My eyes open to a world of blue and fog. Allowing my eyes to focus, I glanced around at my surroundings. This is the same place I visited while I was on the train. The Velvet Room, was it? The room is the exact same way I left it.
"Welcome," the man I remember to be Igor says. "Do not frighten yourself. Your body is fast asleep." My body? I understand what he is saying, but that certainly is a strange way of describing it.
"If I am, as you say, asleep, then why am I here?" I ask. It looks as if I can talk this time.
"You are here because this is where you are meant to be," he answers vaguely.
"I would like to remind you that this room is one that only those bound by a contract may enter," the blue-clad girl, Margaret, says. "I assume that your return means that you have done so recently." But I haven't. That is, unless my promise to Teddie counts.
"I would like to give you a gift. Hold on to it," Igor interrupts. Out of nowhere, a strange Key finds its way into my closed hand. "From now on, you are our guest here. While you are here, we will grant you any help you need on your journey. There is only one thing you require in return. You are to abide to your contract and assume full responsibility for its outcome."
"I understand," I answer simply but not entirely truthfully.
"The Persona you now have in your possession is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you." Ah, yes. Sukuna-Hikona I believe. "You, however, are a special case. You possess the ability of the wild card.
"Special?" I ask with vain hope of actually understanding the situation I find myself in.
"The ability that comes from controlling a Persona comes from one's heart. The heard can only be strengthened through bonds. As you form more bonds, the more Personas you will have under your control."
Form bonds? "I hate to inform you of this, but I may not be the best candidate for this position."
"We do not pick who receives this power," Margaret cuts in. "Our only job is to assist in that person's success."
"Where will this power lead you, I wonder." Igor chuckles. "I look forward to finding out. 'Til we meet again…"
With a strange sensation washing over me, I feel the blue room fade away as I reawaken in my real one. Regaining my senses, I reach over to my phone.
*No New Messages* He's most likely just waiting for me to calm down. In an attempt to erase all memory of the night before from my head, I get changed, eat breakfast, and head to school. On my way there, the sound of a familiar bicycle comes from behind.
"Hey," Yosuke says hopping off his bike to walk with me. "Did you watch the midnight channel last night?"
"What? Oh, um." How am I supposed to tell him no? I must have gotten too distracted my conversation with Grandpa. Was it even raining when I fell asleep?
"I'll take that as a no then." He says tauntingly.
"I apologize. I was exhausted by the time I reached my house. I had gotten a call from my grandpa, and after that I was for the most part out of it. I'm sorry."
""From your grandpa? Is everything okay?"
"What? Oh, no. I can assure you that everything is perfectly alright." It's strange that he focuses his attention on that part. Most people I've met would have scolded me for messing up, completely ignoring anything else.
"Oh, well in that case, it's fine that you missed it. The picture was really blurry, so I couldn't tell who it was. I think it was a girl, though, about our age. I couldn't figure much else out, though. Still, we can't ignore this."
"Very true. If this girl is on the midnight channel, then she will more than likely be the next victim. We should check this out with Teddie after school."
"Yeah, we need to find this guy. Murdering a person is bad enough, but to use something like that as a murder weapon, that's a whole new level of wrong. Also, there's no way the police can handle this case."
'True, it would be hard to convince them of a world inside the television. I could always just stick my hand inside in front of them, but that would lead to all new kinds of problems."
"Oh yeah, speaking of which, I tried to stick my hand in last night, and it worked."
"Really? Interesting." I wonder if only people who process personas can enter.
"Yeah, it felt really weird, yet awesome at that same time." Not the word I would use, but okay. "I feel as if as long as you are with me, we can crack this case together." Now outside the school building, he extends his hand. "Let's do our best, partner." Returning the shake, I hear a strange voice in my head.
Thou art I… And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating
Personas of the Magician Arcana
I can feel the power flowing within me. A new bond? Could this be the thing Igor mentioned? After we each release our grips on the other's hand, we walk into the school building and travel to our respective classrooms.
Another day of boring, intolerably boring lectures comes to pass as I clean up my things and go to meet my senpai. In front of the stairs leading up to the second floor, I spot a familiar man in a leather jacket. Oh, that is the man who defended me against Sugimoto-san. I should thank him. Grandpa did request that I attempt to become more social. Before I can talk myself out of it, I walk over to the man.
"Hello, sir, may I speak to you for a moment?" I say politely; possibly a little too much so.
"The hell do you want!? Can't you see I'm-" Turning to see who had spoken to him, he cuts his sentence short. "Oh, um. H-hey." With his voice slightly higher, he turns his seemingly redder face away. "I-I mean," he corrects himself, "What're you want?" His voice goes back to normal.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to inconvenience you. I only wished to thank you for defending me the other day."
"For defendin' you? What're you talkin' about?" Does he not remember?
"A few days ago, you convinced Sugimoto-san to stop pestering me about the murder case. Though I wasn't truly in any danger and probably could have handled the situation easily enough on my own, it was still nice to have another on my side for a change. Thank you."
"Oh, that? It was nothin'. Don't worry about it." He tries to walk away, but something inside me tells me to stop him.
"You say it was nothing, and yet no one else stepped in. I'm not implying that is was a great act of heroism, but it should not be written off as nothing."
"Well, that doesn't matter. You should have to deal with punks like them. So, um." The flustered look returns. "Just tell me if he, or anyone, bothers you again… Or don't, I don't really care." With that, he walks away for real this time. As I continue my walk to the second year classrooms, my thoughts refuse to drift away from that man. Why did he continuously alternate between flustered and tough? It seems odd that one person could switch between such different personality types so quickly. There are only two conclusions to be drawn from this. A) He has some sort of personality disorder, or B) one of them is his true personality while the other is a mere façade. Even so, this person interests me.
Upon entering the near-empty classroom, I find Yosuke and Chie arguing over something. "Chie, just calm down. I'm sure she's just-" Yosuke starts.
"No, I will not calm down! I've been trying to reach Yukiko all day and she won't pick up the phone! What if the killer got to her!? What if she's in the TV right now!?"
"I highly doubt that. She's probably just really busy at the inn."
"Hello, is something wrong?" I ask, making my presence know.
"Oh, hey, Naoto-Kun." Yosuke says, noticing my presence.
"Yukiko's missing," Chie cuts him off hurriedly.
"Wait, what!? What do you mean she's missing?" I ask surprised by the sudden realism of the event.
"She isn't, Naoto, just ignore her," Yosuke answers.
"How do you know she isn't missing!? First she shows up on the midnight channel, and then she doesn't answer her phone. It all makes since! We need to-" It's my turn to cut someone off.
"What do you mean she was on the Midnight Channel? I was informed by Yosuke-senpai that the image was far too burry to be recognizable."
"Yes, exactly. Thank you," Yosuke says mockingly.
"No, but remember, the kimono that girl was wearing looks a lot like the one Yukiko wears when she helps out at the inn."
'Do not worry, Chie-senpai, even if it is the same kimono, that is not definitive proof that she was, in fact, Yukiko-senpai. When was your last attempt at contacting her?" I try to maintain a level head.
"Last night, but-"
"I suggest you try again. If there is no response then we shall take the appropriate course of action."
"R-Right, of course." The green-clad girl pulls out her cell phone and dials her friend's number. "No, no, no! I got her voicemail again. Wh-What should we do!?"
"It's okay, we'll handle this. She will be alright," I tell her, and to an extent myself. Even though it is unlikely the killer would target another so soon after the previous two victims, this concerns me.
"No, no, no. She-she probably alright. Maybe she's just busy at the inn or something."
"Okay, now YOU'RE denying it? Great." Yosuke commentates.
Something clicks in my head. "Wait, perhaps you should try to contact the inn. They might have some information for us."
"Oh, good idea!" Chie quickly dials a new number. Moments later, someone on the other end picks up. "Oh, hello, is Yukiko there?" she asks. Suddenly, her face lights up. "Oh, she is! Thank god." A weight on my chest I was not even aware existed lifts. Chie quickly calms herself down. "Oh, no, everything's fine. I was just worried… No, nothing's wrong. Don't worry… Thank you, goodbye." As soon as she hangs up, a sigh of relief escapes her mouth.
"See, like I said, nothing to worry about," Yosuke says.
"Yes, but even so, we should still look into this. If it really was Yukiko on the midnight channel before, then she's in danger. We should check this out with Teddie," I suggest.
"I agree. If someone was thrown in, we have to help them." And with that, we're off. On the way, Yosuke and I explain to Chie what had occurred while we were in the television without her. I leave a majority of the talking to Yosuke, allowing him to pick and choose how much he is willing to share. To my surprise, he goes into further detail than I expected him to. He even mentions everything Saki-san had said.
Just as we finish catching Chie up, we reach the electronics section of Junes. Much to our dismay, the area is full of people.
"Crap," Yosuke says. "I forgot. There's a huge sale here today. Now what do we do?" Yosuke sounds distressed.
"What good is asking that bear thing anyway?" Chie asks. "How do we know he'll even know anything?"
"Based on what he told us, I believe he must have some way of knowing when and where people are entering," I explain.
"Oh, I've got an idea!" Yosuke cuts in. "There aren't that many people around right now. How about Chie and I form a barrier while you stick your hand in and call him over."
"That sounds like a huge risk. If someone sees, we have no idea how they would react." This doesn't seem like a good idea.
"Oh c'mon, just do it," he pesters. I guess I don't have a choice. Even though it is a risk, someone's life could be at stake. Before I can change my mind, I stick my hand into the television. Before I can make any sort of gesture, something bites me.
"Ow," I mumble. I quickly pull my hand out and examine it. Sure enough, I find bright red teeth marks.
"Wh-What happened!?" Yosuke exclaims.
"Something bit me."
"Are you okay!? That looks painful." My green-sweatered friend asks.
"Yes, I should be fine. There doesn't seem to be any bleeding."
"Ooh ooh, are you playing a game? I like games!" A muffled voice on the other side of the TV replies.
"No, Teddie, it isn't." Yosuke sounds frustrated.
"Why did you bite me?" I ask.
"I dunno," the bear replies. What is wrong with him? If he were to come into this world, I would take him to a therapist immediately.
"Whatever, anyway, do you sense anyone in there right now?" Yosuke gets straight to the point.
"No, not right now. I'm just as lonely as always." Is he trying to guilt-trip us?
Whatever he's doing, it isn't working on Chie. "Just shut up bear!" she screams way too loudly.
"Chie-senpai, please, calm down. We don't want to bring too much attention to ourselves," I reminder her before turning back to the television. "Are you certain no one has entered since our departure?"
"Of course I am. My nose is as good as ever!"
"Okay then, thank you Teddie. We'll get back to you if anything happens." I turn back to Chie, who looks as if she is desperately trying to stop herself from punching the screen. "I suggest you warn Yukiko-san about this anyway."
"Yeah, I know. I'll call her on the way home."
"Oh, you should also walk her to school on Monday, just to be safe," Yosuke chimes in. "Anyway, let's all watch the midnight channel tonight. We might learn something else about the next victim." The same guilt from before washes over me.
"Yes. I'll make sure to do so." There's no way they would forgive me for missing two nights in a row.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. What's your cell number? I can call you after I watch it." After giving him a short nod, I pull out my phone and we exchange phone numbers. Afterwards, we all take off in separate directions. On my way home, I am interrupted by the site of detective Dojima talking with another officer. Oh, this is my chance to find out more about the case. Quickly, I stealthily get close enough to hear without either of them noticing.
"Looks like we won't get much more out of this place," Dojima's fellow detective says. "I still have no idea how the killer is doing this. I mean, we don't even have a single suspect yet." That sounds reasonable, considering.
"Forget not having a suspect, we don't even know how these people died," Dojima adds. He said they. That confirms that Konishi died the same way as the first victim. "Man, what the hell is happening here?" How is this even possible?"
"You know, I thought that I was that Namatame guy at first, the first victim being his mistress and all."
"No, both Namatame and his wife have a solid alibi. Hiiragi was overseas preforming and eye witnesses place him at his office at the time of the crime."
"Yeah, I gotta feel bad for the guy. His career is pretty much dead now that he's fired. He's about as well off as Yamano."
"Well, I agree with that. Still, even if the love triangle was involved, that wouldn't explain Saki Konishi's case."
"Why not? The killer could have just been trying to make her keep quiet."
"True, but she had already told us everything she knew about the body. And it's not as if the killer tried to hide it. The only possible connection is the fact that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn Yamano was staying at." Yukiko? Why are they bringing her up all of the sudden?
"Oh, come on. If that were the case then everyone at that school is in danger. And doesn't that detective chick who just moved in with you going there now?" They're talking about me now? How does he even know about me in the first place?
"What, Naoto? What are you bringing her up for?"
"Yeah, Naoto Shirogane, right? Man, it would be awesome to work with a Shirogane on this case. They're all supposed to be geniuses. We would probably have a suspect by now." Hearing him say that puts a smile on my face.
"No, there's no way we're putting her on this case." And there it goes. "She came out here to go to school and make friends while her grandfather's in America, not to work on a murder case." Exactly what Grandpa said. "And, anyway, I would never want to work with someone that young. It'd practically be babysitting." Wait, what!? I find myself no longer breathing. Does he really think that?
"I don't know, she's supposedly really smart. Even if she is young, calling it babysitting might be a bit too harsh," the other detective defends me.
"Maybe, but still, I don't want to work with a teenage. It's insulting."
"Well, I agree with you there." Dojima checks his watch.
"Come on, Adachi, we need to check back at the station." And with that, they are off. Adachi. That's his name. I'll need to remember that. In any case, I need to get home before Dojima does.
The walk home remained completely uneventful, as did my return to the house. Nanako gave me a simple "Welcome back" before returning to her quiz show. I should just go up to my room and study until midnight. Sadly, no studying happened that night as my mind wanders deep into thought about what Dojima said while continuously debating whether or not I should call my grandpa back.
With all that going on, Midnight came quickly. Rain still slamming down on my window, I make my way in front of the small television. As soon as the day changes, the screen turns on broadcasting a very clear Yukiko. So it was her! I notice many things straight away, such as her strange dress and location. Is she at a castle? Sadly, things were only about to become stranger.
"Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise!" this 'princess' Yukiko says as if she were imitating a game show host. "I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to not a dream, not a hoax, Princess Yukiko's Hunt for her Price Charming! And I've come prepared. I've got my lacy unmentionables stacked from top to bottom." As the last sentence comes out, the screen displays some images I would never want to see again. "I'm out to catch a whole haram and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine! Well, here I go!" The camera pans out while Princess Yukiko elegantly runs towards a red/black vortex on what looks like a castle. As the screen turns black once more, only one thought remains in my mind.
That was most certainly not the Yukiko-san I know.
