, he managed to sneak a question about the running mouth in his head—and, just as Yu imagined, her reply, while not as cryptic as anything Igor could conjure, left his mind reeling.

"For quite a while now, some parts of you have been stooled away somewhere unreachable, until the need arose for its reappearance. It's still partly dormant, but that will change soon."

And, adding to the list of complications was the keychain that he found on the kitchen counter. It belonged to his father who didn't typically misplace things. He was much too critical for that, and Yu doubted that age was to blame.

Yu stared at the keychain and its multiple attachments, each colorful and diverse. The majority was spare keys, but two specifically held his attention. The first was a heart-shaped locket that when opened revealed a picture of Raijin, Yuri and Yu during one of the rare occasions they were actually together. Yu remembered the day fondly, a spontaneous request from his mother to explore the surrounding area of their temporary residence. The picture seemed to be the locket's main attraction, but, by pure accident, Yu pressed down on it, opening a compartment to a second picture. In this picture, his father—in his early twenties—was embracing a beautiful raven-haired woman with chocolate-brown eyes and a pale complexion.

Powerful emotions welled up in his chest, forcing him to close the locket. It took a few moments for the silver-haired man to regain his composure. Yu tried to rationalize the extreme sadness that had overcome him. When he couldn't reach a logical explanation—his memories of the woman were nonexistent—he decided to dismiss the matter for another time, perhaps when his parents arrived.

The second attachment that had caught his attention was an aluminum key. The said key provided access to his father's office room which Yu was currently occupying.

If I know father, he thought, searching the desk drawers, there's a computer somewhere here.

In the bottom drawer, just as the silver-haired man predicted, was a slick-silver laptop, the letters K and E inscribed on the hood for Kirijo Electronics. Yu carefully grasped the device, settled it on the desk and powered it on. Within seconds it activated and the screen lit to life. The main screen appeared, and Yu navigated to the internet then his E-mail webpage. With lightning speed, the site loaded and he signed in. His personal E-mail was neatly structured, like everything else in his control, into folders: business, school, spam, pictures, friends, and unassigned. A new entry had been added to the unassigned folder.

Yu exhaled slowly.

Nervous? questioned the arcane voice.

A little, Yu admitted. It feels like I'm going to be sucked into something I can't walk away from.

A roar of laughter echoed within his head, baffling the silver-haired male. When it settled, the voice said: From the moment you signed the contract in the Velvet Room, you lost the ability to withdraw… And, from that decision, what the aftermath would be, I wonder? Imagine the same predicament in Inaba…

It was a low blow, leaving Yu ashamed and embarrassed for even considering the notion. If at any point he had neglected his responsibilities years ago, the consequences would have been dire. Yu allowed the shame to wash over him. Resolved, he opened the unassigned folder to find the message he had been dreading. It was eerily titled: Registration Progress.

Yu opened Margret's message and read the contents. In Margret's usual style, the message was brief and concise.

The link is the necessary next step. Proceed with caution.

Below the message was the aforementioned link to a website the silver-haired man had never heard before. From the lines of text, he understood the words: Desire, game and sign up.

Looks like she wants me to participate in some sort game, Yu thought.

Desire, the voice murmured. What an ominous title for a game…

Yu clicked the link and a new webpage appeared.

The site was obviously created by a minimalist as all it featured was a black page and the word DESIRE in big lettering over two options: Sign In or Create New. Yu clicked on create new and was brought to a registration page. It asked the same basic questions that any internet membership would like name, age, birthday, and so on. Suspicion and confusion was on Yu's face as he hastily answered the questions. Although, a few caught him off guard like blood type, favorite mythological figure – which of course he chose Izanagi – and religion of choice.

Once he completed the registration, Yu clicked the procced button. The laptop screen went black. Yu blinked, staring at the screen for a moment or two.

Did it die?

A mask suddenly appeared on the screen to the young man's dismay. Yu narrowed his eyes. The mask was split in two colors: orange and purple and its wide smile reached the edges of its face.

A message below the mask appeared and said:

Congratulations, on your application! Your identification number is 101 of 100!

101 of 100? Yu stared at the screen in confusion. Before he could receive any input from the voice, a second box appeared with an address and date – the date reading April 1st. For a while the silver-haired young man stared at the computer screen, patiently waiting for more text. When nothing appeared after a few minutes, Yu leaned back in the chair, staring intensely at the computer screen.

Something the matter? The voice asked.

"The first of April," Yu said, "is the first day of school."

He thought about the Caucasian women who had given him a tour. With how enormous the school was he didn't think he would ever run into her again but with his luck as of late anything was possible.

"Wow," Yu muttered under his breath. "I don't recall city life being this hectic."

The voice's chuckle bounced around in his head. Its effects were becoming habitual, like white nose.

With all of your complaints you are starting to act as old as your hair suggests.

Rolling his eyes at no one in particular, Yu stood and moved to the large, rectangular window to the empty corner of his father's office. He pushed a finger down on the blinds and stared out at the desolate street. The pavement was slick and shiny. The grass and trees glowed vibrantly with such brightness that it could have come from a painting. Yu idly wondered when it had rained. He stared at his father's desk then back outside. Deciding to return everything later, Yu allowed his mind to wander. He couldn't explain it, but he felt dread for the upcoming days.