Authors note: Ha ha! I'm not dead yet! But seriously, sorry for the wait guys and gals. On top of my slacking and procrastination habits, I have a bunch of other fanfictions to work on and I've started writing one of my own original novels as well as a prototype for another book. Needless to say, I'm more than a little backed up. (That came out wrong, didn't it?) But enough of that BS, we're back into comedy in foreshadowing mode until further notice, that being said, please enjoy.
Sitting on the cool, solid ground, a wide-eyed Kurusu stared at his open palm in shock and amazement at what he had just done. "So this… is my power?" he said to himself. "Yami…" he whispered as he curled his hand into a fist.
"KURUSU!" Fluff shouted as he scampered to his human friend, the little girl following closely behind.
Still sitting, Kurusu turned his head and watched as the bespectacled cat and small child approached him.
"That was incredible!" Fluff exclaimed as he reached the human. The girl was close behind. "I've never seen a Persona like that, and one of the Fool Arcana that can use the Mudo spell like that is quite rare," the long-haired feline continued to admire Kurusu's newfound ability, talking a mile a minute before the man in question stood up.
"That was quite a scare," Kurusu said as he got to his feet. "You okay kid?" the girl only nodded to confirm that she was unharmed. "Good," Kurusu sighed in relief. "Now that that's settled, Fluff…"
"Yes?"
"What were those things, and what exactly was that creature I summoned?" Kurusu asked.
Fluff straightened his glasses with his paw before he said, "The creatures that you fought off are called Shadows. They are the-" the cat stopped abruptly as his ears twitched and his head turned.
Kurusu looked in the same direction and could see an orange light that filled the space between the enormous trees. "What now, is it more of those things?"
The girl whimpered in fear at the thought of more monsters.
"I don't think so…" Fluff said thoughtfully. Eventually the trio heard the soft clinking of metal meeting metal as a strange looking creature came into view from behind a tree. It was smaller than the Shadows that attacked them earlier, but it was equally strange in its appearance. It had a large pumpkin for a head that was carved to look like a smiling jack-o'-lantern with sharp teeth and glowing red circles in its eyes, it also wore a black, pointed hat and a matching cape. As far as Kurusu could tell, the creature didn't have a body aside from the white gloved hand that held an old-fashioned lantern that lit the otherwise dark surroundings. "A Pyro Jack," Fluff stated.
"A what?" Kurusu asked, obviously confused.
"A Pyro Jack," Fluff repeated. "It's a type of Persona indigenous in places like the Moon Yard. They often act as guides to people who have wandered into someone else's dreamscape by mistake."
"Guides?" Kurusu said. "Does that mean it's here to help her?" He nodded to the girl, who seemed rather scared of the strange looking Pyro Jack.
"You are correct, Kurusu," Fluff stated. He then walked over to the small girl. "You need only follow him," he gestured to the Pyro Jack with a paw, "and he will lead you to your own dream."
The girl was hesitant and didn't really move. She only stared at the creepy thing that watched her with red eyes and a wide smile.
Sensing the human's unease, Fluff placed a paw on the girl's shoulder and said to her, "Would you feel better if I accompany you?" The girl nodded quickly and vigorously. "Kurusu, can you find your way back to the garden on your own?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so. But why can't I come with you?" Kurusu asked.
"Because you were supposed to stay there in the first place," the spectacled feline answered indignantly. "Come along child, let's get you home."
With that said, Fluff raised his bushy tail for the girl to grab onto and led her through the forest with the Pyro Jack ahead of them, leaving Kurusu by his lonesome self in the dark yet strangely homey forest. Though he had no memories of this place, it felt familiar to Kurusu. He had no problems navigating the paths that twisted between the large roots and eventually found himself in front of the same immaculate gate of rusted iron. With a great deal of force he opened the gate and entered the garden. As he waited for Fluff to return, Kurusu decided to observe this place in more detail than he did before.
What he saw was less than impressive. The grass was unkempt and overgrown, the stone tiles that circled the fountain and led to the various doorframes and the gate were cracked with weeds of various size and shape growing between them, and the fountain was cracked with dead Ivy vines creeping up and around the once beautiful carved stone. Finally there was the empty doorframes lining the iron fence, he counted eight in total, each different from the others.
For one reason or another that Kurusu couldn't explain, seeing this garden in such disrepair broke his heart. This place felt special to him almost like it was sacred; a place where everyone would feel welcome and safe. He was so busy taking in his surroundings he didn't even notice the scaled beauty standing behind him. "Not exactly a prime example of fine gardening is it?" the woman said.
Startled, Kurusu spun on his heels and saw a familiar lady wearing a blue dress complemented by her golden scales. "Wha- your that lady from the supermarket!"
"Indeed I am," the ryu-jin said politely. She smiled and straightened her glasses, her golden eyes seemed almost luminescent in the near total darkness. "I'm here to direct you to the Velvet Room, Master Igor wishes to speak with you," the blue clad ryu-jin sidestepped and as if it had appeared out of thin air, revealed dark blue double doors. The doors looked like they were made of pure sapphire and stood almost 7 feet tall, the elegant designs in every corner resembled golden foliage and gave a dazzling contrast to the dark azure, there were no handles or knobs to be seen, only a single small keyhole in the very middle . A silver mist hung around the frame and had a faint blue glow about it. Needless to say, it looked very out of place in the shabby garden.
When Kurusu finished gawking at the gorgeous craftsmanship of the doors, memories of a half bald, long nosed, bug eyed fortuneteller raced through his mind.
"Kurusu, do you still have the key I gave you?" the woman asked.
"Key? Oh! Yeah, it's on the windowsill by my bed."
"Are you sure?" the dragon lady said with a smile. Kurusu could detect the faintest hints of playfulness in the woman's voice. "Try looking in your pocket," she said, her smile never fading.
Seeing no harm in simply looking, Kurusu reached into his left trouser pocket and turned it out to reveal that it was empty, save for the gray clump of lint.
"Perhaps your other pocket," the ryu-jin politely suggested.
Kurusu cocked his brow, but did as he was told anyway. He reached into his right pocket and quickly found something thin and metallic. He quickly pulled the object out and saw that it was indeed the same small blue key that was given to him by the dragon woman standing before him.
"Lovely," the ryu-jin said as she abruptly snatched the key from Kurusu's hand. She turned around and placed the key in the keyhole and the dark blue doors quickly faded into a bright light. Even as someone who dealt with abnormal situations on a daily basis, Kurusu was nearly slack jawed by what he had just witnessed. He was quickly pulled out his his daze when he felt dry scales and cool metal in his palm. "Be careful not to lose it, master Igor is not one to handouts spares," she said with a strangely playful smile. "Now then, shall we be off?" she asked as she linked their arms together. Kurusu blushed profusely as he felt the nonhuman's soft form press against his arm.
"Uhhh… Sure," Kurusu said dumbly.
The Dragon lady ushered Kurusu into the bright light, which quickly became blinding. When the light died down, the surroundings came into focus. Kurusu once again found himself sitting in a soft armchair with a round glass table before him in what looked like a velvety blue luxury jet.
"Comfortable?" said the familiarly eerie voice. Sitting opposite to Kurusu was the long nosed, bug eyed fortuneteller, Igor. "I see that you met my newest assistant, Ryuko," he said, gesturing to the ryu-jin on his right, the same one that led Kurusu back to the Velvet Room. "I also see that you've discovered your newfound potential."
"Potential… what do you mean?" Kurusu asked.
"Your Persona of course, quite a fascinating specimen," Igor answered. "A spirit of light that wishes to protect those around it, yet embraces all the darkness of the world around it, Yami."
"Umm… Ryuko said that you wanted to see me about something, what is it?" Kurusu asked.
"Ah yes, I believe that you have questions you would like answered."
"Well, yeah," Kurusu answered.
"Then don't be shy, ask any questions you'd like," Igor said.
Kurusu sat there for a moment thinking of what to ask Intel he said, "For starters, what were those things that attacked us in the forest?"
"Those creatures are called Shadows, in short, they are the nightmares of one's dreams, a byproduct of the creation of the dreamscape."
"A byproduct of the dreamscape's creation… What does that even mean?" Kurusu asked.
"As Fluff has already so eloquently put, the dreamscape is the world within one's heart. Their hopes, their wishes, their strengths and weaknesses, they all create something unique within each world," Igor further explained. "When a dreamscape is formed it creates an enormous amount of energy and not all that energy is good. Much like the human mind, one's dreamscape has a dark place that is kept isolated from the rest of the world. Fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, these are all the emotions that exist within everyone's hearts. These emotions mix with the energy and, given time, become Shadows."
"What are Personas?" Kurusu asked.
"If Shadows of the nightmares that create bad dreams then Personas are what bring good dreams," Igor answered. "Like the Shadows, Personas are born from the energy created with the dreamscape. However unlike their dark counterparts, Personas are created with positive emotions, things like love and joy. There are two types of Persona: there are wild Persona, like the Pyro Jack you encountered earlier, that wander through the dreamscape and entertain their host while defending them from Shadows, and then there are one-of-a-kind Persona, like Yami, that symbolize their masters. Unlike the wild Persona, Yami is unique to you and has a bit more power to offer."
As Kurusu sat there and absorbed all of this information he became increasingly transparent. It was as if he was slipping away from reality.
Ryuko noticed her guest's fading figure and said, "Master, it would seem Kurusu's waking up."
"So he is," Igor commented.
"Huh?" Kurusu looked at his hand and saw it Igor's creepy face through his palm. "What the he–"
"Kurusu," Igor interjected regaining the young man's attention. "Before you leave there is one last thing I'd like to tell you: the power of Persona is, first and foremost, a gift. You would be wise to give thanks for that gift and never take it for granted."
When Igor finished his cryptic message Kurusu completely vanished, leaving Igor and Ryuko alone within the spacious jet. "Master," Ryuko said breaking the silence. "You seem concerned, is anything wrong?"
Igor remained silent and looked like he was thinking before he spoke. "The last time Kurusu visited the Velvet Room I read his fortune, his future is one of calamity and hardship. But after he left I read further into his future and found something rather… disturbing." He laced his long fingers together and rested his chin on his hands. "My concern is what fate Yami will lead to."
"His Persona?" Ryuko questioned. "What does that have to do with Kurusu's future?"
"It doesn't matter," Igor answered. "What ever his destiny may be we have no right to interfere. He's already taken his first step. The only question now is what path it's on."
Authors note: Done. (Finally.) Sorry again for taking as long as I did. I literally have no excuse, not even writers block, for not posting anything. That aside, thank you all SO much for reading. It truly means the world to me knowing that there are people out there who enjoy these stories. If you could not only Follow and/or Favorite this fic or me, but leave a detailed review telling me what I can improve on and how I can improve on it that would be absolutely fantastic. (I'm trying to become a professional author so any advice would be a HUGE help.) Thanks again for reading I'll see you in the next chapter of whatever I write next until then, see 'ya.
