PROLOGUE
Most tales begin with "It was a dark and stormy night". At the beginning of this particular drama, it was indeed dark, but it was not particularly stormy. The night was quite peaceful, in fact. It was a little wet; a gentle rain fell, providing a soft background melody for the sleeping citizens of the city. But for those that didn't sleep, it was either an inconvenience. or a sheltering shroud, blurring their movements and drowning out the sound of their footfalls.
The raucous, harsh music of a nightclub poured into the night and was immediately muffled as a heavy metal door swung open and then shut again. Two figures huddled together under a magazine they held over their heads, giggling and whispering as they bumped into each other.
"Man, that place was a trip!" The first girl, a young teenager of about 15, whispered enthusiastically to her friend, an older teen who wore heavy makeup and a very short skirt. Both girls staggered a little, their heads spinning from the drinks they'd consumed in the club, courtesy of fake ID's. The older teenager didn't seem to be making much sense of the world, everything was a giddy rush of color, and she seemed able to communicate to her younger friend only in high pitched giggles. It would be a good assumption that an illegal substance of some nature had been consumed in the club.
"Whaddya wanna do now?" The first girl asked as their course veered off the slick sidewalk, staggering into the street. It was fortunate for them that there were no cars on the street at this late hour. Or perhaps, in the long run, it was more unfortunate. The two girls were too inebriated to realize they were being followed. Even if they were sober they might not have detected the soft, cat-like precision of the footsteps only a few yards behind them.
The older girl babbled something about another club, as the two of them ran into an alley, ducking under the shelter of a slanted rooftop that jutted out above it. The 15 year old took cigarettes from her purse and lit both, offering one to her high friend, who took it and waved it around absently, not really even paying attention to it.
"Man, I gotta pee. we need to find someplace else to go," The younger girl continued as she took a drag off her cigarette. "Jeeze, girl, what did that guy give you in there? You're all goofy and stuff." Both girls burst into fits of giggles at this.
"Oh. damn." The older girl complained, one of the first lucid things she'd said since they left the club. She'd waved her cigarette a little too wildly and some rain drops managed to fall on it, making it go out.
"No big, here, I got more." The younger girl took out her lighter, but she fumbled with it and dropped it in a puddle. "Shit!"
As she bent down to pick it up, she lost her balance and fell forward into the puddle. Her stoned friend found this to be exceedingly hilarious, and she ended up falling on her behind, she was laughing so hard.
"Bitch," The first girl growled, throwing a fistful of dirty water at her friend, who continued to laugh hysterically. As she stood up shakily, she became aware of the tall, dark figure standing by them. "Oh, hey. you got a light, mister?" She asked, blinking, her eyes bleary from the alcohol and the rain. She could not quite make out the figure, but she was sure it was male. he was tall, with broad shoulders, anyway. "Have we met before? Were ya in the club?" She cast a sidelong glance at her friend, who had quieted and seemed to fall into something of a stupor. ".Did you follow me out here?"
Most women would be frightened by the thought of being followed by a stranger down a dark alley, but this teenager was not particularly bright even before a round of drink and drugs. She grinned, sidling up to the stranger, her head seeming to swim even faster now. The man said nothing, but stared at the girl's face intently.
Déjà vu is described as the sensation of having seen someone or been to a place before, when you in fact have not. It is a pretty natural phenomenon. usually, it means nothing, but in some cases, it can be very significant. This was one such case, as the girl suddenly seemed quite a bit more lucent. She backed away from the silent man, shaking a little as she groped behind herself for her friend.
"Ch.Chieko? We have to go." She hissed, but her friend had since passed out where she sat, propped against the wall of the alley. "Chieko?!"
".I'm sorry," The man said softly, his voice suddenly seeming very loud to the girl, though she actually barely heard it over the rain. From beneath his long coat, the girl caught a glimpse of a long, glinting steel blade. As the girl turned to flee, stumbling and nearly falling in a puddle, he sighed and followed her, making little effort to hurry. After all, he'd studied the alley earlier, and it was a dead end.
The girl didn't get far, as the man had surmised. He found her sprawled in a pile of overturned trash cans, her head bruised from where she'd ran into the wall at the end of the alley. She moaned slightly as she rolled over, dazed. She looked up at the man with clouded, yet somehow soulful eyes.
".Are you going to rape me?" She asked, her voice shaking a little.
The man shook his head. ".No. Just kill you."
He could see straight through her eyes into her soul. He could see her inner self. her Persona, lurking inside the shell of a misguided teenager, battling the effects of the drugs and alcohol running like wildfire through her system, waking her up.
.He could not allow that to happen.
A sudden wind kicked up in the narrow allow, throwing the foul, stale air around wildly, bits of garbage flying through the air. The man was almost pushed back. This girl's Persona was rather strong.
But, it was not quite strong enough, and not fast enough.
"Mafui!" He shouted, throwing out his left hand, gritting his teeth as the spell was channeled outward from his fingertips, purplish energy striking the girl. Her body jerked as she let out a cry, the wind dying down almost instantly. He had Muted her. the Persona would not be able to emerge as long as the spell held its effect. .If only his magic were stronger, then he wouldn't have to kill her.
It was over with one clean, lightning quick slash of the kitana the stranger had been hiding under his coat. Blood hit the wall of the alley in a neat arc, looking a bit like graffiti from a spray can, as the girl's body slumped to the floor of the alley, her head landing with a dull thud somewhere nearby. The man shook his head, wiping the blood off the blade onto the girl's skimpy dress.
".So young. just a baby, really." He looked up at the full moon, glaring at the fleeting form of a golden butterfly he thought he saw, silhouetted against it. ".But no matter how young they are, I will not let you have a single one of them, Philemon. I'll kill anyone I find with a Persona. even if the shores of this country will have to run red with blood when I'm done."
A muffled scream from behind him caught his attention. He whipped around, eyes narrowing at the sight of the friend of the girl he'd just killed, leaning against the wall of the alley, barely standing on her shaking legs. Vomit discolored the front of her leopard print halter top, and she was staring at him with wide, wild and frigthened eyes.
"Y-y-you k-killed her.. You killed Harumi!!" She cried, her voice a mix of anger and faint disbelief. "Why'd you do that, she never did anything to anyone."
The man shook his head. If only the girl had stayed passed out a few more moments, she might live to possibly sober up one day. But now, she would have to die, too. The blood of an innocent would accompany the blood of a fledgling Persona user tonight.
Most tales begin with "It was a dark and stormy night". At the beginning of this particular drama, it was indeed dark, but it was not particularly stormy. The night was quite peaceful, in fact. It was a little wet; a gentle rain fell, providing a soft background melody for the sleeping citizens of the city. But for those that didn't sleep, it was either an inconvenience. or a sheltering shroud, blurring their movements and drowning out the sound of their footfalls.
The raucous, harsh music of a nightclub poured into the night and was immediately muffled as a heavy metal door swung open and then shut again. Two figures huddled together under a magazine they held over their heads, giggling and whispering as they bumped into each other.
"Man, that place was a trip!" The first girl, a young teenager of about 15, whispered enthusiastically to her friend, an older teen who wore heavy makeup and a very short skirt. Both girls staggered a little, their heads spinning from the drinks they'd consumed in the club, courtesy of fake ID's. The older teenager didn't seem to be making much sense of the world, everything was a giddy rush of color, and she seemed able to communicate to her younger friend only in high pitched giggles. It would be a good assumption that an illegal substance of some nature had been consumed in the club.
"Whaddya wanna do now?" The first girl asked as their course veered off the slick sidewalk, staggering into the street. It was fortunate for them that there were no cars on the street at this late hour. Or perhaps, in the long run, it was more unfortunate. The two girls were too inebriated to realize they were being followed. Even if they were sober they might not have detected the soft, cat-like precision of the footsteps only a few yards behind them.
The older girl babbled something about another club, as the two of them ran into an alley, ducking under the shelter of a slanted rooftop that jutted out above it. The 15 year old took cigarettes from her purse and lit both, offering one to her high friend, who took it and waved it around absently, not really even paying attention to it.
"Man, I gotta pee. we need to find someplace else to go," The younger girl continued as she took a drag off her cigarette. "Jeeze, girl, what did that guy give you in there? You're all goofy and stuff." Both girls burst into fits of giggles at this.
"Oh. damn." The older girl complained, one of the first lucid things she'd said since they left the club. She'd waved her cigarette a little too wildly and some rain drops managed to fall on it, making it go out.
"No big, here, I got more." The younger girl took out her lighter, but she fumbled with it and dropped it in a puddle. "Shit!"
As she bent down to pick it up, she lost her balance and fell forward into the puddle. Her stoned friend found this to be exceedingly hilarious, and she ended up falling on her behind, she was laughing so hard.
"Bitch," The first girl growled, throwing a fistful of dirty water at her friend, who continued to laugh hysterically. As she stood up shakily, she became aware of the tall, dark figure standing by them. "Oh, hey. you got a light, mister?" She asked, blinking, her eyes bleary from the alcohol and the rain. She could not quite make out the figure, but she was sure it was male. he was tall, with broad shoulders, anyway. "Have we met before? Were ya in the club?" She cast a sidelong glance at her friend, who had quieted and seemed to fall into something of a stupor. ".Did you follow me out here?"
Most women would be frightened by the thought of being followed by a stranger down a dark alley, but this teenager was not particularly bright even before a round of drink and drugs. She grinned, sidling up to the stranger, her head seeming to swim even faster now. The man said nothing, but stared at the girl's face intently.
Déjà vu is described as the sensation of having seen someone or been to a place before, when you in fact have not. It is a pretty natural phenomenon. usually, it means nothing, but in some cases, it can be very significant. This was one such case, as the girl suddenly seemed quite a bit more lucent. She backed away from the silent man, shaking a little as she groped behind herself for her friend.
"Ch.Chieko? We have to go." She hissed, but her friend had since passed out where she sat, propped against the wall of the alley. "Chieko?!"
".I'm sorry," The man said softly, his voice suddenly seeming very loud to the girl, though she actually barely heard it over the rain. From beneath his long coat, the girl caught a glimpse of a long, glinting steel blade. As the girl turned to flee, stumbling and nearly falling in a puddle, he sighed and followed her, making little effort to hurry. After all, he'd studied the alley earlier, and it was a dead end.
The girl didn't get far, as the man had surmised. He found her sprawled in a pile of overturned trash cans, her head bruised from where she'd ran into the wall at the end of the alley. She moaned slightly as she rolled over, dazed. She looked up at the man with clouded, yet somehow soulful eyes.
".Are you going to rape me?" She asked, her voice shaking a little.
The man shook his head. ".No. Just kill you."
He could see straight through her eyes into her soul. He could see her inner self. her Persona, lurking inside the shell of a misguided teenager, battling the effects of the drugs and alcohol running like wildfire through her system, waking her up.
.He could not allow that to happen.
A sudden wind kicked up in the narrow allow, throwing the foul, stale air around wildly, bits of garbage flying through the air. The man was almost pushed back. This girl's Persona was rather strong.
But, it was not quite strong enough, and not fast enough.
"Mafui!" He shouted, throwing out his left hand, gritting his teeth as the spell was channeled outward from his fingertips, purplish energy striking the girl. Her body jerked as she let out a cry, the wind dying down almost instantly. He had Muted her. the Persona would not be able to emerge as long as the spell held its effect. .If only his magic were stronger, then he wouldn't have to kill her.
It was over with one clean, lightning quick slash of the kitana the stranger had been hiding under his coat. Blood hit the wall of the alley in a neat arc, looking a bit like graffiti from a spray can, as the girl's body slumped to the floor of the alley, her head landing with a dull thud somewhere nearby. The man shook his head, wiping the blood off the blade onto the girl's skimpy dress.
".So young. just a baby, really." He looked up at the full moon, glaring at the fleeting form of a golden butterfly he thought he saw, silhouetted against it. ".But no matter how young they are, I will not let you have a single one of them, Philemon. I'll kill anyone I find with a Persona. even if the shores of this country will have to run red with blood when I'm done."
A muffled scream from behind him caught his attention. He whipped around, eyes narrowing at the sight of the friend of the girl he'd just killed, leaning against the wall of the alley, barely standing on her shaking legs. Vomit discolored the front of her leopard print halter top, and she was staring at him with wide, wild and frigthened eyes.
"Y-y-you k-killed her.. You killed Harumi!!" She cried, her voice a mix of anger and faint disbelief. "Why'd you do that, she never did anything to anyone."
The man shook his head. If only the girl had stayed passed out a few more moments, she might live to possibly sober up one day. But now, she would have to die, too. The blood of an innocent would accompany the blood of a fledgling Persona user tonight.