?
Hamuko awoke to find herself sitting inside the strange blue-lit limousine that she had been in during her dream when she was on the train. In front of her sat the man who called himself Igor and next to him was Margaret, his assistant.
"Um..." Hamuko fidgeted in her seat a little bit, not knowing what was going on.
"Welcome," said Igor, the smile on his face unchanging. "Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world..."
"A dream?" asked Hamuko as she rubbed her head. "Again?"
Igor nodded. "I have indeed summoned both you and your friend within your dreams."
"Friend?" Hamuko looked next to her to see that Souji was sitting a few feet away from her. "Oh!"
"Can't say this isn't weird at all huh Senpai?" said Souji. "I don't get it either."
"And we meet once again," said Igor as he looked on the confused pair.
"Oh, okay," trailed Hamuko. "Um... Why?"
Margaret cleared her throat before responding. "This is a space that only those who have entered a contract may enter. During your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow that destiny. And in so doing, enabled the glorious awakening to both of your powers."
With a wave of Igor's hand two blue keys appeared in front of him and they each floated towards Hamuko and Souji. The two of them reached out and grabbed the key in front of them.
"Hold on to those," said Igor. "From today forth you two are our guests in this Velvet Room. Your destinies will require you to master your power, and to do that you will need our help. We only require that you abide your contract and accept responsibility for any decisions you may make."
"Wha?" asked Hamuko as she clutched her Velvet Key. "I don't get it."
"I'm not sure I do either," admitted Souji.
"That is fine for now," said Igor, his expression unchanging. "The personas that each of you acquired is essentially a side of yourselves that shows itself when you face the world around you."
"Okay..." said Hamuko. "So those things that came out of us when we fought those Shadow things... That's what the Personas were? A part of us?"
Igor nodded. "That is correct. Your Persona's abilities, though, are that of the wild card... Compared to most others, it is very rare and special indeed..."
"Wild card..." Souji began thinking on the subject.
"Think of it as the number zero," explained Igor. "It is empty yet it holds infinite potential within itself."
"Aww..." sighed Hamuko as she rubbed the back of her head. "So confusing..."
Igor paused for a moment before motioning his right hand over the small table in front of him. A small multitude of cards appeared and levitated above it. With another motion of his hand, the cards floated to Hamuko and Souji and began to float around the pair.
"The power to control one's heart is the ability of the Persona. And the heart is strengthened through bonds, you see," explained Igor. "Those bonds are called 'Social Links' and they will develop as you two become involved with others."
"Social Links?" Hamuko reached out for a card and held it in her hands. There was a symbol of a man with a sack on his back being chased by a dog on the background. For some reason she knew that it meant the Arcana of The Fool. A moment later the image of Souji's face appeared on it.
"Oh!" Hamuko and Souji simultaneously reacted, as the card Souji had been looking at, The World Arcana, suddenly had Hamuko's image appear on it at the same time Hamuko saw Souji's image.
"S-so we already have a bond with each other?" asked Hamuko as she and Souji showed their cards to each other.
Igor nodded as he watched the pair exchange the cards they had with each other.
"So this is a Social Link..." said Souji as he looked at the card with his image on it. The image, however, quickly faded to reveal only the background of The Fool. "?"
"Huh?" Hamuko witnessed a similar reaction with her card, as her image faded away to show only background of The World. "Hey what gives, Igor?"
"Your Social Links are not all the same," explained Margaret as she looked at the confused pair. "Some will intersect, of course, but others may run parallel or completely separate from each other."
"So Souji's 'World' Social Link is me... But my World Social link is not myself so that's why my image faded when I held the card..." said Hamuko.
"And why mine faded when I held the one you gave me," added Souji.
"You, of course, cannot make a Social Link with yourself," chuckled Igor. "By creating and strengthening your Social Links, you will strengthen your Personas as well as yourselves."
Hamuko's heart sank a little bit when she heard that. Bad enough that weird stuff had begun happening around her, but now she had to make an effort to meet even more new people... It wasn't something she was looking forward to.
"I should add that Social Links are not just for empowering your Personas," said Margaret. "There will be times that they will help light the way to the truth you two are searching for."
Before Hamuko or Souji could respond, Igor chuckled and gave a motion with his hand again. Suddenly, Hamuko's vision began to fade.
"Where will your awakened powers take you I wonder," said Igor as he faded from Hamuko's sight. "I look forward to finding out. Till we meet again!"
April 16th- Early Morning
"Ungh..." Hamuko groaned as she woke up. "I can't even escape the weirdness when I go to sleep. Still, I wonder if Souji-kun really had the same dream. I'll ask him when I see him again."
After getting herself ready for school, Hamuko went downstairs to be greeted with the usual ritual of fried eggs and toast courtesy of Iris. Takao was also at the table, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.
"Wow, you look beat," said Iris when Hamuko appeared. "Did you not sleep well?"
Hamuko nodded. "Something like that. I'll be okay once I get some food in me I think."
Hamuko quietly ate her meal as she listened to Iris and Takao talk about a few random subjects. Her mind was mostly focused on the image of the person that appeared on the TV last night as well as her most recent dream. Before she knew it she had finished eating and stood up.
"Leaving already?" asked Takao. "It seems a bit early don't you think?"
"Yeah, I kinda feel like exploring the school this morning," said Hamuko as she gathered her school items and handbag.
"Huh, well have fun then," said Iris. "Try not to wear yourself out too much okay? Oh, and don't forget your umbrella! It's supposed to rain later today!"
About twenty minutes later, Hamuko found herself waiting at the crossroads, hoping that Souji wasn't already at school. To her relief, she saw him approaching on the right side as he usually would have.
"Oh, hey Senpai," he said as he walked up to her.
"H-hi Souji-kun," said Hamuko with a short wave.
An awkward silence quickly fell over the both of them as they looked at the ground.
"Okay, I'll be the one to ask," Souji finally said. "Did you have any kind strange dreams last night?"
"Yeah, I did," said Hamuko. "You...were in it too..."
"It's the same with me then," nodded Souji. "Man, I don't know what's going on anymore Senpai."
"Well that makes two of us," said Hamuko. "Wild Cards and Social Links and whatnot. As if that freaky TV world wasn't bad enough. Still, we can't just ignore it."
Souji nodded, but before he could say anything, a bicycle bell sounded and Yosuke rode up to the pair.
"Hey guys!" he said as he hopped off his bike. "Did you two see what was on the TV last night?"
"Oh I almost forgot about that!" said Hamuko. "I saw another girl, but this one had on a kimono. I didn't recognize her though."
"Same here," said Souji.
"So we all saw it then," said Yosuke. "But now that someone else has shown up on TV, we can't just ignore it."
"Should we go ask Teddie about it after school?" asked Hamuko. "Maybe he could tell us if someone's in there. Metis might know too."
"Metis? Oh the robot girl. Good idea," nodded Yosuke. "If someone else was thrown in, that means there really is a culprit behind all this. And if they know it's the world that kills the person thrown in, it's still unforgivable. So we need to find the culprit, no matter what!"
"H-hey hang on a sec," said Hamuko. "Shouldn't we leave that to the police?"
"I don't think they would believe it even if we did tell them what we know," sighed Souji.
"Exactly," nodded Yosuke. "Who'd believe that someone is killing people by throwing them into TVs?"
"So it has to be us," said Souji.
"And we did promise that bear too," added Hamuko.
"Alright, so that's settled. Oh yeah, I tried sticking my hand into the TV last night like you two did," added Yosuke. "And it actually worked! Maybe it's because I have that 'Persona' power? Maybe someone gave us this power so that we could solve this case?"
"Maybe..." said Hamuko.
"Then again you and Souji were able to go into the TV and get your Personas first," said Yosuke. "Although the way you did it, Senpai was kinda... Ah never mind. It doesn't matter- as long as you two are with me I feel like we can crack this case wide open!"
"Yeah!" said Hamuko, genuinely feeling good about it. It was then that she heard a voice in her head. "Thou art I... And I am Thou... Thou hast established a new bond... It brings thee closer to the truth... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana...
It was confusing at first for Hamuko but she recalled Igor's words from her dream. Strengthening through bonds... A Social Link? She did feel a very faint bond form when she agreed with Yosuke.
"Yo, snap out of it guys," said Yosuke as he looked at his two apparently spaced-out friends.
"Oh sorry, kind of drifted for a second there," said Souji.
"M-me too," added Hamuko. So Souji-kun must have had the same thing happen to him just now.
"Okay let's hurry to school before we're late!" said Yosuke. "I don't want to give King Moron any more reason to yell at me."
After School
Hamuko did her best to pay attention her teachers' lectures, but the recent events made it difficult for her to focus. Although she was called on once to answer a question, Hamuko was fortunate enough to know that Antarctica didn't belong to any country, thus sparing her any embarrassment. Fortunately she managed to get through the day without any real difficulties, and wasted no time meeting her friends on the first floor when the end of school bell had rung.
"Oh hey Senpai," Chie greeted Hamuko as she left the stairs. "Yosuke filled me in on what was going on so I'll go to Junes too."
"We sorta thought it might've been Yukiko earlier Senpai, but Chie called her up and she answered so that wasn't it," said Souji.
"Yeah you guys totally freaked me out when you said Yukiko might've have been thrown in!" fumed Chie.
"Uh, anyway let's not waste any more time," interjected Yosuke, trying to calm Chie down. "Let's go to Junes."
The walk to Junes was a soggy one, as the rain had indeed returned as Iris had told Hamuko it would, and she was thankful to have heeded Iris' advice and taken her umbrella.
Once there, the group made their way to the Electronics Department, where they filled Chie in on the details of what had happened the day before inside the TV world.
"Uh, okay that's enough about my lame experience," sighed Yosuke after Souji had finished.
"Still, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been in there myself," said Chie.
Yosuke shrugged. "True enough. But we still need to know what's been going on inside." He looked around and saw that there were a few customers scattered throughout the area. "I'm sure Teddie or Metis knows, but there's a lot of customers around now. I forgot there was a sale going on today."
"Maybe we could form a wall around Souji-kun and see if he can call one of them over?" suggested Hamuko.
"Yeah, good idea, senpai!" said Yosuke as he and the others did so. Souji put his hand inside the TV and a moment later winced and quickly drew his hand back out.
"That beat bit me!" he said. "I don't believe it..."
"Hey bear, I know you're in there!" hissed Chie.
"Righto," said Teddie's voice from the other side. "Are we playing a game?"
"No, you stupid bear!" fumed Yosuke. "Can you sense anyone else in there right now?"
"The only other person in here is Metis," replied Teddie. "We haven't had any other people come in, right Meti-chan?"
An angry grumble could be heard before Metis gave her reply. "I told you not to call me that! I swear you have cotton in your ears or something... Anyway, my sensors haven't detected anyone entering this world."
"So you guys are sure no one else is inside?" asked Chie.
"That's what we said," replied Teddie from the TV. "My nose is working perfectly so there's no way anyone would have gotten without me noticing."
Chie took a moment to digest the situation before turning to leave. "W-well I'd better go warn Yukiko anyway. She's be super busy at the Inn this weekend, so I don't think she'd go anywhere by herself, but it still doesn't hurt to be cautious."
"Smart thinking," nodded Yosuke. "You'll be going to school together on Monday right?"
"Yeah, that's my plan anyway," said Chie. "And Senpai could too, if she's not too late."
"Aww that was just one day!" huffed Hamuko, recalling the day she had to run to make it to school on time. The reaction was enough to get a small chuckle out of the group.
"Still, we should all watch the Midnight Channel tonight, just to be sure," said Souji. "We might see something that could give us a better idea of who we saw."
"Or hope nothing at all shows up," sighed Chie. "I wouldn't be disappointed if that happened. Well, I'd going to head out to Yukiko's now- you wanna come with Senpai?"
"To the Inn?" Hamuko was interested to see what kind of place it was, plus two people warning Yukiko about being kidnapped might be taken more seriously by her. "Sure, I'll come."
"Okay then, I'll see you guys later," said Yosuke as he waved goodbye to the girls. "Don't forget to watch!"
Unfortunately for Chie and Hamuko, the rain had not let up during their time inside Junes. At least they had their umbrellas, so they would be able to stay mostly dry during their trek to the Amagi Inn.
"Man this is so crazy, Senpai," sighed Chie as she walked alongside Hamuko up the road that lead to the Amagi Inn. "To think some sicko out there wants to kidnap Yukiko and, and..."
Hamuko went to put her hand on Chie's shoulder to reassure her before responding. "She'll be fine, Chie, don't worry."
"Oh you should seen me earlier in class this morning," replied Chie as she put a hand to her forehead. "I was literally shouting 'Yukiko's missing! Yukiko's missing!' to Yosuke and Souji-kun when she hadn't answered my calls last night or before I had gone to school."
"I didn't know about that," gasped Hamuko. "Are you sure she's okay now?"
Chie nodded. "Yeah, I forgot she was probably working at the Inn, so her cell phone wouldn't be with her. When I called the front desk, she answered."
"Well, that's a relief," said Hamuko, letting out a relieved exhale of her own. "Let's hope she takes us seriously though. I'm kind of afraid she'd think we're crazy for thinking someone wants to kidnap her.
"Well she knows when I'm serious about stuff, so I don't think she'll entirely blow us off," said Chie. "Although I wouldn't blame her if she did."
After a few more minutes of walking, the pair arrived at the Amagi Inn. Chie lead Hamuko inside, and the two were quickly greeted by Yukiko, who was decked out in a pink kimono.
"Welcome to the Amagi Inn- oh it you guys!" Yukiko was quite surprised to see the two girls there, but she was happy to see them nonetheless. "What are you doing here?"
"We just felt like dropping by," said Chie as she and Hamuko closed their umbrellas. "To...see how you were doing- right Senpai?"
Hamuko quickly received a nudge from Chie, prompting her to agree with Chie's reason.
"T-that's right! Chie told me how busy you've been so, uh, I said we should come see you after school!" Hamuko quickly felt embarrassed at how lame she must have sounded at the moment.
Yukiko gave a small chuckle. "Well, I'm fine, as you can see. A little tired, but fine."
"That's...good," said Chie, trying to figure out how to tell Yukiko what she wanted to. It wasn't the easiest subject to segue into, no matter how one approached it.
Yukiko noticed the two girls' apparent uneasiness and chose to address it. "What's going on with you two? Did something happen?"
"Oh, uh no," said Hamuko as she stared at the floor. "It's nothing bad..."
"Ugh, let's just get this over with!" grumbled Chie. "We gotta tell her before it's too late!"
"Tell me what?" asked Yukiko. Her eyes suddenly widened as an idea popped into her head. "Oh my goodness, are you two... dating?"
"What?! No!" shrieked Hamuko and Chie, shocked that Yukiko could somehow come to that conclusion.
"Look, Yukiko, have you seen any weird or suspicious people around the Inn lately?" asked Chie, her face still red after hearing her best friend come up with her conclusion.
"Strange?" Yukiko thought for a moment before shaking her head. "The customers here are just your average tourists. There's been a few news and magazine reporters around, but nothing I'd call weird. You two would definitely be the weirdest people I've seen today, with how you've been acting."
"I'm not sure if I should be relieved or ashamed..." trailed Hamuko.
"Well, we just wanted to make sure everything was okay," said Chie. "You're not going out alone anytime soon are you?"
"...No?" Yukiko seemed just as confused now as she was before. "The Inn is fully stocked for now. I don't I'll need to go into town at all this weekend. Why do you ask?"
"We're just worried about you is all," explained Hamuko. "With the murder and all..."
Yukiko's face lit up as she finally figured it out. "Oh, that's why you're all nervous! Well, the staff's been telling me the same thing, so I've kinda been on the lookout for weirdos and strange people."
"O-oh, really?" said Chie, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well, that's good! Can't be too careful!"
Yukiko nodded. "If I see someone strange hanging around, you'll be the first to know Chie." She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, the door opened behind them to reveal a man and woman who were obviously tourists.
"Well, we'd better let you back to work," said Chie, as she lead Hamuko towards the door. "See you Monday!"
Yukiko nodded and waved goodbye as the two left the Inn. Once outside, Chie let out a frustrated groan.
"Ugh I sounded so stupid! I should have known the Inn's staff would be looking out for her too!"
"Still it doesn't hurt to be careful," said Hamuko as she opened her umbrella. "And she did take us seriously- that's got to count for something."
Chie gave a resigned sigh as she opened her umbrella and walked down the road away from the Inn. "Yeah I guess you're right. It's a little relieving to know we aren't the only ones worried about her."
The two continued down the path in silence before stopping at the crossroads that would separate them.
"Well, I guess this is where we part ways Senpai," said Chie as she looked at Hamuko before a light bulb went off in her head. "Hey, why don't we exchange cell phone numbers? If we see something on the Midnight Channel tonight, we can let each other know that way!"
"That sounds like a good idea," said Hamuko as she reached into her handbag and retrieved her phone. However, when she opened it, it was quite clear she didn't know how to use it.
"Um, what's up Senpai" asked Chie, noticing her friend's confused expression.
"Well, I, uh...don't know how to use this," said Hamuko with a sheepish expression.
"Huh? Oh, that's right. Hang on a sec, lemme show you how to work this thing..." Chie took Hamuko's phone and demonstrated how to operate the basic functions of her cell phone, as well as how to add other people's numbers.
"Oh, that's not too hard," said Hamuko as Chie handed her phone back her. "I can remember all that, no prob."
"Well, if there's anything else you want to know about that phone, let me know," said Chie. "Although I have to say that's an expensive model- there might be a few things that are new to me."
"Thanks," said Hamuko as she watched Chie enter some information into her own cell phone.
"Well, I've your cell phone number added, so that's that!" said Chie as she put away her cell phone. "So, I guess that's it for today Senpai. I'll see you later!"
"Bye, Chie! See you later!" As Chie began to walk away, she once again heard a voice in her head.
"Thou art I... And I am Thou... Thou hast established a new bond... It brings thee closer to the truth... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Chariot Arcana..."
A new Social Link? This would be the first time she would have forged one without Souji. While she wanted to think on what had just happened more, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.
"Hamuuuukoooo!" shouted Iris from the other side of the crosswalk. She quickly crossed the road and met up with her housemate. "Good lord, girl what are ya doing in the rain by yourself?"
"Oh, uh I was at Junes with some friends earlier, and I'm just now getting back," said Hamuko, not wanting to tell her about trip to the Amagi Inn.
"That so?" said Iris as she and Hamuko began walking back to their house. "Shame this town doesn't have more places for kids to hang out than a department store, but then again it's not such a bad place."
"I think it's pretty cool," said Hamuko with an agreeing nod. "And I still haven't seen everything that store has to offer."
Iris laughed at this. "Well, it'll probably take a whole afternoon if you wanted to do that. I was there myself actually. Got some groceries for dinner tonight." She gestured towards the bags in her right hand.
"Oh, I didn't know there was a grocery section to Junes!" said Hamuko. "I've kinda been in the Electronics section as of late."
"Well of course you would," said Iris. "All this new high-tech stuff is new to ya, so I'm sure you'd want to see it all."
The two continued talking as they walked to the house.
"Well, I'll be making dinner, so you don't have to worry about helping me or anything," said Iris as the two walked inside. "Go study or whatever you feel like doing."
Hamuko nodded and put her umbrella away. After she took off her shoes she went upstairs.
–
Evening – Near Midnight
Iris' dinner was quite good- Hamuko never had Chinese food before, and if Iris' version of it was true to form, it was not something she'd get tired of anytime soon.
The rest of the evening was spent studying, until midnight was almost upon her. Hamuko switched off the TV and watched as the seconds ticked by until it had become midnight.
When it did, the TV turned on and what happened next was nothing that Hamuko could prepare for.
The television clearly showed Yukiko dressed in a pink and red dress standing in front a medieval-looking castle.
A moment later Hamuko watch and listened as Yukiko declared she was going to 'score herself a hot stud' and ran inside the castle. After that, the TV turned off.
What did I just watch? She wondered to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing on the table. Grabbing it, she opened it and saw that it was Chie calling her.
"H-hello?"
"Senpai, did you watch? Tell me you did not see what I just saw!" said a very worried sounding Chie.
"Well, if you're talking about that princess-looking Yukiko, then I can't really say that..." trailed Hamuko.
"Oh, man, oh gosh..." Chie was sounding like she was going to lose it at any moment. "Okay, okay calm down Chie. I...I'll call her cell phone first and then the Inn. I'm sure she's still busy at the Inn, that's all."
"Should I do anything?" asked Hamuko, worried that Chie might think she wasn't being serious or concerned about Yukiko.
"N-no, I've got it under control," said Chie. "I'll call you tomorrow and let you know what's going on." A clicking sound was heard, indicating that she had hung up.
Please let Chie be right, sighed Hamuko as she laid down on her futon. But something in the back of her mind knew that that just wouldn't be true.