Hey there, persona fandom! Houki here! i'm sorry for the delay for the second chapter and the rather short previous chapter, it was more like of an introduction than anything! I hope you enjoy your read!

P.S.: In order to keep up with the persona games, the honorifics will stay regarding names despite the fact that the names will be in the western order. It always bugged me why keep the honorifics and change the order name, but eh. I hope you all enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Persona and its mother series Shin megami Tensei beloings to atlus and associates.

4/10(20XX) – Monday (Cloudy) – Early Morning(Kobayashi residence)

I snap my eyes open as I wake up from my slumber, facing a completely alien ceiling and a different aura in the air. So, it wasn't a dream, I am indeed in a new place, where I'll be for a while from now on. Will I be able to get used to all of this? A calmer, most subdued metropolis compared to Tokyo, maybe I won't be all that bad, all things considered…

Oh right, my first day of school, better get myself up and not be late for it. What was it again? Kagami Highschool, I put that name in the map of my cellphone so I wouldn't get lost, put my uniform of checked black-white pants, dark blue blazer and white shirt with a blue tie, picked my briefcase and walked downstairs to the first floor, but not before washing my face on the bathroom and clean my eyes from the crap I got during the night, wrapping my black hair in a short ponytail. Now, I look presentable. Heheh…

I head downstairs, briefcase at hand and wallet and keys on my pockets and get ready to face my first day in my new school as the new transferred student. However, as I walked down each step, I could hear the tv on. At the first floor, I turn my attention to the living room, and see Ranko pushing some Z's, head buried on her notebook besides a gigantic mug of coffee and pieces of paper all over the place with the tv on. I guess she has been doing her best too. Waking her up to give me a ride would be a real dick move, so I'll just leave her be, I guess. I picked a blanket, covered her with it and turned off the tv before heading out, eating a piece of toast while at it.

Mizuzuki, my new town and place. It's indeed not big as Tokyo but you can almost lose yourself in it. Following the instructions on the map on my phone, I pass around some boutiques, flower shops, cafes, even some diners I thought you would find only in Tokyo like those Big Bang Burger stores, a clean river crossing the streets below, showing that a bit of nature was still left despite the growing urban area, not to mention it looks like a perfect place for some fishing or something. All in all, it doesn't look like a bad place to live, not at all. However, it colors me surprise, there aren't people around the same age as me, or even using uniform. I wonder why?

*DRIP!*

"…?" I look up in the cloudy sky and I feel another drop of water fall in between my eyes. Soon, my entire vision starts to get misty, and I come to realize the rain. Man, a pour like that in my first day of school, Mom-… I mean, Anzu did mention that it would be rainy today, but to think it would be this soon. No matter, I reach for my briefcase and picked from inside a black umbrella, unfolding it to protect myself from the drops. I sigh, wiping off the water off the screen of my phone to look at the map in it and find myself in it. "Let's see, according to the map… There's a Chrono Rabbit cafe around here, and if I reach for it and turn to the left… A Stray Sheep bar around the corner, go the opposite direction and then…"

*BUMP!*

"Oof…!"

"Kyah~…!" But when I was about to turn around to follow the arrow on my phone, I end up bumping into someone. My umbrella rolled but fortunately didn't fall off my hand, but I hear a wet splashing sound of something hitting the ground. I blink a few times to shake off the confusion and turn my attention to the direction that bump came from, only to see a new person besides me in this deserted neighborhood: a dark-haired, grey-eyed bespectacled young woman wearing that same uniform of dark-blue blazer, white shirt and a blue bolero tie as me, the only difference being the checked magenta-black skirt which, by the way, is too short for her… I think I saw a glimpse of something light blue. She shook her head a few times and looked up to me. "Huh…?"

"Uh~… My bad. Are you okay?" I said to the fallen girl, extending her a helping hand and my eyes trying to trail elsewhere so I wouldn't catch that same glimpse from before, even though it is now burned into my brain forever. The bespectacled girl blinked a few times, and without my help, stood up from the ground, used her hands to dry her hand and bowed to me. Now that I think about it, she wasn't carrying an umbrella at all.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for your consideration." She replies in a soft, almost whispering voice, now using a handkerchief to clean her glasses. She was still in the middle of the rain, so I came closer to shield her from the pouring she didn't notice until now. She blinks back at me with a surprise look. "…?"

"It's raining, and you don't have an umbrella, so… You can stay under mine for a while." I said with a bit of pink tinting my cheeks. Whoa, girls do smell nice when this close. The Bespectacled girl blinked a few times, and then gasped looking up, as if she just noticed that it was raining. As fast as she could, she reaches her hands for her own case and brought up her own yellow umbrella. So, she has one of those.

"Thank you, but… I got one of my own. I was just… Distracted." She responds, and I arch an eyebrow for that. I mean, being so distracted she didn't even notice the pouring around? It's just a drizzle, but even so. She bows to me one last time, a light blush decorating her cheeks, and takes her way to another direction. "You are also a student in Kagami highschool, right? We should get going, or else we'll be going to be late."

"Ah, right." I said to her back. However, her serious tone and stare soon morphed into something more confused and misdirected. She shook her head around, eyes scanning everywhere, and suddenly, she sighed, retaking her way. I tilted my head to a side in curiosity. "Huh, is something wrong?"

"I… I… I don't know where I am." She sighs. A sweat drop fell from my head as the bespectacled girl turned her head to the floor and saw a book floating on the waters. She picked it up and sighed, putting it back into her pack and taking her route once again. "I should stop reading while walking, I got distracted again…"

"Uhhh… Okay…" I said to myself, turning my head to a random direction and covering my mouth so she wouldn't notice my grimace for her misadventures in case she would turn around. It seems that are some lively people here as well. In my wandering eyes, I caught a glimpse of something floating on a nearby puddle, and so I bent over to catch a glimpse of it. It was a cover… Of a light-novel. Not just the cover, but the entire book was there. I wonder if that was another book she was reading before. But to think someone as serious-looking as that bespectacled girl would be reading… 'How I became a warlord mage in another world'. I guess everybody has that side on them, right? Well, it seems Mizuzuki has also those figures. "Hey, isn't that book also y-…?"

I turn around to return the book to her, or at least question her about its ownership, but before I knew it, she was gone. No trace, no clues, that bespectacled girl just vanished completely. Huh, maybe the whole trip shook my head a lot more than I thought. Oh well, better save it and give it to her when a better opportunity arises, so I shake it a little to get rid of the water in it and put it inside my case. Talk about an eventful first day…

It didn't take much for me to finally see some people around my age walking around in the school uniform of Kagami high, all of them going to the same direction and chatting between themselves, looking at their phones or just lazily yawning to the morning routine; all the routes leading to a rather large building of white glassy walls, a few sports fields, a second building just as large and a gate of thick red bricks and a golden board writing the name 'Kagami High Educational Establishment'. Kagami High, eh? Impressive.

"Hey, hey! Don't space out, you maggots! If you want a cure for demotivation and morose, me and my Kyouka will be more than ready to deliver it!" Shock! I didn't even cross the main gate I heard a thunderous, loud scream coming from inside, and taking a peek as I come closer, I see a middle-aged, shaggy-haired man wearing a grey school track suit and waving very dangerously a wooden kendo sword(shinai) close to the upcoming students. His voice was very authoritarian and low-tuned, like a sergeant's, but apparently everyone just shrugged it off or laughed at him. "I swear! If any of you even think of coming late, I will jet you back to class in one swift homerun! Just because I'm just a coach doesn't mean I don't have strength to spare to correct your sorry asses!"

'Ugh, to think Fujitaka-sensei would still be lecturing us this year too~. Why doesn't he just drop dead?'

'I dunno, he is a great teacher and the football team he coached last year got to the finals in the juvenile cup.'

'I heard he's divorced. Wonder if he's dealing his frustrations by being such a dick. He really needs to get laid to stop being such a jerk…'

"I heard that, you bunch of maggots! If you want to trash-talk me, be strong and face me head on!" I could listening to the nearby classmates talking about presumably teacher, Fujitaka-sensei, when the older male screamed back at us and hit his wooden sword on the nearby wall, making a loud clapping sound. Everyone around started to laugh and flee from the vicinity. Fujitaka-sensei, however like an eagle, shifted his attention to a running male student of shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes as the latter crossed the gates, but wasn't fast enough to escape the teacher's grasp, pulling him by the collar and making them face each other. "And how about you, Akabane?! Late again?! Boy, you don't learn even after an entire semester with my Kyouka!"

"Gyaaah! Let me go, Fujitaka-sensei! Gimme a break, this is the first day!" The boy wearing that same uniform but with a red shirt inside his shirt and with sleeves and hems pulled up, Akabane, could only scream in tears and protests as he tried but failed to escape the teacher's firm hold onto himself.

"And you will remember this day as the last day you get late, boy! Now, time for some lecture about discipline and punctuality from Kyouka!"

"No, not the Kyouka! NOOOOOOOO…!" And his screamed echoed across the drops of rain and school signal as Fujitaka-sensei descended his wooden sword against the former's rear. I thought this was something about abuse or a prank, but I heard people sighing or laughing at the scenem, saying that 'Fujitaka caught one in the first day', 'just like last year' or 'let Fujitaka have his fun'. Apparently, this is an old thing here in Kagami high, so I better leave them be, no matter how much his screams reach me…

It didn't take long for me to enter the school ground, change my shoes for my inside wear and head to the teacher's office where I should meet with someone named Aoi Katase-sensei, who would be my homeroom teacher for the year. Certainly, reaching for the second floor on the third-store student's building, I was greeted by a dark blue-haired woman of short locks, dark eyes and rosy lips in a smile, who called for my attention with a wave. I walked towards her table and bowed to her.

"Ah, you must be Ichika Amano-kun, right? You're the transferred student from Tokyo, and from now on, I will be your homeroom teacher." She asks in a silky voice, and I could only bow slowly for her correct answer as I reached for her hand to shake hers.

"Yes, I am Ichika. And you must be… Katase-sensei." I slowly declared, reaching closer and closer to her hand, but suddenly she pushed me to shake mine with both of hers, her smile growing wilder and shinier as I was put off-balance by her sudden friendliness.

"You're Ranko Kobayashi's son, right? I just want you to know, I'm a big fan of your mother's work! She has such way with words, and her stories and books are so full of life and significance, I can only dream of writing something as good as her works! If I may, would you ask for her autograph for me?" Katase-sensei said it enthusiastically, and I could only silently nod to her fangirling about Ranko. I knew her work had a very broad demographic considering their position in some libraries, but to think even my teacher would be a fan of hers. She soon stops shaking my head like a crazy woman, adjusts her hair a little and turns back to me. "Oh, sorry about that. It's just that this is the first time I had the pleasure to meet someone who touched so close to my heart, I couldn't let this opportunity pass."

"Uh… That's alright, sensei. I'm used to this." I try to stray the awkwardness away from the air around us with those words and a sheepish scratch on the back of my head. Katase-sensei smiles with a clap of her hands and nods to me.

"Okay, okay. Well then, I think I should present you to class, then. Don't worry, Kagami high is not like back in Tokyo. I heard there are a lot of delinquents back there, but you don't have to worry about those around here… At least not much." She starts to blabber, but I know what she means about it. Tokyo is my home, but I know that place is not the friendliest, specially considering what happened a few years back about a real criminal going to school which was already infamous for being the center of a few scandals. But anyway, she passes me a few paperwork and then stood up from her seat. "This is your schedule for the week and months to come, the possible clubs that are still on and the name of some of the staff. Now then, follow me, let's meet your new classmates."

And for that, I was off, following her to the class 2-D on the second floor on the school building…

Early Morning→ Morning(Kagami High)

"Okay, okay, students. Settle down, I have an announcement to make, so I want you all to pay attention right now." Katase-sensei said to the rather unruly classroom which we stood, class 2-D, and after such warning, the whole place settled down and quiet, not a single student off from their seat despite some of them sitting in rather different ways. As Katase-sensei lectured me, I wrote my name on the board and put myself beside her. Katase-sensei signals a hand in my direction. "This is your new classmate, Ichika Amano. He's transferring today from Tokyo, so I want you all to welcome him to both Mizuzuki and Kagami high."

'…' Everybody was looking at me, yet the entire classroom was so quiet you could say it was possible to hear a feather fall. I muster the best half-smile I could, and lightly bowed to the rest of the classroom.

"I'm Ichika Amano. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we can get along." I said as politely as I could. There was a still an ironically unquiet silent between me and the rest of the classroom until a classmate of mine lifted his hand and Katase-sensei gave him the world.

"Isn't 'Ichika' a girl's name?" He asks me absentmindedly, but I could feel a small ting of rage come from my head. Oh crap, that again… I know, I know, Ichika is quite a feminine name, even more than is written with the ideograms for both 'One' and 'flower', but to think someone would point it out from the new student… I smile with both hands in the air in a defensive, surrendering motion.

"Ah, you got me. Turns out, I'm a woman. I just like to dress like a man and deepen my voice." I said nonchalantly. The whole class gasped and started to whisper among themselves, including Katase-sensei who looked horrified about my revelation. I let out a sigh to call for their attention. "It was a joke."

'Eeeeeh~…' The entire classroom said in unison with a sigh of surprise and disbelief, but soon enough started to chuckle among themselves, saying a guy from Tokyo like me 'does have a sense of humor' and 'I was too tall and not slim enough to pass as a girl'. Katase-sensei hit her paperwork on her desk a few times to call for everyone's attention.

"okay, okay. Settle down everyone. You can gossip all you want during lunchtime, but for now, is teacher's time to shine. As for you, Mr. Funny man…" Katase-sensei pointed mischievously at me, making me gasp a little. "I guess you should choose a place to seat if you don't want to hear my lectures on the floor, right? Let's see… I guess you can pick the seat behind Akabane."

"Akabane…" I whisper that name to myself, and really, from the second row next to the window, in the almost back of the class, I could see that same guy from this morning, comically bruised and with a small note saying 'I will not be late again' signed by Fujitaka glued to his forehead, and behind him, an empty seat. I guess this is my place now. I bowed to Katase-sensei one last time and took my way to the empty seat behind that guy…

Only to stop midway when something caught the border of my eye. As I was passing the first row of students and seats, I saw… Black hair, bespectacled grey eyes and a quiet, calm aura, making me stop on my tracks and cross eyes with her. There she is, that same bespectacled girl from this morning. However, her stare was rather cold, and unlike this morning, she had a serious demeanor. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then she started to talk…

"May I help you, Amano-kun?" She asks, her voice however being quiet and rather emotionless. I was taken back a little, but even so, I gulped down and reached for my case.

"You're… You're that girl from this morning…" I said to her, but there was no reaction, as if she didn't see me this morning either way. Another thing: she was completely dry. I can understand that she had an umbrella and she could just had dried herself from there to school, but… Even her uniform was strangely clean. Better not think too much about it, I should return that book to her. "Look, I know this might sound strange, but I think you dropped th-…"

"Please, don't talk to me so casually. This is a classroom, so cut the idle chat and go to your seat…"

"Wait, what…?" I stopped on my tracks as she said those words in a serious, almost poisonous tone. Wait, what? Did I hear that correctly? She just shunned me like that. I shook my head to her, and tried to reach for her light novel inside my case. "Wait. I mean, I know this might sound intrusive, but I think you dropped a book back when we bumped into each other and…!"

"Didn't you hear me? Back to your seat, Amano-kun. As the class representative, I won't let even your status as a transferred student serve as an excuse for insubordination." And she shuns me yet again, her voice as stoic as before but in a harsher choice of words. Before I notice, the entire class was looking at us and starting to talk among themselves. So she is a class representative, her looks and mannerism are typical, but even so… I decided that it wasn't a good time to talk about it, so I put the book back at the end of my case and resumed my walk towards the back of the classroom, hearing some whispers among my classmates…

'Man~, class rep is at it again…'

'To the transferred student of all people, too. Well, to be expected from the iron lady…'

'I heard she got a letter of recommendation already from Principal Odagiri. Talk about a teacher's pet, and we must be the ones to stand her…'

"Hey, transferred student. It seems you already got a bite from our class rep. Trust me, don't blame her, she's just a very definition of a teacher's pet." And as I sat on my table and started to put my material in place, the guy in front of me, Akabane, supported his back on his seat and looked back at me upside down. I turn to him with a hum, and he smiled at me. "I mean, I heard her family is pretty rich and in touch with a few political figures, so of course she would be a madam time of person, just like those type of anime girls. Trust me, her fame is known even during her first-year."

"I see…" I contemplate back at him from his upside-down face. She does have that air around her coming from nobility, and to think she became a class representative in her first day, I can only imagine. The guy in front of me let out a chuckle.

"By the way, the name's Renji Akabane, and I am the guy who solely exists." He let out a smile, while I tilted my head to a side with a question mark. I clash my eyes with his brown ones. "What a misfortune for you to end up in a class with Miss prim and proper, although I'm also in the same situation. What did you want to talk about her, anyway?"

"Uh… It's about something…" I let out a small glimpse of a talk, making a nervous shifting with my shoulders. I guess I'm not gutsy enough to be so open right now. But even so, I let out a sigh. "Well, it's about a book… I think she dropped it…"

"Ah, it makes sense. Miss prim and proper must've lost her rule book while putting that massive log back into her behind." Just hearing about rear ends makes my mind wonder about something, something… Light blue, but I soon shake my head to get rid of those thoughts and turned to him. I mean, it is not a rule book. Far from that, it's a light novel.

"It's not like that. She dropped her l-…"

*TACK! TACK!*

"ouch!"

"Yeow…!"

"Akabane~! Amano-kun~! You can talk whatever you want during lunch, but for now, for every word from your mouths that is not about the lecture is a chalk bullet to your foreheads! They don't call me 'Katase the sniper' for nothing!" We turned our attention to Katase-sensei with a red bump on our foreheads, the entire class laughing among themselves as two pieces of chalk fall next to us on the ground. Jeez, right on the forehead. She turned back to the blackboard with a book at hands. "But if you want to share something, how about your book with Amano-kun, Akabane? At least for today, please do that."

"Yes, ma'am." Akabane-kun said back, turning to me and lifting his table in a way that, at least diagonally, we could fuse our table into one, he opens his book for us to share the same amount of knowledge. The bespectacled girl, the class representative, stood up, made us bow to the teacher, and finally class could start.

Maybe I am the one in the wrong, and those girls are different people? I dunno, class rep does have that same royal, quiet and determined aura around her, not to mention her harsher words and serious, almost emotionless tone. Maybe I got two completely different girls by mistake and end up mixing them up. Even so… During the class, I reached for my case and picked the light novel that was buried deep within to take a quick look. Maybe there is a clue of whom it belongs to. Akabane-kun notices my sequence, and turns to me with a beaming smile seeing the cover of the book…

"Oh~, I know this one. I just read the first volume, but it is hilarious. The cover makes it look like a serious light novel, but I almost broke a lung laughing. So, you're into that stuff, huh? Good to know." He says turning to me. I shrug a little, still scanning the book for some clues.

"not really. I mean, I do read a lot, but light novels aren't really my thing." I admit, finally picking a glimpse of something individual in that book: on the back cover, next to the bars, there was a name written on it: Miyu Ishigami. I blink a few times, passing my finger across the wet cover to see I wasn't mistaken, but there is no doubt, the name 'Miyu Ishigami' was written there. I turned to Akabane-kun. I mean, that girl was wearing Kagami high's uniform, so she must study here. "Say, Akabane-kun, do you know someone called Miyu Ishigami?"

"Uh, Ichika, that's the name of our class rep." He motions to me and then to her with a wavering finger. I wide my eyes in surprise, yet not at all, so she is the girl I bumped into, or rather she bumped into me, this morning. Yet, her aura is completely different from back them. I wonder why. "Why you ask?"

"This book… Is hers." I declare. He wide his eyes and almost burst in laughs for some reason.

"R-Really? Miss prim and proper princess model… Reads a comedy light novel? Dude, she literally ripped my manga in half for bringing it to school! Don't you think you're mistaken her with anyone else? I mean, she could be just carrying those to set them on fire for later…" He declares, and despite the absurd statement, his tone makes me think he might be telling the truth. But even so, this makes no sense.

"I mean, it does have her name on it. She wouldn't do that if she were to burn them down." I said to him and showing the name on the back, and then nods as if he's agreeing with me, but his stare telling me he was still doubtful. I don't think she would put her name on it just to bring it to herself either. So for now, this is mainly hers.

"I know, but still…!"

*TACK! TACK!*

"Pay attention to class, you two! Next time, it'll be Katase's shotgun chalk special to the forehead!"

"" Y-Yes, Ma'am"" Both of us said in unison to the chalk punishment as Katase-sensei turned back to the blackboard to continue her lecture.

But there is no mistake for now: this book is Ishigami-san's. I should return it to her after classes. Maybe when the dust settles a little, we can talk about it…

Morning→ Lunchtime(Kagami High)

"Ah! Lunchtime! The best hour of the day!" Sang the classmate in front of me as the bell rang and Katase-sensei ended her lecture with a final note and a heart-shaped drawing on the blackboard. It took us quite a while, but lunchtime finally came. Soon, sensei left the classroom together with class rep, and my classmates started to move their seats one to another to fuse them into one larger table or just eat by themselves while looking on their phones. Me? I put my things back in my case and picked the light novel in my possession. Akabane-kun turned to me. "Huh? Hey dude, what are you doing? Don't want to share lunchtime?"

"Maybe later, Akabane-kun. I think I need to return this book to Ishigami. Now that lecture ended, I think this is the best time to do so so she won't get upset." I declare, and with already a mouthful of curry bread on his mouth, he hummed curiously.

"You really think this light novel, the base of comedy, belongs to miss Prim and Proper? I mean, yeah, everybody has their tastes and stuff, but she doesn't look like the type to read one of those." He says, gulping down his lunch and taking another bite out of it. I nod to him, but even so I stand up and started to walk towards the exit of the classroom.

"Well, maybe she is more than we can see, I guess." I say, ready to look for the class rep and find her in a calmer manner and return that book to her. Before I could reach for the door, however, Akabane-kun stood up from his seat, took the final bites off his sandwich and followed me to the exit. "Uh, Akabane-kun? What are you doing?"

"Maybe you're right about that, Ichika. I mean, she is miss prim and proper, but if what you say is true, then I guess I can get her off my ass. Who knows, I also like those light novels, so maybe I can find a way to make her a bit more chill. Besides, If that's true, I want to see her bushing face when I unravel that secret of hers." He smiles brightly and a mischievous aura takes control over him, making me sweatdrop a little. He doesn't have noble goals, but I would be lying if I say that I don't want to see a pretty girl blushing a little. Besides, if she's really all that bad, maybe that will make her a bit looser. Akabane-kun gives me a pat on the shoulder and gives me a thumb up. "besides, I can give you a tour around the school. I know exactly where she would be, so I can give you some directions."

"Huh, thanks Akabane-kun." I nodded to him. He just smiled.

"Just 'Renji' is fine. Geez, for a new student, you look a bit uptight." We share a small chuckle to each other. I guess if he's okay with that, fine, I'll start calling him Renji…

And so we walked away from our classroom and started searching for ishigami-san. It wasn't an easy task despite Renji's directions, as there were two buildings with three stores each, one for the students and other for the physical educations, a small podium for school assembles and other things like theater and music room, not to mention the large number of students around shoving each other aside to get the last yakisoba bread or the special juice from the cafeteria. Despite such, we were finally able to find Ishigami-san exiting the teacher's office.

"Hey, Ishigami-san!" I called for her attention, yet her only response was an aside glance from the corner of her eyes. Not friendly at all. Renji, who has an history with her, could only take backstage of our little chat.

"What is your business with me, Amano-kun?" She spoke in a tone colder than the artic, but even so, I didn't faulter, I picked the book in my possession and showed it to her, but no reaction came from her. She only blinked a few times, and turned her stare from the book to me.

"I… I want to return this novel to you. I'm sorry if it was uncalled for during classes, I understand, but here. I'm here to return this novel to y-…"

"This book is not mine." But instead of a great revelation, a surprised class rep or something else, she cut me down with a harsh tone. Even Renji was taken aback by her suddenness and coldness. "I don't know from where you took such precipitous rumors or nonsenses about me, but I can assure you, this book is not mine, so stop with your foolishness before I call a teacher."

"H-Huh? But… This book… I remember you dropping it this morning." I continued to talk about with her, even turning the back cover that had her name written on it. "This… This is your name, right? I mean, there is no other reason to…!"

"Stop your nonsense, Amano-kun. I shall go, and if you talk to me yet again, I shall report you." She doesn't even let me finish my sentence, she just turns around and walks to the stairs. Before she could do so, however, I reached for her hand to call for her attention. I don't know what came to me, I just did what I did.

"Ishigami-san, please listen to me! I…!" I couldn't even finish my sentence, the abrupt action was enough for me to reach her, and by picking her hand, her sleeve slowly slid all the way to her elbow… Only to reveal that there was nothing under it. Like a ghost, the area below her wrist was completely crystal clear, with a few cracks on it too! "…!"

"You…!" But before I could give it a better look, she slapped my hand away and hid her cracked skin again under her sleeve. I was at the lost of words, but she shot me a venomous look, enough to make me shake to my core and froze into place, and retuned her way to the stairs, running upstairs. "Don't… Don't ever touch me again, Amano-kun. You do that again, and I will make you suffer."

"…" I said nothing, not even reacting to her threat, I could only think about her cracked and clean skin under her sleeve. She said nothing else, only turned around and walked to the upper floor.

"Well, there you have it. I guess it wasn't really hers, eh?" Renji called for me with a friendly pat on the back, trying to console with a thumb up and a wink. However, there was something fishy about her now. I mean, I do want to return her novel, but something about her feels… odd. I dunno why, but her behavior, and the aura around her is not normal. I picked the fallen light novel and started to follow her yet again. For that, Renji interjected. "H-Hey, Ichika, what are you going? You heard her, she's being a bitch even to you, I think its best for us to forget about it, that display of bitchness made me lose all charm about her…"

"I… I want to see something." I said to him, going upstairs to follow her. For some reason, even though he scratched the back of his head and sighed a 'what a drag' between his lips, he also started to follow me through. I still very doubtful about him, but I can see that he's a good person too.

Anyway, we followed the way Ishigami-san took to the upper floors, to the third floor of the second building, and despite such, it was completely deserted, not a single student or teacher around. Moreover, there was a small plaque up in the middle of the way leading to the third floor, saying that access was prohibit. Ishigami-san passed around here, right? I saw a shadow creep from the lights coming from the window, so she must be there as well. I stepped into the forbidden third floor of the second building, and looking by the corner of the corridor, I saw a shadow entering the bathrooms on the far end of it. I saw the glimpse of black hair, it must be Ishigami-san, and moreover, she was entering the boy's bathroom, also with a small board stating that entering was forbidden…

"Oh, so miss Prim and Proper does have a secret~." Sang Renji next to me, also witnessing ishigami-san stepping into the forbidden third floor and going inside the boys bathroom. I gave him a serious look, but could only imagine what she was doing there. I mean, I figured she had a darker side, but to this extend. Renji turned to me and smiled. "hey Ichika, let's see what she is doing and catch her on the act! I bet this will be funny as hell!"

"I don't think this is that serious…" I sweatdropped hearing his idea. I mean, I hope she's not doing anything illegal, but at the same time, the nervousness and curiosity is taking over me, like, I really want to see what the hell she's doing there. I guess dad was right, I did inherited Mom's… I mean, Ranko's sense of curiosity and morbid fascination. Even so… "I think we should talk to a teacher or someth-…"

*CRASH!*

"…?!"

"Huh? What's up, Ichika?"

"I heard… Something. And it came from the bathroom!" I said. I don't know how or when, but I heard the noise of glass breaking, and very loudly too, coming from the bathroom. Oh no, don't tell me something happened to ishigami-san! I stood up from my spying place and started to run towards the bathroom despite Renji's protests.

"H-Hey, what? I didn't hear a th-… Hey, Ichika!" I ran towards the bathroom despite Renji trying to calm me down. I don't know why, but my body just decided to walk towards the place, my heart beating fast in anticipation. Soon enough, Renji also followed me in a hurry. "Tch, what the hell…?!"

"Ishigami-san! Ishigami-san, are you o-…?!" I couldn't even finish my sentence: when I entered the bathroom, in the same place where I saw Ishigami-san's shadow coming into, the absurd scenario unfolding in front of me made me mute out of shock: Ishigami-san, or at least her lower half, was kneeling in front of the mirror, while her upper half was completely engulfed by the mirror in front of her! The mirror was broken where her upper half was suppose to be, but instead of a wall, behind the cracked glass there was a black and white vortex slowly swallowing ishigami-san's body! "Ishigami-san…!"

"Ichika, what the hell you're talking about a nois-… HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUC-…!" And coming in second, Renji tried to call for my attention only to be horrified by that same imagr in front of us. I couldn't even act, the mirror was slowly but steadily swallowing Ishigami-san's body! I jumped to her direction and grabbed her by the leg, trying to pull her away, but instead being dragged alongside her body as well!

"Ishigami-san…! Hang on, I'll help…! I'll help you…!" I screamed, but it was no use: whatever force was pulling her was too strong for me, and soon enough her entire lower half was swallowed by the reflective glass as well! However, when I thought I would clash against the mirror, instead my body started to get inside too! I tried to fight and pull Ishigami-san again, but before I knew it, I got inside the mirror!

"ICHIKA…!" But I felt a strong tug on my waist. I turned around and saw Renji trying to pull me away instead! He tried and tried, but despite the fact that he is a bit taller and stronger than me, he also ended up dragged inside the mirror! In one last pull, all of us three ended up engulfed by the reflective glass, and the last thing I saw was a white and black void of nothingness…

And then… Darkness.

…

?(?)

…

…

"… -Hika…!"

"Ichik-…!"

"Ichika…!"

"ICHIKA!"

"W-What…?" And when I could tell left from right, I snapped back to reality. It took a while for me to get rid of the blur in my eyes, but soon enough I blinked a few times and found myself in a familiar, yet completely different scenario: I was in the abandoned bathroom from before, but instead of the sunlight coming from the windows, there was only an ominous glowing in an otherwise black sky. I put myself sit from my previous laying position, and noticed that someone was also with me, his eyes a bit worried. "R-Renji…?"

"Oh, thank Goodness you're okay. Holy shit, I thought you were a goner." He sighed in relief, standing up from his kneeling position and offering me a hand for me to get up as well, which I gladly took. "My bad, I couldn't pull you back from… Whatever was happening to that mirror."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. I tried to pull Ishigami-san, but in the end…" I bowed to him, lowering my head apologetically, but he sighed in relief and wave it off. With that out of the way, I took a quick glance around, and really, this place is similar, but more sinister than the bathroom from before. "Now… What is this place? Where are we?"

"No clue. I woke up not long ago, and I couldn't just leave you behind, but from what I can see, this is… The boy's bathroom, I guess…?" He let out a slip of tongue in doubt, and yet I couldn't disagree with him. This is the school… Right? I think its already nighttime, but then I look at my phone, and I noticed it was completely dead. What? Renji looked on his own phone, and it was also out of batteries. "Ah, what the hell? Did we hallucinate all of that? I mean, that thing with Ishigami was freaky, but it must've been a dream or something. It couldn't be real…Right? Right?!"

"I don't know, I'm just as lost as you." I declare, my head lower in thoughts. In one second, however, I saw a shadow crossing the path from the exit of the bathroom, also hearing steps on the floor. Is there someone here as well? Apparently, Renji also heard it as he took his way out of the bathroom.

"Is there someone here too? I think it's the janitor or something." He declares, following the sound of the steps with me following suit. Once we were out of the bathroom, we stepped on the corridor and noticed something quite ominous as well: the light coming from the window of the bathroom wasn't just there, the sky now was pitch black, without a single star or even clouds, only an ominous and enormous moon decorating it, resonating a rather grim aura, as if it was mocking us. "What the hell…? Did we pass out? Its already nighttime!"

However, our attention shifted back to the steps, and turning our attention the other end of the corridor, we could see a few silhouettes wearing the Kagami high uniform, walking to a single direction and without saying a word. So, there are people here at this hour. Renji took his way to their direction with me following suit. Maybe they can tell us what is going on.

"H-Hey, dudes! Sorry to intrude, but I guess me and my buddy passed out! Say, do you know what time it is? Oh, and have you seen a girl wearing glasses with black hair around?" Renji asked, but despite how loud his voice was, the silhouettes didn't react to it. He made an interjection sound, coming closer to them until he touched the shoulder of one of them and made it turn to him. "Hey man, that's cold! I just want to know if…!"

But then moment he turned around, Renji could only gasp and jump back, as when the silhouette turned to him, there was no face in it, but a jade-colored mask where it should be! Not only that, but its entire body was black and misty, like a dense dark fog! The other student-looking silhouettes also turned to us, revealing they were also like it!

"Gyaaah! WHAT THE HELL…!" Renji exclaimed, almost losing his balance and bumping into me, I couldn't react because I was as surprised as him! Those three masked beings, however, by seeing us, started to laugh, and let out ominous chuckles while shaking uncontrollably.

'Humans…? Humans… Huhuhuh… Humans… Humans…!' They whispered in a distorted, disturbing voice. Out of the sudden, they exploded completely in a splash of black goo, turning it completely black and amorphous before taking the shape of a greenish-black slime with a disturbing face morphed on it otherwise melted body. 'HUUUUUMAAAAAANS…!'

"Holy Shit! Renji, let's get the hell out of here!" Renji called my attention and lightly tapped me on the shoulder while running for his life away from those monstrous slimes, who could only slide themselves towards us, but they were getting speed. I snapped from my scared stupor and followed him suit away from them! What is going on?! Are those really monsters?! What is this place?! Evertyhing and nothing was running in my head as we tried to get distance from those things! "What the hell?! Are those really monsters?! Quick, maybe if we can reach the other floor someone will… GAH!"

And he couldn't even finish his sentence: from the room that was supposed to be empty and forbidden, another mob of dark masked beings emerged from inside, all of them turning to us, laughing maniacally with a demonic tone, and then exploding into black goo before turning into something else besides those smiles, like little plant people or even clay doll-looking monstrocities.

"Damn it! We're surrounded…!" Renji claimed as we came to be back-to-back, really surrounded by monsters by all sides, not a single place for us to run, and from this height, jumping off the window will be fatal! Damn it, what the hell! The monsters started to get closer and closer, all of them laughing like madmen and ready to strike us. In an instant, one of them jumped to our direction, and since it came from Renji's side, he shot himself into his direction! "Gah! Get away from me…!"

"Renji…!" But before something could happen to him, I tackled Renji away from harm's way! The impact was too much for him and he broke a door open to inside a classroom. However, I was the one who ended up being attacked by that slime, who soon started to splatter and spread his gooey body all over me, soon rendering me immobile! He was also too heavy, making me fall onto the ground and defenseless, while more and more monsters started to gang up on me!

"Ichika…!" I turned to the direction where I heard my name using my remaining strengths, and all I could see was Renji crawling to my direction with a hand reaching for me, only to back away once more and more monsters started to cover me! Soon enough, from the mosh pit I was the base off, they all turned into black goo, and started to swallow me! I tried and tried to fight, but the weight and power was too much for me, and soon, I started to lose consciousness… No… Is this… How it… Ends… For me…

…

[Do not give in…]

Huh…? I hear… something. Something… Is calling me. From the darkness, I open my eyes, and despite the fact I was almost completely covered in black goo, a single eye peeked away from the darkness, and from it, I saw… A butterfly. A butterfly? And it was… Glowing… Suddenly, the world around me seemed to stop, but the butterfly was still flapping its wings… I reach a hand for it, trying to catch it.

[Do not give in, for this is the end only for those who succumb to the false divine…]

What? False divine? I remember hearing those words, but… My hand starts to get pace, and I don't feel the weight of those things around me anymore. No, for some reason, my sole role become to reach the butterfly. I stretch and stretch, and then I could finally reach for it! I open my hand, reach for it a bit more and then… I caught it! And from such hand, a flame started to burn! A cold blue flame, but for some reason it wasn't burning!

[Yes, yes! Do not let the odds, the fiends, those lowly creatures tell you what to do! For the end is only available when nothing else is! Grab my hand, release my power, and we shall break forth our own path, no matter how much it should cost! And if only death and flames await us, then so be it!]

Yes… Yes. I understand now. I don't know why, I don't know how, but all those creatures around me don't scare me anymore! I open my stretched hand and looked at my palm, only to notice a glowing, burning butterfly knife there shining in bright silver. The voice… this voice is coming from there!

[Let us make a path… I AM THOU, THOU ART I… FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL I COMETH… RELEASE THYSELF FROM THE SHADOWS OF FALSEHOOD… UNLEASH THE BURNING SOUL THAT LIES WITHIN… AND BRING FORTH THE INFERNO IN THIS DIMENSION OF MERE REFLECTIONS!]

"Per…" I muttered, flipping the butterfly knife and aiming at my direction, slowly bending my arm. "… So…" little by little, the knife was coming closer where my heart should be, and despite such, I wasn't scared. This is what I want. I aimed at my chest, took a deep breath, and pulling the knife with all my force, I distanced it from it, only to rapidly descend the blade to my target. In the end, the blade came down right on my heart, and then…

*STAB!*

… -NA!"

…

…

*VOOOOOOOSH…!*

I stabbed myself on the heart. A swift and quick move right where it should be, and then… silence. And then, from the wound on my heart, a blue and red flame emerged, completely engulfing me in its embrace as all the beings and monsters surrounding me either backed away or were consumed by the flames! Me? Even in the heart of such, I was fine, I was safe, so much I had my strength back to stand up and tall against all the screaming creatures around me! From my wound that vanished in another second, came black flames that covered my whole being! This is… awesome!

'HYAAAAAAH…!' I heard the unhuman screams coming from around me, and despite some of them still paralyzed in shock, other of those monsters started to charge at me! But… I'm not afraid anymore! I made a gesture from my hands, and from the flames behind me, came a screeching sound, and then spheres of fire came from it to burn down the assaulting monsters! They burned into nothingness a few seconds later.

"What the…?" I turned around from where those flames come from, and I had another surprise: the flames started to take shape, little by little, it started to take another, more physical form, until I could tell it apart from the rest of the blue flames surrounding us…

A tall, slender but imposing figure covered in flames, wearing a black shirt and pants with pillar-shaped black feet and embraced by a long-tailed, burning pianist coat with golden shoulder pads and equally golden strings running from his golden pads, through his arms, all the way to its sleeves, black hands and long fingers shaped like black violin bows. However, the most prominent thing about that was the burning golden flame it had for a head, not a single feature in the dancing fire but two red slits for eyes and a single line drawn below them in the shape of a sadistic, crimson red smile, a golden halo shaped like a laurel wreath hovering above it… This is… Me? Yes, this is me!

[I… AM THE FATHER OF SINNERS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, THE ONE WHO DELIGHTS HIMSELF IN BEAUTY AND ARTS AS THE WORLD AROUND ME BURNS… NERO!]

Nero, huh?

Okay, Nero! Let's dance!

Character Sheet UPDATED!

*Name: Ichika Amano(天野一花; Amano Ichika)

-Age: 17 y/o

-Arcana: The Fool (0)

-Persona: Nero; Wild Card.

-Weapon of choice: Knives.

-Bio: the Protagonist of the story, the son of famous novelist Ranko Kobayashi and late Police Officer Takehiko Amano. After a tragic event regarding his father, Ichika was forced to move from Tokyo to Mizuzuki to live with his stranged mother who, despite being distant, has no ill feelings towards. Despite his usual quiet, morose, almost narcoleptic exterior, this grey-eyed, dark-haired young man has a big heart and a firm sense of justice and selflessness, ready to help others in need, with a good dash for jokes and a bit of mischief. He's a bookworm which Takehiko implies it comes from his mother, and a fan of New Phoenix Feathermen.

Compendium UPDATED!

*Nero (Arcana: The fool): Ichika's initial persona. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or just Nero, was an emperor known for his cruel, tyrannical reign over Rome and being the nephew of the also infamous Caligula. A man of arts and luxury, but also insanity and paranoia, one of his most infamous tales would be him nonchalantly playing the lyre as Rome burned to the ground and his persecution of the christians, which in return would demonize him as the Beast of the Apocalypse himself. A persona of the Fool Arcana, he is especialized in Agi-based skills.

-Resistant against: Agi-based Skills.

-Weakness: Hama/Kouha-based skills.

What are your thoughts?

I thought it was a nice chapter, i had fun while doing it, twice as long as before and with an awakening typical of a persona game, but I fear I might have rushed the ending a bit. I hope this chapter was a good one, and I expect good feedback! i'll try my even best next chapter, so I hope you'll be waiting for it as well! Greetings from Houki minami