Hello once again! Welcome to Chapter 10 of "Persona Academy". I got a question in the reviews from a person named "Torataro" asking me to reiterate the design for the Velvet Room in PA. Well to put it simply, the Velvet Room's design is basically a velvet building on a small island floating in the Sea of Unconsciousness. I hope that helped! :D Anywhoo, this was a fun chapter to write and I hope you enjoy! :D
Persona Academy
Chapter 10: The Crimson Eyed Girl
Keita woke up a bit earlier than usual, stretching and groaning loudly, feeling more relaxed then he ever had. He looked over the pseudo-balcony of his room and saw Kaz fast asleep on his stomach, his chainsaw snoring muffled by the pillow his face had plopped into.
Keita chuckled a bit at the sight. "Sleepin' like log…" He thought to himself. "Wait…what time is it?" He looked to his side and saw his clock read "6:00 AM".
"Oh sweet, I can get another hour of shut eye!" Keita cheered mentally as he lied back down. However, his slumber was short lived. A loud knocking was heard at the door. "Aaaagh! Damn it!" Keita jumped down and walked to the door, his feet freezing on the hardwood floor. "Shaddup…I'm tryin'a sleep" He grumbled.
"Someone at the door?"
"GAH!" Keita yelped as he turned around. Kaz was standing behind him, his hair sticking up in every conceivable direction. "Kaaaz! Hey buddy, uh, we don't have to leave yet! I mean come on, we need our sleep to-mmph" His sentence was half muffled as Kaz threw Keita's blazer onto his face. "Damn early birds!" Keita thought.
Kaz opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Morning guys, sorry if I woke you" Marina apologized quietly.
"It's fine. What's going on?" Kaz asked quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, fine, peachy!" Keita acknowledged through the blazer on his face.
She kept herself from laughing. "Morning to you too Saeki-kun. Anyways, I got some news from the office. We've got another new kid going into your guy's homeroom class today" She explained, her eyes glinting with excitement.
"Another Persona user, eh? Could come in handy" Kaz mumbled to himself in a business-like voice, rubbing his chin in thought.
"So what's up, you want one of us to show 'em around?" Keita inquired further, still neglecting to pull the blazer off of his head.
"If they want you to, yeah" Marina answered.
After Keita and Kaz got ready, the three made the trek to the high school class building, with Marina bidding them adieu.
"So what do you think the new kid's gonna be like" Keita asked.
"Not too sure, we don't even know their name" Kaz clarified.
"True, true…" Keita mumbled, part of him wishing the new student was spared their fate of having to deal with Mr. Kuroki. But alas, it was unavoidable.
After changing their shoes, the two walked up to their class and took their seats, hardly saying a word the whole time. Keita could feel Mr. Kuroki's glare the moment he walked in. "Great, off to a good start" He thought sarcastically.
The bell rang for the class to begin and Mr. Kuroki got up. "Alright everyone, listen up! I was told this morning we're getting a new student in our class today! Does anyone know where said student is?" The class collectively shrugged. "Figures…probably skipping cla-" He was cut off as a knock sounded at the door. "Come in" Mr. Kuroki said nonchalantly.
The door opened up and the student walked in. The student was a rather short girl, little taller than 5 feet with jagged neck-length black hair. She wore a uniform similar to Ryoko's, trading a skirt for long black pants. However, instead of a blazer over her shirt and tie, she wore a long black trench coat which seemed to billow and flutter outward with her every movement.
Mr. Kuroki was a bit stunned. "So, you're our new student, huh?"
She looked up at him with eyes of a striking crimson color. "Yes, and I apologize for my belated arrival to class" She spoke calmly, her voice was a bit low and she had a very formal way of speaking. She bowed to her teacher in respect, which seemed to impress him
"So, tell the class you're name" He insisted. She turned to the class.
"Good morning everyone, my name is Akira Nazuka. Pleased to meet you all" She said, her formal speaking exuding a slight sound of confidence.
"So she's the new student huh?" Kaz mumbled under his breath.
"Quite the articulate one" Keita thought impressed.
"There's a seat over there, go ahead and get ready" Mr. Kuroki informed her, pointing at the seat 2 seats to the right from Keita's.
Akira nodded and walked over to her seat, pulling out a notebook from her backpack. She couldn't help but feel the eyes of some of her peers looking at her, which unnerved her a bit. She managed to keep it hidden though, focusing on getting ready for class.
"Can anyone say badass?" A male student in the far back whispered.
"I know, so cool!"
"Dude I have never seen Mr. Kuroki go that easy on someone" A student by Keita whispered.
"I know, it's crazy" Another student replied in a hushed voice.
"Maybe he's not as bad as we cut him out to be…" Keita pondered.
"Does our little group of debaters feel like reciting the entirety of Catcher in the Rye by heart for us?" He demanded, irritated.
"And maybe a lawyer can kick a giant robot's ass in a fight" He thought sarcastically as he went back to his notes.
The lunch bell rang in what seemed like seconds to Keita, whom had been more occupied with drawing than listening to the lecture. He looked around the room but found no trace of Akira. "Hey Kaz, did you see her walk out?" Keita asked.
"Who…?"
"The new girl! Akira, I think her name was" Keita clarified.
"I think she walked down the hall that way" Kaz pointed to the leftmost door from where he sat. "Odd, since the lunch carts and cafeteria are the other way."
"Well, I'll check it out" Keita got up and made his way out.
"Um…okay" Kaz mumbled, shrugging since it seemed Keita volunteered to show her around.
Keita walked through the halls for a little while, thinking of where Akira could have gone off to. As he reached the 3rd floor, where the senior classes were, he noticed another flight of stairs. "Another floor…?" He questioned. He walked up the stairs and saw an unintelligible sign above it. In actuality, behind the door was the roof of the building. The first thing he noticed as he walked through was the view, which seemed so much higher than it looked from ground level. He swept his gaze and eventually noticed Akira sitting on the metal ventilation shaft, eating her lunch. As he walked towards her, she noticed him out of the corner of her eye. "Hey!" Keita greeted in a chipper tone.
Akira looked away from her food. "Hello…" She replied plainly.
"Hey, uh, I'm Keita Saeki. You know, from Mr. Kuroki's class?"
"Ah yes, you're the one Mr. Kuroki kept giving the stink eye towards" She replied coolly, closing her eyes as she took another bite of her food.
"S-so you noticed too, huh?" He laughed awkwardly before the conversation fell into silence.
"Is there something I can help you with?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Mind if I sit here?" He asked a bit abruptly.
"I see no harm in it" She shrugged. Keita plopped down on the makeshift seat.
"So, you like it here?" Keita asked, trying to start a conversation.
"I barely arrived this morning. I don't believe I've been here long enough to gather an opinion" She said frankly.
"Oh yeah, right. Well, I'm new here too. Well not as new, but this is barely my first week here" Keita enlightened her.
"Is that so?" She muttered.
"So, you got your living arrangements set up?" Keita asked, again out of the blue.
"Actually, no" She replied
"Huh?"
"They said I'll simply move into the dorm of the team I join. So it's my first priority to find one."
"Oh really…? Well, Akira-chan, I was told if you need to be shown around I'm the guy for the job" Keita informed her proudly.
"I'll keep that in mind" She nodded as she finished her meal. "But, please don't call me that"
"Huh?"
"I don't know you well enough for you to refer to me on a first name basis and the same applies to myself towards you" She asserted in a business-like voice.
"O-oh uh, I'm sorry" Keita apologized, feeling his mood drop.
"It's nothing personal, I assure you" She tried to clarify.
"Right, so uh, Nazuka-…san, right?" Keita corrected himself.
"Yes, thank you" The lunch bell rang throughout the building once more, signifying its end. "Class is about to start again. If you'll excuse me Saeki-san" Akira took her leave and left for class, Keita dragging behind her.
After a while, the school day had ended. Kaz turned around and saw Keita with his head resting atop his folded arms. "So Keita, how'd it go with Akira?" He asked awkwardly.
"Bleh…" Keita groaned into his sleeve.
"Uhhh…"
"Not good" He clarified.
"Ohhh…"
"Yeah, she didn't seem too interested when I asked her" Keita explained to him.
"Give it some time" Kaz suggested.
"Yeah…Say, let's get outta here" Keita got up from his seat, slinging his bag over his shoulder as Kaz followed him. Outside the building, the two found Akira sitting on bottom stair, contemplating in silence. However, the usual sounds of the campus were disrupted by, what could only be described as, the sound of an enormous herd stampeding in the direction of the building.
"What the…" Akira got up and looked to her left. Keita and Kaz followed her gaze and saw an absolutely enormous group of students heading right towards them.
"K-KAZ! What the hell is that?" Keita screamed, trying to be heard over the stampede. No reply. "Damn it Kaz! Now's not the time to be all stoi…Kaz?" Keita looked over his shoulder and saw Kaz face palming.
Akira's eyes widened, though she managed to not run away in terror, as many probably would seeing a giant group of people stampeding towards them.
The group was mostly male students, with a few female students dotting the group, yelling rowdily with white headbands acting as a uniform garment. They ran up to where Akira was, the girl growing increasingly worried by this.
"MEN! Separate!" A scruffy voice commanded from the middle of the crowd. On command the group moved to either side as the towering leader of the group walked up. His hair was shaggy and brown with a rather roughed up complexion, complete with bandage on his left cheek covering a, probably fake, wound. From the waist down he was dressed like any other student. But from the waist up, he wore a white karate gi with the sleeves roughly torn off.
"My god, it's like everything from the waist up got thrown into a blender with a kung fu movie" Keita thought to himself.
Akira blinked in confusion. "Can I help you?"
"Yes you can, Mistress of the Black Cloak!" He spoke proudly.
"I'm sorry, mistress of what?"
"Why your coat, of course" He pointed out with a hardy laugh. The mob he traveled with laughed along with him with a similar laughter. "I was told by one of my subordinates of your entrance to your first class. Truly being able to tame the raging demon that is Mr. Kuroki is a marvelous feat!" He praised her.
"I just spoke to him like a student should speak to an authority figure…" She downplayed the student's statement awkwardly.
"Nonsense! Your words show an inner strength. A fire in your heart that I see burning within you, subdued by the veil of conformity that wreathes your soul" He boomed with his group cheering behind him.
"Is this guy for real?" Keita mumbled, feeling a sweat drop roll down his head.
Suddenly, the scruffy student looked up and pointed towards the two. "YOU!" He roared.
"GAH!" Keita yelped.
"NO! NOT YOU!"
"Wait wah…?"
"He means me…" Kaz admitted.
"Huh, why?"
Kaz stepped down from the steps with his hands in his coat pockets and walked closer the student.
"Kazuhiro Ishimura! What are you doing here?" He yelled in anger.
"Just doing my studies, same as usual" Kaz replied calmly despite the auditory abuse his ears were receiving.
"So, who are you…?" Keita asked the noisy man.
"I am Akio Ashikaga, hot blooded leader of Team Sigma!" He bellowed, taking on some sort of martial arts stance while his mob clapped. "Now speak your name as well!"
"Me? I'm Keita Saeki" He introduced himself.
"What is your association with my sworn nemesis?" He demanded.
"Well…I'm a friend…"
"THEN YOU ARE MY ENEMY AS WELL!" He declared with a point of his finger.
"Huh? Wait a minute, what's your beef with Kaz?" Keita prodded.
"That man shamed our master in a karate tournament!" A group member yelled.
"He crushed his dream of being the regional champion!"
"You shamed me in front of my entire team!" He yelled.
"Tch, shamed? He didn't shame you, he simply beat you like the novice you are" A sharp voice spoke. It was Ryoko, walking down the stairs with a scowl on her face.
"Oh ho ho! Ryoko Ishida! So joyous to see your frigid glare once more" He bowed in a sarcastic display of respect.
Kaz's face twisted slightly for some reason. "So what are you talking about with the new girl?"
"Ah yes, Mistress of the Black Cloak…Ms…"
"Nazuka…"
"Ms. Nazuka, my team wishes to have you join our ranks. Together, we can shake this campus with the power of our spirits!" He declared.
"Um…well, uh…I don't really think…"
"Oh I insist! Team Sigma could use a person like you!"
"Join us!"
"Join us Mistress of the Black Cloak!" The group grew into an uproar.
Akira's brow furrowed with confusion. "Seriously, I'd rather no-…"
"Hold it right there!" A collection of voices demanded. Everyone turned to the path opposite of Team Sigma's. A large group, similar in size to Team Sigma came walking in an orderly march. All of them wore cloaks of different colors over their uniforms and hair in extravagant styles. Above them all, a person wearing a long blue Victorian evening gown and wide brimmed hat was seated in what could only be a throne held up by some of the group members. An umbrella hid her face.
"Psst, Kaz who's the lady" Keita asked quietly.
"Keita…about tha-…"
Suddenly, the figure jumped down from their throne and closed their umbrella. Team Sigma as a whole backed away with horrified looks on their faces. "Huh? Guys…? Guuuuys….? What's wrong?" Keita asked, alarmed. A very…odd giggle came from the person, Keita turning around from the sudden noise. "What in the…"
"Why hello there boys, fancy seeing you here!" Suddenly, the figure grabbed the edge of their hat and threw it aside, revealing their neck-length light pink hair. It turns out as revealed from the voice and lack of hat, the mystery woman wasn't a woman at all! The mystery student looked up, revealing he was a rather effeminate looking male student, wearing what was hopefully a disguise.
"THAT'S A DUDE? Keita screamed, backing away as well.
"Oui, ma cherie. I guess my beauty can lead to much confusion in the hearts of others. I don't blame you though" He said, giving Keita a flirtatious wink with a sky blue eye.
"BEAUTY? WHAT THE FU-!" Keita screamed, feeling his skin crawl.
"Men! Prepare for battle!" Akio announced urgently.
"Oh Aki-chan no need for violence. I merely came to speak with the girl" The pink haired boy ensured him, throwing aside the blue dress, uncovering his uniform, which to the joy of many, was a boys uniform.
"H-huh…? Me?" Akira asked, alarmed and a bit horrified.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Akio screamed, his brows furrowing in what could only described as fear.
"This guy scares me more than super macho man over there…" Keita whispered to Kaz.
"You're telling me…" Kaz shuddered.
"And you are…? Miss…ter…?" Akira corrected herself mid-sentence.
"Ah yes I apologize, where are my manners? I am…"
"CREEPY!" A group of Team Sigma interrupted from the middle crowd.
His eye twitched momentarily, before a smile spread across his lips. "Excuse me, but would the opinionated young man like to have a personal visit to my dorm room later this evening? I'll have my team escort you personal-…"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Then be a doll and pipe down. Now as I was saying I am Reijiro Aihara, leader of Team Lambda" He revealed.
"I…see" Akira mumbled, her eyes darting back and forth, trying to find a way out of her current predicament.
"So what do you say? How about you join me, ma belle?" Reijiro proposed, speaking in a hushed, almost seductive tone.
"E-e-eh?" Akira exclaimed, sounding a bit flustered.
"Hell no! You are not taking our Mistress of the Black Cloak!" Akio snapped.
"I told you, my name is Nazuka!" Akira shouted.
"Well I don't see your name on her, Aki-chan" Reijiro retorted.
"I don't see yours either!" Akio stepped forward, his fists seemingly ready for combat.
"Now, now, I don't think we need to debate about this. Its obvious Ms. Nazuka would not wish to join a group of meatheads like the lot of you. Right, Ms Nazuka?" Reijiro tone went from condescending to cheerful as he spoke to Akira.
"MEATHEADS, MEATHEADS EVERYWHERE!" Team Lambda chanted.
"Huh? Well uhhh…" Akira was growing more and more nervous over the whole situation.
"NO! Ms. Nazuka, you must join us! Pay no mind to this pack of weirdos!"
"Guys…?" Kaz mumbled.
"You're one to talk, Mr. 'Too busy fighting to bathe'!"
"Guys…!"
"I have more important things to do! And how would you know about my bathing habits!"
"Because I smell you from a mile away!"
"GUYS!" Kaz finally spoke up in a loud booming shout.
"WHAT?" Team Sigma and Lambda responded.
"She's running…" Kaz groaned. The two teams looked to where Akira was before only to see a cloud of dust as she ran away.
"Idiots…" Ryoko groaned as she walked off nonchalantly.
Meanwhile, much to Akira's horror the crowd of students began to give chase, running after her like she was fresh game. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Stop Ms. Nazuka! No need to run from your friends!" Akio informed loudly.
"Please ma belle, come to us!" Reijiro pleaded desperately.
"Will you guys back off? You guys are making her run!" Keita shouted.
After running through some halls and taking as many corners as possible, Akira finally found refuge behind one of the college class buildings. She fell to her knees, her hand to her chest as her breath became heaving and shallow. The yelling of Team Sigma, Lambda and the two members of Alpha could be heard in the distance.
"Crazy people…I'm surrounded by crazy people" Akira groaned, exhausted. Akira froze as she heard footsteps walking towards her location. "Noooo…" She curled into a ball and tried to keep herself out of view.
"Anyone there?" A female voice spoke. The footsteps grew closer. "Oh hey, what're you doing back here?" The girl spoke.
"Hiding…" Akira answered frankly.
"From who?" The girl asked.
"Everyone…"
"Wait…you wouldn't happen to be…?"
"Akira Nazuka, yes. I arrived this morning."
"Ah cool, I'm Marina Tsujimoto, nice to meetcha!"
"Shhhhh! They'll hear you!" Akira commanded in a hushed voice. The sound of the stampede converged on their location. "Too late…"
"Ah don't worry about them. Come on" Marina pulled the other girl up, causing her to yelp as she was startled by the sudden motion. Marina had to practically drag Akira by the arm since she was trying to pull away, her heels leaving trails in the ground.
"Noooooo…" Akira groaned.
"There she is!" Akio shouted as his team cheered behind him.
"There you are!" Reijiro cheered.
"Marina-senpai!" Keita and Kaz shouted.
"Well, it seems you're a hot item on your first day. You're pretty lucky" Marina chuckled.
"Not the way I see it…" Akira grumbled, yanking her arm from Marina's grasp.
"Oh come on, relax! You gonna join any of them?"
"Well…"
"If I'd suggest, those two are part of Team Alpha like me" Marina spoke in a persuasive tone as she signaled towards Keita and Kaz.
"Are they as bad as the other two?" Akira asked.
"Other two? Oh noooo, they're harmless compared to Akio and Reijiro" Marina ensured her.
"I can hear yoooou!" Reijiro yelled, offended.
"We're harmless! Aren't we men?" Akio asked his team who agreed with him as they all made phony gentle bows.
"Whatever you say, karate man" Keita sneered in his head.
"It's settled then, I'm joining Team Alpha" Akira yelled resolute, feeling the stress from before push off from her.
"What seriously? Awesome, welcome aboard!" Keita cheered with a closed-eyed grin.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" Team Sigma and Team Lambda screamed at the top of their lungs.
"You have stolen our maiden from us! You will rue this day you two! RUUUUUUE IT I tell you!" Akio bellowed as he pointed at them indignantly before his group grabbed him and all marched away, his point unceasing even as they carried him up over their heads.
"Hmph, come on boys let's leave. We've been exposed to enough of these meatheads for one day. Au revoir, till we meet again" Reijiro bid Team Alpha adieu with a bow before he and his group all left.
"What just…happened?" Akira asked, dumbfounded.
"You got your team, like you were saying earlier!" Keita informed her in an ever chipper tone.
"As long as you're not like those two, I see no problems in the near future" Akira spoke, regaining her composure completely.
Marina felt Kaz tap her shoulder before he crouched slightly and whispered "You sure about this?"
"Yeah, I think she'll do fine. I scanned her Persona during the whole commotion. She'll balance out rather nicely" Marina confirmed with confidence.
"Good…" Kaz sighed in relief.
"Well, I guess we'll have to help our new teammate with moving her stuff" Keita shouted to get Kaz and Marina's attention.
"Right! C'mon Kaz" Marina signaled.
"N-no, I'm fine. Honestly, I can do this on my own" Akira insisted.
"No, no, I insist! We can help!" Marina sided with Keita.
"Well, someone's gonna have to do the heavy lifting" Keita said, unenthused by the thought.
"Yeah…" Marina scratched the back of her head.
"NOT IT!"
"NOT IT!"
"Wait wha-?" Kaz wondered, confused.
"Too bad, big guy!" Keita said as he and Marina chuckled.
"Hey, no fair!" Kaz objected over their laughter.
"This will be…a most interesting school year" Akira sighed, chuckling softly.
"You don't have anything too heavy, do you?" Kaz sublimely prayed that she would say no.
"I have a computer and a few books…" Akira answered, rubbing her neck awkwardly.
"Damn it, just my luck…hey wait up!" Kaz ran after Keita with Marina and Akira following shortly behind them.
Meanwhile, Principal Izumi looked down on them from a window in his office, chuckling softly before closing his curtain and sitting down. "Four members already, huh? Fate must be smiling on you, Mr. Saeki" He thought as he chuckled with a smile on his face.
….
Authors Note: I'm terribly sorry this chapter took so long to come out. For a while I had a bad case of writers block. School didn't exactly help either, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to releasing chapters at the latest once a week. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, if not for action than at least for comedy :D Also I apologize if anyone finds Reijiro's French a bit off, I don't speak French naturally and had to use different references and translation sites to try and get the words to match what he meant ._.
I greatly appreciate any reviews I can get and hopefully many others will enjoy my story as well.