Chapter 7: School Days (Early Morning of Friday, April 6th, 2018)
Yumeko felt the softness of the bed she only has slept in once. Her eyes opened slowly as her body started to move and leave the comfortable, dreamlike abode. The door opened, and she saw the man with the long nose and his attendant.
"Welcome, to the Velvet Room. Do not be alarmed, you are simply sleeping in the real world. This has been quite the eventful week for you hasn't it?"
Igor said with a smile on his face. His attendant, the man named Gordon, was sitting down next to him, looking at Yumeko as well.
"This place is unique in that only certain individuals have been able to enter. Particularly those who have been signed within a contract. As such, you have to been able to awaken to your hidden power and even willingly chose to follow it."
"With that said, it is time you receive another gift…" As Igor said that, a flash of light appeared above Yumeko. Without much thought, she instinctively reached out and grabbed the floating object.
"Using that Velvet Key, you are an honorary guest of the Velvet Room and can now freely enter. The path ahead of you will consist of trials across opposite ends of a spectrum. We will do our best to help you in combating what awaits. Abide by the contract and take responsibility for your actions. Failing to do so will only lead to ruin, as has been done before in the past."
"Y-Yes. Of course." Yumeko replied.
"The power you acquired is called a Persona. Think of it as a mask that shows the true self to the outside world. A facade of sorts that you maintain to endure hardship. Your power, in particular, is special in that you possess the Wild Card. It is formless and empty, but within holds infinite potential for constant growth. Personas, in essence, is the ability to control your heart.
Bonds with others will strengthen that ability as your heart is expanded. Involve yourself in the lives of others and form Social Links to develop not only them but yourself as well. This power will control every facet of your life and your abilities."
"The power to control others… Isn't that taking advantage of them?"
"Not at all. If both parties have something to gain, then neither truly benefits more than the other. It is a completely equal exchange of information and growth." Gordon proceeded to continue off of Igor's retort.
"As my master states, social links are not one-sided. Through this equal exchange, both parties do benefit. There is a balance between both parties, and you will find it will be naturally honored. As you are the one who begins the relationship, it is possible they could help you as well even when least expected." As Gordon finishes, Igor takes the final say.
"The power of the wild card has never failed to show me its fascinating wonder… I look forward in seeing how you tip the scales of your destiny… Never falter." Igor chuckled with that final word as the Velvet room seemed to dissipate into whiteness...
Yumeko woke up in her bed, at six o'clock as usual. She got, changed, ate breakfast, and headed to school. As she was walking to the gates, Mayuri caught up behind her, although she had some bags underneath her eyes. She had a drink in her hand, her favorite coffee mug to be exact, however, it was almost empty. The two walked side by side.
"Hey, Good morning." Mayuri said starting the conversation "Good morning to you too. Did you sleep well?"
"U-uh yeah I did…. Kinda." "I sense a but coming up."
"N-no but's. Just a lot of caffeine to get me going!" "You sure about that? You look tired."
"I'm fine! I just had a hard night is all. I was just nervous for cheerleading today and whatnot!"
"Ookay. Do you want to talk about what happened last time? You know… The place with all the creepy things, a talking fox?"
"No!"
"Whoa. I-I was just asking a question..." Mayuri got flushed and looked down at her cup.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I-I just don't want to talk about that place again okay? Besides, we promised each other not bring that up again. Let's just forget about it, and hope it was just a one-off thing."
"You got it." Yumeko smiled at her friend and put her hand on her shoulder, comforting her. Mayuri smiled back with the best of her ability and the two reached the gates together.
The pair trudged along to homeroom, with their teacher, Mr. Ryo, handing out a paper to each person. He turned to face the class after everyone had one.
"Alright class, I know we just started the term, and you're probably going to hate me for this. But, since this is a homeroom class, we should strive for success. We may only have one year together, but we should make the best of it. That's why you're all being assigned to a group project."
The class looked at each with despair and shock, although Yumeko's face was blank. "The project is… Entrance Exam Groups. I know as Seniors, you have a lot of work to do, and believe me, I'd like to help lessen that load. But I cannot stress how important it is to be ready for the entrance exams. It will determine your future from here on out, so I want to be sure it will be fruitful. Don't think of it as a burden, rather a way to be prepared for the future. It'll be fun!"
He started to assign groups on his notepad and started to call each group by number and name. The class was murmuring and already the mood in the room changed from being ecstatic to tired. As each group was called up, people reacted differently to each of their pairings. Some were happy that they were with their group of friends, others were stuck with people they never even said a word to before. Before they knew it, it was time for Yumeko's group to be called.
"Group Number 7. Yumeko Kanashii, Mayuri Kanari, and Akio Kataname."
Yumeko and Mayuri looked at each other in relief, but then they started to look back at Akio. He didn't seem all that thrilled to be in their group. The girls decided to get the awkwardness over with and got up to sit next to Akio. He looked at them and raised an eyebrow, his hands still clasped in front of him.
"So…. We're in a group now. Nice to have you on board Kataname!" Mayuri said with a somewhat forced smile.
"Guess I'm lucky to be assigned with you huh Kanari? Ryo-sensei sure's got a sense of humor. Well. The least I can do is be formal to your friend here. Well my name is Akio Kataname and sensei is sticking me with you two." The tone in his voice implied a sense of rot. The look on his face could be mistaken as a delinquent, but he doesn't seem like the type to get involved in business like that.
"Uh. Nice to meet you too?" Yumeko said with a bit of unease.
Akio spent a quick moment glaring at her direction following her acknowledgment. "Hey, quit it with that glare you're making at her, she's only just moved here you know.
You're going to creep her out."
"Uh-ah-okay. Yeah, sorry about that." "Man. You're still the same aren't you?"
"What do you mean by that?" Yumeko asked
"I'm saying he's still giving off that creepy look when I met him last year. The story was awkward enough…"
"Hey come on now! She doesn't need to know that much. It's not like I can help it anyway."
"Ugh fine. But don't try any funny business with her alright? I mean it."
"Seriously? Do I come off that lacking in visual communication to you? I at least like to think of myself not coming in bad taste. Unlike a certain someone…."
"W-what is that supposed to mean?!"
"Hey, settle down Mayuri… No need to get into a fight." "..."
"Sorry about that, she's just a bit cranky."
"Geez. You're the one that brought the subject in the first place. You okay by the way?
You look terrible..."
"Shut up. It's… Okay. Don't worry about it." Mayuri looked down at the floor. The group was quiet for a bit, but Akio broke it.
"Well, I bet you must be thrilled to have someone you can rely on around here Kanashii. It's definitely going to make things more fun for somebody," he muttered with a sigh.
"Well, it's true. Having Mayuri around does make me feel more comfortable living here. I hope we can be good friends this term. Besides, we'll be seeing each other a lot." Yumeko said extending her hand to him. Mayuri was taken aback by her friendly gesture, snapping her out of her trance. Even with his somewhat cold introduction, she did her best to try and make friends with him.
Kataname sat there with a look of surprise at the gesture reaching out toward him. Rather than taking any action, he simply just looked away with a frown, unable to accept it.
"Classic Kataname keeps to himself after all. Oh well. I guess we should get going then, we have politics next." Mayuri pointed out. Yumeko looked at her and put her hand away as they grabbed their bags and left.
Kataname continued to just sit there after the girls left. Resting his hand on his head, he contemplated.
"Damn it..." With a whisper, he found himself sitting alone, again per usual.
As school winded down, Yumeko waited by the gymnasium for Mayuri to greet her before she goes to cheer practice. Nearly fifteen minutes passed, and the cheerleading team had already begun their routines. Akio, who was just now leaving the main campus, spotted Yumeko and walked up to her.
"Hey. You waiting for Kanari huh?" He asked bag slung over his shoulder. "Yeah…. She's usually never this late to practice. She's always on time and would
freak out if she wasn't."
"Well about that…. Um, I'm not sure if you heard, but Kanari already left school.
About thirty minutes early in fact." Yumeko shared her shock with a confused look on her face. Why would she leave school that early? Mayuri wasn't the kind of girl to do that.
"H-how do you know this?"
"We have Math together for our final period. She left just a few minutes after the class had started. I don't know what's up, but I just wanted to let you know."
"T-thank you! I should check up on her, and see if she's alright."
"You do that." He paused for a moment. Yumeko was already starting to pick up the pace to the gates when he called out to her.
"Hey! Just to let you know… Kanari actually changed a lot over the course of last year. I'm not sure if you noticed, but she always wasn't like this. All preppy and bubbly. She's a kind girl, don't get me wrong. Maybe she acts like that regularly around you… But when I met her last year, I saw her change from being that kind, shy girl, to something I don't think she is all that comfortable with…. Anyways, I'm just rambling now, tell her I hope she gets better." Akio said as he headed off in the opposite direction.
It gave Yumeko some pause to think about what he said. It may be true that she changed, she even acknowledged it when she greeted her back at the station. But she's still her closest friend and wants to make sure nothing serious has happened to her.
Calling her cellphone as many times as she could, Yumeko knew something was wrong with Mayuri. She couldn't have lost her cell phone, as the call always went through, but took time to reach her voicemail. She didn't have her address either, she never needed it in the first place.
Taking a deep breath to center herself, she thought of one more place she thought Mayuri could be in. Yumeko had finally reached her home. As she entered, she found Aika and Junko sitting on the couch watching the news report. Aika cocked her head around and was happy to see Yumeko, as she rarely had the night off. Junko was happy as well, and she bounced to her side.
"Hey welcome back." Aika greeted "Welcome home!" Junko said in reply
"Thanks. Oh, I'm surprised to see you, Aunt Aika. Normally you'd be working right?" "Yeah, but the office decided to switch my shifts around. They needed more people for
the morning shift than the afternoon to night shift, so I happily took the morning. Besides, I think the kids would like to have me around more often now." Aika said in confidence
"Mhmm! I'm glad mommy's home now!" "Dinner's on the table, go ahead and eat up."
She quickly ate her meal and went upstairs to try and reach that other world they went to before.
"I may not be able to leave that place again… But I have to be sure. I need to know if she's there or not."
