After all of this time, chapter 4 is finally up! YAY! Enjoy!

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'The Velvet Room?'

Hamuko stared at the creepy old man sitting across from her. He was wearing a suit with gloves. His skin was so pale, it was obvious that he hadn't seen the sunlight in a long time.

"My name is Igor," said the creepy man. "…I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place."

'The contract? The one the little boy made me sign?'

Suddenly, the contract from before was laying in front of Igor.

"Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room," Igor continued. "You are destined to home 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," Hamuko said.

"Hold on to this" Igor handed Hamuko a key. "There is still one more resident of this room, who unfortunately could not be present for your arrival. But I'll make sure you two are properly introduced. Another time, perhaps."

Hamuko's vision started to fade.

"'Til we meet again," Igor said before vanishing completely.

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Hamuko opened her eyes and realized that she was back in her room.

'Was that…a dream?'

Hamuko's question was answered when she looked over on her desk and saw the key that Igor gave her.

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As Hamuko arrived at school she was greeted by Junpei. They talked about sleeping in class all the way to homeroom. During classic literature, Hamuko looked over and noticed that Junpei was, in fact, asleep in class. The lecture was so boring that Hamuko almost wanted to join him, but she sucked it up and stayed awake. She even learned a few new things about Japanese literature.

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Hamuko was walking past the shoe boxes when Yukari called her over.

"Hey, Hamuko! Do you want to walk home together?"

"Sure! Sounds fun" Hamuko agreed.

On the way back to the dorm, Yukari gave Hamuko a short tour of Paulownia Mall. The sun had already gone down by the time they got back to the dorm.

Mitsuru was standing in front of a window admiring the outside.

"Welcome back," she called. "The moon is beautiful tonight. It might be nice to read a book by the moonlight once in a while."

Hamuko agreed then sat down with Yukari to watch tv before deciding to return to her room.

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Meanwhile, at a certain room in the dormitory…

"How is she?" Ikutsuki asked.

"…The same as last night," Mitsuru replied.

"Hmm… Very interesting," Ikutsuki said. "Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first. Memory loss. Disorientation. But, this subject is rather unique. She hasn't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

"But…we're treating her like a guinea big," Yukari protested.

"I understand your concerns, but it's imperative that we recruit new members," Ikutsuki explained. "I heard she's in your class…wouldn't you be more comfortable working with someone from the same grade? A female classmate, at that."

"Yeah, I guess. But, still…" Yukari was reluctant.

Suddenly the emergency light lit up on the screen. An emergency call was coming in.

"Command room," Mitsuru said as she answered the call. "Akihiko and Minato?"

"You're not gonna believe this…! This this is huge!" Akihiko yelled over the communicator. "Unfortunately, we don't have time to talk…it's chasing us. I wanted to let you guys know, we're almost there."

"Does that mean…they're bringing that thing here!" Yukari asked.

"Mr. Chairman!" Mitsuru shouted. "Let's suspend our observations for now. We'll prepare for battle."

"R-right! Be careful!" Ikutsuki replied.

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Back in the lounge, Minato walked in supporting a wounded Akihiko. Akihiko let out a wounded grunt as he sat on the floor.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru rushed to his side.

"I'm alright," Akihiko reassured Mitsuru. "Get ready to be surprised…it'll be here any second."

"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru said.

"It's one of them?" Ikutsuki asked.

"Yes, but it's no ordinary one," Minato said.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and dormitory shook.

"What the…!…you gotta be kidding me!" Yukari shouted.

"Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room!" Mitsuru commanded. "Takeba, go upstairs and wake her up! Then, escape out the back."

"But, what about you three?" Yukari asked.

"We'll stop it here," Mitsuru said. "You two led it to us, so I'm afraid you both are going to have to fight."

Minato sighed.

"Like we had a choice," Akihiko complained.

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned around to see Hamuko standing on top of the stairs looking at them.

Minato's eyes grew wide as he stared at the girl. He knew her. Something about her face seemed familiar. He brushed off the thought as he helped Akihiko up.

"What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!" Akihiko shouted.

"I-I'm going," Yukari said.

Yukari ran up the stairs and grabbed Hamuko by the wrist.

"There's no time to explain!" Yukari shouted. "We have to get out of here, now!"

Yukari led Hamuko up the stairs. Before they reached the rooftop, Yukari went into what looked like a closet and took out a long, thin implement. It seemed like a naginata.

'Great! They carry guns and other types of weapons here!'

"Here, take this just in case," Yukari handed over the naginata to Hamuko.

'These people are crazy!'

"Okay, let's go!" Yukari said.

They made it onto the rooftop safely. Yukari closed and locked the door before letting out a sigh of relief.

"The door's locked. I think we're safe for now…" Yukari said.

"What's going on?" Hamuko asked.

Before Yukari could explain, the dormitory shook again. Hamuko could see some type of creature crawling up the wall. It was black and oozy with a blue face. It looked like an oil spill wearing a mask. It had several arms that each help a sharp sword.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Yukari shouted. "It climbed up the wall!"

Yukari turned to Hamuko.

"That's the thing that attacked this place…we call them Shadows!" Yukari turned back to the shadow. "O-oh yeah…I have to fight. I…I can summon mine. . . No problem."

Yukari removed the gun from it's holster. Instead of pointing it at the enemy like Hamuko expected, she pointed it to her head.

Hamuko gasped.

Yukari took a few deep breaths to steady herself, but before she could pull the trigger she was knocked over by the shadow. The gun that Yukari was holding landed right at Hamuko's feet. Hamuko bent down and picked it up. Something about it's looks was different from normal guns. Suddenly she heard a voice…

"Go on. Do it," the voice sounded familiar. Kind of like the little boy she met earlier.

Before Hamuko knew it, she was holding the gun again her temple.

"Persona," Hamuko whispered before she pulled the trigger.

A surge of energy coursed through her body and suddenly a figure appeared in front of her. The figure was female, and she was dressed mostly in red. Her skin was dark and her hair was long and white.

Kikuri-Hime.

That was strange. Hamuko had never seen this creature before. How did she know what it was called?

"Thou art I, and I am thou" Hamuko heard a voice say.

Was it the voice of Kikuri-Hime?

Suddenly, Hamuko grasped her head in pain and Kikuri-Hime was replaced with another creature. This creature was more menacing. The creature didn't waste much time destroying the shadow. Before Hamuko knew it, the shadow was defeated. Only small pieces were left behind. Hamuko looked up and saw that the menacing creature was gone and Kikuri-Hime was back.

"Is it over?" Yukari asked.

"I think so…" Hamuko said.

Suddenly, her vision went black and she suddenly felt the cold ground press again her body.

"Are you okay?" she could faintly hear Yukari shout. "Answer me!"

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Suddenly, Hamuko found herself in the velvet room again.

"It's so nice to see you again," Igor greeted her. "You became unconscious after awakening to your "power". I see it was Kikuri-Hime that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. Please remember that. Now, then…time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Farewell."

Hamuko's slowly lost consciousness.

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Once again I am sorry for the long wait!