Hello again everyone! :) Here's chapter 2 of "Persona Academy". Thanks to those who have reviewed the first chapter. Without further a due, let's get this train rolling! o3o

Persona Academy

Chapter 2: Welcoming

Keita and Kaz ran a fair distance from the dorm, running into the large quad of the campus…or rather they tried to run into the quad. In almost no time at all, it seemed the school had almost awakened from a deep sleep.

"Oh…my….god" Keita mumbled as he scanned the enormous mob of people that had all gathered into this quad. There were so many students of varying ages socializing amongst each other, all unified by the same black and white uniforms.

"Is this everyone?" Keita mumbled to Kaz through agape lips.

"I doubt it. This is a pretty small crowd" Kaz answered.

"THIS is a small crowd?" Keita's head thrashed to the side, looking at Kaz in astonishment.

Kaz nodded to him. "You'd be surprised"

"Hey! Kaz! Saeki-kun!" A voice was heard just barely over the roar of the crowd. Keita and Kaz looked to where the voice came from to see Marina barely squeeze out of the crowd and run towards them. "Glad to see you both made it".

"Ah, it's no big deal" Keita replied slyly, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course, Marina-senpai" Kaz answered to her.

"Wait…Senpai…?" Keita asked, looking at Kaz.

"Yeah, Marina-san is my senpai too. You're a junior, right?" Kaz inquired, curiously.

"Yeah…"

"I'm the same grade level as you if that's the case"

"Damn! Wouldn't have guessed" Keita yelped, astonished at this. "I would've figured you'd be around her age and grade, if not higher".

"I'm only 17, Keita" Kaz said sheepishly.

"Same age as me and yet he still makes me look like a shrimp" Keita whined to himself internally. "I see…"

"Anyways, you guys ready?" Marina asked, looking like she was going to burst with excitement.

"Ready for what?" Keita asked back.

"You don't know?" Marina's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"I'm afraid I'm kinda new to this party. Heh heh" Keita replied jokingly, anxiety creeping up on him.

"The principal of St. Lucia's is going to welcome the students" Marina clarified.

"The principal…?"

"Principal Izumi. He's the one who first founded this place" Marina explained.

"Ah, so he's an old geezer, huh?" Keita asked.

"Hmmmm, you'll see"

"What does that mean?" Keita asked. "This is getting weirder and weirder".

"Attention everyone…The welcoming ceremony for the students of St. Lucia's Academy for the Gifted is about to begin" A voice suddenly spoke over the intercom.

"Alright, follow me, I'll get you guys a good spot to watch" Marina ran off into the crowd. Keita and Kaz obliged and followed her as best as they could, until finally, they reached a spot in the crowd where they could easily view the stage.

Suddenly, without a word of say so, the crowd went deathly silent. "What the hell…?" Keita mumbled as he looked around him. As he scanned, he looked up at the stage.

From the side of the stage, a man stepped up. He looked no older than 30, with medium length black hair that waved lightly in the autumn breeze and eyes that he kept closed as he walked up to the podium, which was adorned with the St. Lucia emblem. He pressed both of his hands on the podium with his head down. Suddenly, the once calm breeze picked up. The nearby cherry blossom trees released a light flurry of petals through the air in response, adding a surreal effect to everything.

"That's him?" Keita whispered to Marina. She nodded in confirmation, waiting attentively for him to speak.

"THAT'S the guy who founded this place? He looks younger than my dad!" Keita thought flabbergasted. It was obvious just by his mere presence that he demanded respect, but he didn't seem arrogant.

As the wind calmed, the man, Principal Izumi, faced the massive crowd of students and opened his eyes, indigo and full of wisdom. A small smile spread across his face as he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"Thank you for joining me here today everyone. It does my heart good to see all of your bright faces, gathered in one place. For my old friends here who are returning for another year, I'm glad to welcome you back. For new friends who are barely joining us today, I'd like to welcome you, not only as a student, but as family. Welcome to St. Lucia's Academy for the Gifted"

The crowd of students erupted into applause at the words of their principal. Keita himself couldn't believe it himself that he was clapping along.

"Each and every one of you was chosen to attend this school because you showed you had the gift of character and mind that will allow you to do great things for the world. If we all work together to achieve our goals, I believe we could make our home and the rest of the world a better place to live. I wish you all the best of luck for your future endeavors. Thank you" With the last words said, Principal Izumi stepped away from the podium and exited the stage from the left side with the roar of the crowd accompanying him.

"He's quite the speaker, huh?" Marina asked, nudging Keita's shoulder.

"No kidding" Keita agreed.

"Crazy thing is, he never uses a script" Marina pointed out. "In the time I've been here, all of his speeches are different".

"Pretty impressive, he sounds like a cool guy" Keita complimented. He turned around, seeing the mob of students disbanding to different areas of the campus. "So, what do we do now?" He asked as he turned to face Kaz and Marina.

"Well, since I finished up before I got here I can hang out with you guys for awhile if you like" Marina offered.

"I'm fine with that, what about you Kaz?" Keita asked.

"I don't mind".

"Then it's settled! We'll go and" Before Keita could finish his sentence, a loud growling sound came from him.

"Eep! What was that? A monster?" Marina yelped.

"My stomach" Keita murmured.

"Your stomach…?" She asked.

"Heh heh, anywhere I can get some food? I haven't eaten anything since I got on the last plane here" Keita asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, the cafeteria…"

"I said FOOD! Not Styrofoam!" Keita interrupted loudly.

"There's a takoyaki stand around here" Kaz added.

"Now you're speaking my language!" Keita yelled happily. "Lead the way, Big Guy!" He followed Kaz and Marina as they headed to the aforementioned takoyaki stand.

They only walked a short distance before Keita's entire body perked up and his nose went in the air. He inhaled deeply. "Ahhhhh, just like home" Keita sighed.

"I have a feeling the guy running the stand is gonna know him by name before the semester is half through" Marina teased, amused by his reaction to the mere scent of the food.

"It wouldn't surprise me" Kaz agreed.

"Hey! You slowpokes gonna get in line or what? Or am I gonna have to eat all your shares by myself?" Keita yelled to the two.

"Don't you dare! I'm hungry too!" Marina yelled, running behind him as Kaz followed behind.

After a moment of waiting behind a small line, Keita was up. "Hey, so what's the largest size we can order?" Keita's eyes were glued to the chef's nimble movements as he poured batter and flipped the fried morsels with chopsticks so they formed their round shape.

"A box of ten" He said, brushing his brow with a towel before continuing his routine.

"Can I get…twenty?" Keita asked casually.

The chef nearly dropped his chopsticks upon hearing that. "Are you serious?" He asked, not believing what he just heard.

"Hell yeah, my good man!" Keita replied as he placed his money up front.

The chef laughed at Keita's enthusiasm. "You got it, kid!" In no time at all, the chef handed the box to Keita, nearly overflowing with the round octopus filled snacks.

"Thanks a lot!" Keita chirped as he walked to a nearby bench and took in the smell of the food. Kaz and Marina joined him as they began to eat.

"It's been forever since I've had these" Marina said, grabbing her skewer. "What do you think, Kaz?"

Silence was her only answer.

"Kaz…?"

Marina looked to her side and saw both Kaz and Keita stuffing their faces with their food.

"Oh jeez, breathe you guys! You're gonna pass out!" Marina barely managed to say through her laughter.

Before Marina could even finish chewing her first takoyaki ball, the boys finished, throwing their heads back and sighing in content.

"Kaz…I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship" Keita groaned happily as he gave Kaz a high five.

"Now I know who to call if I ever need to empty out the fridge" Marina said teasingly.

"The hell does that mean!" Keita said in a faked slurred voice.

"Ah, nothing" Marina brushed the statement off and ate at her own pace.

"I think I'm gonna like it here" Keita stated, looking up at the sky.

"That's good to hear" Kaz said, smiling.

"Well, I gotta get going. You two take care now" Marina said kindly as she got up and walked towards her dorm.

"Later!"

"See you tomorrow"

Keita got up from his seat, stretching his body. "Well, I'm ready to head to my room" He said.

"I might as well, too" Kaz agreed, getting up. The two headed to the dorm casually as the evening sun began to set and the once orange sky turned dark blue.

Keita walked through the doors of his dorm and could visibly see how different it was with students in it. Students were reading books and using laptops in the foyer, running from hall to hall to different places and a group of students setting up something in the lounge.

"Remember how I said to savor the silence when we were in here earlier?" Kaz asked with annoyance in his voice.

"Y-yeah" Keita nervously responded.

"In the day that was the last silence you'll have" Kaz groaned.

"It's at least better at night, right?"

"Usually…It depends on the day" Kaz explained.

The two spoke for a little while, taking a seat in the foyer.

"Hey Kaz, I'm heading to bed alright? I'm bushed" Keita mumbled as he walked away.

"Alright, goodnight, I'll wake you up for class tomorrow" Kaz stated.

"Yeah, yeah, you do that Big Guy" Keita said, not amused by the mention of academic classes.

Keita climbed up the stairs and went into his room, taking off his shoes and blazer before simply flopping on his bed.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"What a day. But I made it. I'm finally at St. Lucia's. However, I still have some questions about this place"

He continued to think to himself with closed eyes. "How come Marina-senpai and Kaz clammed up when I asked about how this school admits its students?"

As he lied down, he couldn't shake a strange feeling that had snuck up on him. He couldn't quite describe it, but it was almost like he could feel a presence in the room.

"Kaz…?" He asked, but as he turned to the door, but no one was there.

"I'm just tired. Just ignore it" He lectured to himself out loud.

But as he closed his eyes again and was on the brink of sleeping, the presence felt closer, almost as if it was right next to him and for a brief moment, Keita thought he heard something. Three words seemingly whispered in his ear as his mind finally drifted off.

"Thou art I…"