Forgive me! Iyou guys know I don't deserve this! At least have a heart! Do you not know of mercy? I shall pay recompense for my lacking in updates! Okay, now that's out of the way, I'll shut up now.
Chapter 14
This old school / New accommodations
April 17, 2021; Monday
(Morning)
Kyuto High, Classroom B-2
Kazuhiko walked up to his seat and set his stuff down with Johei right behind him. The gang had decided to take a break from their excursions to the Mirror Dimension due to their abundance in school work. Mr. Ozuma walked into the classroom and started the day off with a long and boring lecture.
"It was around this time that Europe had began to colonize America, but there was no gold there as originally planned…"
Johei sighed as he laid his head down on his desk.
"Dude, how can American history get anymore boring?" Johei whispered.
"Shut up, he'll hear us." Kazuhiko whispered back.
"I see that you seem preoccupied in something, Kazuhiko?"
Kazuhiko cursed as he turned his head back to Mr. Ozuma.
"Answer me this, What was the cash crop that Virginia grew that attracted more settlers?"
"Tobacco." Kazuhiko answered quickly and felt the pressure lifted from his shoulders.
"Correct. Now, the king of England originally…" Mr. Ozuma droned on as he turned to face the chalkboard.
Johei decided to sneak another whisper.
"How do you think Daichi's been doing by himself for the past week?"
"It seems that side conversations are becoming a plague in this classroom! Johei! What were the cash crops of the English colonies in Brazil?"
Johei struggled with the answer as he tried to stall for time.
"Well… it was pretty hot in Brazil… I mean, I know because of the Olympics… the only crop there would have to be…"
Loki signaled Johei as he flashed the answer on his screen.
"Marijuana!" Johei answered confidently.
The entire class erupted with laughter except for Kazuhiko, who facepalmed, Tyr, who asked what marijuana was, and Mr. Ozuma who glared at Johei.
"Well, if you have no clue about my lessons and you so intend to choose to ignore it, maybe the janitor can help you out after class." He said as he wrote down a reminder for later.
Johei sank into his desk while he glared at Loki who was still laughing.
"You actually believed me?! That is just too much! Of course they didn't grow marijuana, they grew cocaine plants!"
Kazuhiko sighed to himself, half disappointed in Johei's lack of knowledge, half amused of Loki's humor.
(Lunchtime)
"I heard of your answer in History today, Johei. Why did you trust him on that?" Mikan asked as the group sat on the rooftop.
Johei sighed as he took a bite of his bread.
"I was desperate! I don't study History, you know that! It's a waste of time anyways; What do we even need it for anyways?"
Tyr looked offended by this.
"How dare you! Recordings of the past have a great role to play in your lives! Why, Mr. Ozuma's teachings of this 'Bacon's Rebellion' clearly shows how you must stand up to authorities who take advantage of you! I thought you would have the most benefit from this!"
Kazuhiko and Mikan snickered while Loki had another fit of laughing.
"Yeah! He definitely needs to learn that! Nice one!" Loki said as he extended his hand to Tyr.
"What?" Tyr asked, confusedly.
"It's a high five."
"I heard that the thumb as an actual finger"
"Just slap my hand"
"Is it customary to hurt other's hands?"
Loki sighed as he withdrew his hand.
"Killjoy" He muttered.
Skadi rolled her eyes at them, or at least it appeared so; It's hard to see when the person doesn't have pupils.
"Still" Mikan said, "You have to start paying attention more or else we won't have enough time after school for explorations."
Johei waved his hand as he finished the rest of his bread.
"Fine, I will. Hey Kaz, can you help me later?"
Kazuhiko froze for a moment.
Okay ,he thought, if I spend time with Johei, I can bet that I'll run into Mr. Seijimura.
"Uh, Kaz?"
Mr. Seijimura's part of the Hermit arcana so spending time with him will boost my chances of fusing strong Personas of that arcana.
"Kaz? You awake or something?"
I should take advantage of this opportunity to bond with him.
"Kaz!"
Kazuhiko was brought back into the real world with a start.
"Yeah, sure. I'll help you out." he said as he stood up.
Johei raised his eyebrow at him while Mikan gave him a worried look.
"You sure are weird, dude."
(Afterschool)
"Alright then, boys. Just fetch me that wastebasket over there and we're done for today." Mr. Seijimura said.
Kazuhiko picked up the wastebasket and emptied it's contents into the large trash can. Johei braced his hands behind his head and sighed.
"We're finally done…" He said.
Mr. Seijimura chuckled to himself when he saw Johei easily tired out from doing his daily job.
"You think that's tough? Try doing everyday minus the weekend."
"Your strength is pitiful. How are you supposed to fight shadows in your current state?" Skadi said.
Mikan had left Skadi near them so she would keep tabs on the two. Johei glared at Skadi as he let his arms fall.
"Well, you boys can go home now. Make sure to get a good night's rest." Mr. Seijimura said as he pushed the trash can to the back of the school.
Johei picked up his bag and took a quick drink from his water bottle.
"You ready to go?" Johei asked Kazuhiko.
Kazuhiko shook his head as he took off his gloves.
"Nah, I should go help him a bit more. You can go ahead."
Johei shrugged as he walked to the front of the school with Loki and Skadi. Kazuhiko grabbed his backpack and followed the janitor. Mr. Seijimura noticed Kazuhiko following him and stepped to make room in the hallway.
"Oh, you want to help some more?" He asked.
Kazuhiko nodded as he took the trashcan from Mr. Seijimura's hands and rolled it to the dumpster behind the gym.
"Mr. Seijimura, how long have you worked here?"
The old janitor mulled things over before answering.
"I'd have to say about 30 years. 'Course I was hired because I used to be a student here; The principal and I were on good terms with each other."
Kazuhiko nodded as he emptied the trashcan.
"You were a student here?"
Mr. Seijimura nodded.
"Yep. Ever since it opened. I'd say though, this place had seen better days."
Kazuhiko set the trashcan down on the cart and leaned on it while listening to the wizened janitor talk.
"It was a nice place here. Some of the best memories I had were in these hallways; I even met my late wife for the first time here. Over the years, though, the school starting losing money, this was after I graduated of course, but it's still here standing and teaching students everyday like it should."
Mr. Seijimura smiled as he imagined the hallways as they were before.
"There used to be tables over there that promoted the clubs and the lockers were brand new and had a good coat of paint. That water fountain used to work quite well, in fact the best one here before it got jammed."
The old janitor sighed happily as he reminisced of his young days as a teenager, not realizing that the sun had began to set.
"Oh, I shouldn't keep you here for so long. Now go straight home, alright?"
Kazuhiko nodded as he followed Mr. Seijimura to the front gates which he locked and waved goodbye to him. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he felt a part of him grow stronger, the side of him that had gained experience over age.
"He sure is a kind old man. He also cares a great deal about this school as well, even though it's quite damaged." Tyr said, his gaze falling on the roughed up school of Kyuto High.
Kazuhiko looked at the school as well, trying to picture what it looked like when it had first opened.
"I know, right? He works really hard to keep this place clean, I wonder why he chose to do this than something else."
Realizing that he should probably get back home, Kazuhiko made his way back to the hotel.
8:27 PM
(Evening)
Mirror Dimension; Daichi's House
"So, I have both of you as my Personas, huh?" Daichi asked Hugin and Munin.
"Indeed." Hugin cawed.
"We are-" Mugin said.
"The informants-"
"Of Odin-"
"Himself" Hugin finished.
Daichi slightly rubbed his forehead.
"… And you guys finish each other's sentences?"
"We must"
"Be completely"
"Coordinated"
"To relay"
"Messages to"
"Our lord"
Daichi felt a slight migraine coming on in his head. Just talking to the two felt quite painfull and even annoying at times. They weren't troublesome like Loki was, in fact, they respected him entirely, but their naiveness was getting on his nerves.
"You guys really are a part of me. I wonder why have two…"
True, Kazuhiko could wield more than one Persona while everyone else only had one, but Daichi seemed to be an exception to the common rules.
"Master" Munin cawed.
"If I may be so bold, perhaps you forged another personality when you thought you were a shadow?"
Daichi thought for a moment.
"Well, I did feel like I had some of that child in me when I thought I was a shadow. I believed that Daichi was an entirely different person; That without Daichi, there would be no Hayabusa. Now that I know that I am Daichi, it feels as if I'm still Hayabusa. You could be right."
All the thinking that he did was suddenly stopped by the major headache that he had, most likely caused by all the information he had to digest in that day; It wasn't everyday that you thought that you were an entity that was meant to screw up people's minds and find out that you were actually human yourself. Daichi wondered how he was even alive in the Mirror Dimension.
Deciding that he wouldn't get anywhere in his tired state, he hit the sack.
"Well guys, I'm gonna sleep. Wake me up if something's happening, alright?"
Hugin and Munin both nodded.
"Very well, sire."
"At the first notice"
"We shall alert you"
"Effective of immediately"
Daichi shut his eyes as he flopped onto the couch.
10:20 PM
"Master Daichi!"
"There is a strange noise emanating from this shelter!"
"There could be an intruder!"
Daichi woke up with a start and grabbed his rapier when he heard the house creaking.
"It's just the house settling down. It's nothing" He said annoyingly as he went back to sleep.
"Understood!"
10:43 PM
"Master Daichi! The step just creaked when I stepped on it!"
"There could be an intruder underneath it!"
"Just a creaky stair. Ignore it."
11:33 PM
"Master Daichi! This cylinder is humming quite loudly!"
"It could be hiding an enemy! It reads 'Water Heater: Do not touch'."
"Brother, that sounds suspicious!"
"Standing by to attack!"
Daichi jumped out of bed quickly.
"Wait! WAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT!"
"Mudo!"
"Hama!"
BOOM!
Daichi's house crashed down on him as he jumped out the window narrowly missing the window frame as it collapsed. Hugin and Munin passed through the debris unharmed.
"Master Daichi!"
"We neutralized the target!"
"It must have been carrying a bomb!"
"You just destroyed my house!"
"Think nothing of our support."
"We do not require any thanks to be of service of you."
"All of my stuff was in there!"
"Such trivial objects mean nothing more than protecting you."
"Had we not apprehended the vile enemy inside the water heater, you would have died."
"There was no enemy in the water heater! It blew up because you attacked it!"
"So the water heater was the enemy itself?"
"You never realized it tried to kill you?"
"Congratulations brother!"
"We just succeeded in drawing out a potential traitor!"
"AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"
1:04 AM
Johei's Apartment
"pipipipipipipipipipi!" Johei's phone rang.
Johei put the pillow over his head as the phone rang louder.
"Loki, stop it. It's not funny."
Loki groggily turned on his monitor that showed an old Windows loading screen before it showed his tired face.
"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything?"
Johei took off the pillow and glared at his Persona.
"I'm serious, Loki. I've got school in the morning. Stop calling my phone."
Johei picked up his phone to silence it only to notice that Daichi was calling him. Loki loomed to the screen to see who it was.
"Why the hell is Daichi calling you right now? Wait, is his picture a chicken?! HAHAHAHA!"
Johei rolled his eyes as he answered the phone.
"Hey, Daichi, why are you calling me right… What? … They did what?… Uh, okay… Yeah, I can spare some room… Okay, bye."
Johei hung up the phone and got out of bed and looked around for something. Loki looked annoyed as he tried to go back to sleep.
"What did he call for anyways. And can you be more quiet?" Loki said.
Johei shook his head as he opened his closet.
"Hugin and Munin blew up his house when they attacked the water heater. He's bedding here tonight. If only I could find that damned spare futon…"
Johei dug in his dark closet but it was no use. So he walked to the door and turned on the light.
"Hhiiissssssss!" Loki said as he ducked under the bed, his monitor changing to a picture of a snake.
Johei scoffed at Loki while wincing at the sudden brightness of the light and pulled the futon out of his closet. He set it on the ground with a spare blanket and pillow until he heard a faint knocking at his door.
"That'll be them. I'll be right back. Don't mess up anything." Johei said as he went to the front door.
Loki, being annoyed by the light, turned it off and set his monitor to "sleep" mode. Johei opened the door so Daichi could come in, Hugin and Munin right behind him.
"Thanks for letting me stay. I was too vulnerable in the Mirror Dimension without a house so I guess I'm living with you until I find better accommodations."
Johei nodded as he yawned then realized what he agreed to.
"Wait, hold it, you're staying here?!"
Daichi nodded as he made his way to the futon on the ground.
"Yep, until I find somewhere else I can live, I'm stuck with you."
"But, you can't stay here. The government only gives right for myself to live here! I don't have enough food to let you live here!" Johei retorted.
Hugin bumped his beak into Johei's shoulder.
"Sir, I believe that your house is in danger."
Munin nodded.
"Indeed. Under our inspection, we found another dangerous water heater. We believe that it might plan on betraying you as well."
Johei sighed as he explained what the water heater did.
"So" Munin started.
"It heats your water and doesn't do anything as long as you don't disturb it?"
Johei nodded.
"That's right. Just don't touch it."
"But what if it makes the water too hot and scalds you in the shower?" Hugin asked.
"Is it keeping you imprisoned?" Munin asked.
"No, I can control how hot the water gets." Johei explained.
"So you keep it enslaved?" Munin asked.
"Such cruelty! Brother, we must liberate it from it's imprisonment!"
"Quite right, brother! Attack the slave owner!"
"Viva la Revolution!"
Daichi sighed.
"This is going to be a long night."
April 18, 2021; Tuesday
7:02 AM
Kyuto High; Front gates
Kazuhiko walked to the gates while chatting with Mikan.
"I wonder how Daichi's faring. I mean, he's human so he should be able to get in this side, right?" Mikan said.
"Well, I wouldn't be too worried about the living conditions. I'm more worried how he can live with his Personas.
Tyr shook his head.
"I believe that the Crow Brothers will not bring trouble to him. They were servants of Odin and show utter respect to anyone. Someone of Daichi's status would be treated as a king by those two."
Skadi seemed worried nonetheless.
"Sure they are sophisticated and more respectful than Loki, but they know not of this world very much."
Kazuhiko took these facts into thought and shook his head.
"Well, let's visit him after school."
"No need. He already moved in with me."
All four of them turned around to see Johei and Loki with a tired look on their faces. Mikan took note of this rather quickly.
"Geez, what happened to you? And what do you mean he moved in with you?"
Loki cleared his throat.
"Well, it seems Johei here is a yaoi boy and decided to invite Daichi to his house to-"
WHAM!
Skadi hit Loki over the head with her bow.
"Thanks for that. Anyways, long story short, Hugin and Munin blew up Daichi's house so he called me so he could have a place to sleep. As for my looks, let's say that those two birds kept me up."
Kazuhiko felt sorry for his friend and made a mental note to buy him an energy drink later. Right now, however, they needed to get to class. Waving goodbye to Mikan, the two walked into Mr. Ozuma's class just before the bell rang and took their seats.
"Oh, just out of curiosity" Kazhuiko said.
"What's he doing now? He doesn't seem one to be cooped up in a house."
Johei shrugged.
"After I woke up, he said he was going to the city to find some other place to stay. Not sure where he is though."
Nuzoko Shopping District
Same time
"Hm, looks like there isn't really any other places I can rent. I don't have a lot of money so looks like I'm staying with Johei for a while until I get a job." Daichi muttered to himself.
He stood in front of a bakery while using his phone to check up areas that had board and breakfast. Hugin and Munin were perched on chairs looking guilty.
"Please forgive us master!"
"We didn't know that it wasn't alive!"
"We were concerned of your well-being!"
"Please don't be angry with us!"
Daichi sighed as he put his phone down.
"Don't worry. It's fine you two. Just don't do it again. Wouldn't want to risk getting kicked out of another house."
"Hey! Shouldn't you be in school?"
Daichi turned around to see a police officer walking towards him.
"Aw crap." He muttered to himself.
7:45 AM
Kyuto High; Classroom B-2
Mr. Ozuma had left the classroom for some reason and told the students to study in his absence. Johei leaned to Kazuhiko and talked to him.
"You have any idea what's going on?"
Kazuhiko shook his head as he continued to read his notes. Mr. Ozuma walked in and called for everyone's attention.
"Sorry for barging in, but it has come to my attention that we have a late transfer student with us today! Come on in, son."
A boy walked in and immediately, all the girls stared in awe at his appearance. He had medium length, slightly red hair with long bangs at the front. He was decently tall at a height of 5' 7" and looked slim yet had a slight build. He looked slightly pale but had a clean face nearly immune to acne. His eyes dark brown and he faced the class.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Daichi Amasawa. Pleased to me-"
"DAICHI?!" Johei yelled as he stood up from his desk.
Daichi nodded to Johei in a calm manner.
"Yes, hello Johei."
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
Mr. Ozuma frowned at Johei and he immediately sat down. After his introduction, Daichi took a seat near Kazuhiko and Johei while their classmates started to talk amongst themselves.
"There are so many new transfer students this year."
"He looks so hot! Should I ask him out?"
"I wanted to ask him out first!"
The class realized that Mr. Ozuma was glaring at them and quickly shut up as he continued their lesson.
(Lunchtime)
Kyuto High; Rooftop
11:52 AM
"So, the police found you loitering and thought you were skipping classes?" Johei asked.
Daichi nodded.
"Yes, but strangely, my name was on roster for a new transfer student here so I was given a uniform and put into your class."
Mikan seemed confused.
"What are the chances that somebody with the same name was going to be here just when you get caught by police. I wonder if something happened…"
Elsewhere
"Hey! Tell them that Daichi Amasawa is here! I'm Daichi Amasawa! You must listen to me officer!"
"Already got him to school. Get out of here before I take you down to the station."
Back on the rooftop
"Nah, couldn't be." Mikan said as she ate her bento.
"Well then, whether I like it or not, it seems I will be your classmate from now on. Good too so I can stay updated if something happens." Daichi said as he sat on a bench.
Everybody nodded and decided to head back to their classes. They were halfway to their classroom until they were blocked by a bunch of students checking their phones. Johei sighed as he pushed past several of them.
"This generation, am I right?" He said.
"Dude, how do I turn it off?" A student said.
"It's the same with my phone, too!"
"This is horrible… Who would do this?"
The group noticed that not only students were checking their phones, but teachers too. Reluctantly, they checked their own phones.
"Oh god, it's happening again…" Kazuhiko said as he looked at his phone.
On his screen showed yet another person at the same building with a noose at their neck. The same death awaited them as they jumped of the building and died. However, once the person died, the phone showed a black screen with the words of a website on it. It read, " .com".
Elsewhere
"Are you sure that this is the best way to reach them?"
A hooded figure chuckled.
"Yes, this is exactly how we declare war on them."
Another figure sitting in a chair makes a remark.
"So we challenge them to a fight they cannot win? This is hardly worth our time. I say we crush them now!"
"Nah, I'd rather let them get stronger first. It'll be a good fight before we send them into the ground. The taller they are, the harder they fall."
The figure, who looked like their leader silenced them.
"I trust that Kazuhiko will prove to be a formidable foe, but also a potential ally."
He turned to a chessboard that was completely set up and awaiting an opponent. He put his hand on a black pawn and moved it forward two spots.
"The game has started. Now to await their move."
So, guys, this chapter was mainly to introduce the official antagonists. As for how the shadows can make a website, I won't answer it because of spoilers. I'm really sorry for not updating on time so I'll make it up to you by publishing two chapters. I recently got back to school and I already have a lot of homework (APUSH is a jerk). By the way, I've stopped my HOTD fanfic until I finish this one; Managing one fanfiction at a time is tough already. Also, the next OC will be introduced in the next chapter. Anyways, here you guys are with more of Daichi.
Daichi: Hello everyone, I'm Daichi Amasawa from the fanfiction Persona: One Last Promise by Dangstaboy.
Morgana: I am the mighty Morgana of Persona 5!
Teddie: Hi! I'm Teddie from Persona 4. I also have a part in this fanfiction!
Aigis: Greetings, I am Aigis of Persona 3. This is my partner, Koromaru-san who is also from Persona 3.
Koromaru: Ruff!
Daichi: So, we have a human who thought he was a shadow, a robot, a walking bear costume and two pets?
Morgana: How dare you call the great Morgana a pet! I happen to be a handsome man!
Teddie: Really? Can you turn into one?
Morgana: … no
Teddie: Well, unlike some people, I can bearcome a handsome pretty boy. Behold, for my cuteness may be blinding!
Koromaru: Arf! Arf!
Daichi: Uh, what did he say?
Aigis: He says that the only thing blinding about Teddie-san is how white he is.
Teddie: I can assure you that I am completely Japanese!
Aigis: Your background history states that you were originally a shadow from the TV world.
Teddie: … That's… that's true… B-but I still don't count as white!
Koromaru: Bark!
Aigis: Koromaru also says that you're one of the most ridiculous characters there were in Persona 4 Arena and you were mainly the comic relief of Persona 4 alongside Yosuke.
Teddie: *sniff* You mean horrible canine…
Morgana: So, what about you, newcomer? What's your story?
Daichi: Well, I lost all my memories only to be fooled to think I was a shadow. I killed a lot of reflections and caused tons of suicides before I decided to stop and go against the other shadows. With the help of my friends, I found out I was really human and decided to atone for my sins by helping them stop the suicide threat.
Morgana: Well, at least you know that you're human and look like one. In my game, I pretty much was created by this Igor guy and now I'm just a cat. Maybe I can look human though.
Aigis: I can scan to see if it is possible.
Morgana: Wait, you can?! Please, do it!
Aigis: Commencing scan. Scan complete.
Morgana: Well? Well?
Aigis: Entities scanned… cat
Morgana: NO!
Aigis: Bus
Morgana: D-huh?
Aigis: Demented humanoid cat-like being of unknown species.
Morgana: … Are you being serious?
Aigis: Queer
Morgana: Hey! I identify as a male!
Koromaru: *whine*
Aigis: Koromaru says that Daichi seems to be quite the opposite of Teddie and a character named Goro Akechi.
Morgana: Well, now that you mention it, Akechi did cause bouts of insanity in our game.
Teddie: And he's vice-versa of me.
Daichi: Aigis, who is this "Goro Akechi" you speak of?
Goro: Huh? Did somebody call my name?
Morgana: AH! It's him!
Goro: Morgana? Oh, crap. Uh, hi. How's it going?
Morgana: We thought you were dead!
Goro: Ah, well, Atlus left me as a cliffhanger and apparently I'm alive.
Morgana: We really wanted to see you again…
Goro: Aw, you guys actually missed me? Well, I missed you guys too.
Morgana: SO WE COULD CAVE YOUR FACE IN! ZORO!
Goro: AAUGH! HELP!
(Morgana chases Goro away)
Daichi: So, I'm guessing he was an antagonist in their game?
(Several masked people run into the scene)
Ryuji: Get your ass back here!
Ann: I've been waiting a long time for this!
Yusuke: Justice must be served!
Makoto: I'll beat your punk ass to the ground!
Haru: My revenge shall be anything but swift!
Futaba: I'll water the ground with your blood!
Akira: Guys, could you calm down? I mean, do we really have to beat him up?
Persona 5 cast: YES!
(Phantom Thieves run off)
Daichi: Well, I guess that wraps it up. See you guys soon!
Koromaru: Grrr.
Aigis: Koromaru says that they stole your wallet.
Daichi: Son of a -!
