Chapter 3
The Fool's Journey + Vampire
"Once upon a time, man discovered monsters. Not the kind that live in the monster realms. Not the demons of hell, or Makai. Not the youkai of Gensokyo. And not the ones that live beside them on earth. But ones that were by and large incomparable.
They were called shadows.
A corporate conglomerate called the Nanjo Group was the ones who started looking into them first, after discovering them alongside a mysterious power known as Persona in 1996.
The initial studies into them showed that they are deeply connected to the demons of makai, as well as a realm known as the sea of souls. Existing firmly between the folds of reality, they could only manifest in places or times that were unnatural.
When the Nanjo group split with one of its partner conglomerates in 1997, the secondary group were the ones who continued the research of the shadows.
This group is known as the Kirijo group.
Led by Kouetsu Kirijo, the Kirijo group delved deeply into the research, understanding, and defense against the shadows. Looking into their potential to affect reality, and the dangers they held.
At first, they were entirely geared to the betterment of humanity, and keeping it safe from these unnatural creatures.
But eventually, something went wrong.
Very wrong.
By 1999, they had turned their eyes to something unthinkable. And one man realized what was happening.
His name was Eiichiro Takeba.
April 7th, 1999, he sabotaged a procedure that would have done something awful and caused an explosion that killed dozens.
He saved the world.
But it was just the beginning.
They had collected an enormous amount of shadows to research, and they had fused into a singular being. That being was at the center of the procedure they were attempting. And so when the laboratory exploded, the being was destroyed.
Or rather, shattered.
13 pieces were scattered to the winds, reality was shattered, and 24 hours became 25.
A whole hour, hidden between days. Filled with shadows, and darkness. Like a festering wound on the face of reality.
In this first of many hidden hours, the first 12 shadow shards disappeared into the night.
The 13th stayed and destroyed all in its path.
The Kirijo group had created something to combat shadows, Anti-Shadow Weapons. Gynoids implanted with a sense of humanity and empowered to be able to use the power of persona. The same power I have.
They sent many of them to destroy the 13th shadow, but in the end only one was left.
This final ASW came to the realization she could not win, so she performed a final act of desperation. Seeing a child who was awake in this unnatural time, his parents dead in the wreckage of the car the three of them were in, she used a seal to trap the great shadow within the boy's soul.
The boy awoke at 1 AM, with no memory of the incident, in the twisted wreckage of his parents car. The cooling bodies of his parents in the front seats.
And he felt nothing.
The doctors said it was trauma. The boy said little at all.
His surviving family knew something was wrong about him, and refused to take him in, going as far as to tell his younger sister that he had died in the same accident that claimed her parents.
He went from home to home until he was 17, when he returned to the town where it all started.
April 7th 2009, the boy walked the streets of Iwatodai once more, and began his journey.
For the next year, the boy would change, making friends, regaining his lost emotions, meeting an ASW named Aegis with a strange connection to him, meeting vampires and living legends, and fighting shadows in the dark hour.
With his comrades, he scaled an evil tower, fought 12 monstrous shadows on nights where the moon was full, met and fought hostile persona users, experienced love, and loss, and discovered secret after secret.
Eventually he and his friends beat the 12th shadow. And they thought they had fixed everything, stopped the dark hour, cured apathy syndrome, and saved the world.
They were wrong.
They were betrayed.
They learned the truth.
They had not saved the world.
They had doomed it.
The 12 scattered shards returned to the last piece, and it left the boy.
But it was different.
It had been in the boy as he regained his humanity.
It became something like a human itself.
Gee, thanks Mina-Kun
It arrived as a transfer student.
Aegis could tell something was wrong with him from the beginning.
And on a night, much like this one, she confronted him.
On the same bridge.
And he remembered.
And he hated himself.
And the truth was laid bare.
Death.
That was his true name.
The harbinger of the primordial goddess of death herself.
NYX.
From her comes the end.
And he wanted to spare us the futility of trying to fight the embodiment of death itself.
He offered to remove their memories of the dark hour, let them live a life of peace until the end.
All they had to do was kill him.
Specifically, the boy had to kill him.
They agonized over it.
In the end, they steeled themselves.
They refused.
They made the decision to stand against death and refuse to be cowed.
So, they made the final push. Climbed to the top of the evil tower and met the avatar of NYX.
They gave it their all.
They thought they won.
But they hadn't.
Revealing its true power, the Fall began.
All the world awoke in the dark hour.
People were succumbing.
The boy and his friends were doing all they could, just to stand up under the pressure of death itself.
NYX revealed herself to the world.
A twisted monstrosity in the form of a mechanical full moon.
All was lost.
But the boy, who had pushed his own power to the limits, found a moment of clarity.
He found his answer.
He turned the cherished bonds with the people he grew to love into a power that surpassed even Death.
His friends, his mentors, his companions, his lover.
Hs comrades.
They had faith in him.
And he had faith in them.
He ascended, up into the heart of NYX.
He shrugged off death itself.
He made the decision.
He would separate NYX from humanity.
He would prevent the Fall, by preventing NYX from ever reaching mankind again.
He would sacrifice his very soul to do it.
And he did.
But as he did, he was ripped from time.
He was asked to go to a school for monsters.
And I was given a chance to live."
I smiled at my reflection in the window, as I finished my story.
The two of them were decidedly slack jawed.
Understandable. That was a lot to take in.
They likely need a minute to-
"Did you say lover?" asked Kurumu.
…
…
"Yes?" I say as I turn to look at her in disbelief. Was that all she heard?
"I guess that means I have to share you then. That's a shame, though it could be fun." She responded.
"that's your major concern? The fact that he has a lover?" was Moka's response, as she put her head in her hand.
She is right on our wavelength.
Clearly.
"I'm a succubus. Give me a break." She huffs in return.
"That aside, it sounds like you left quite a lot out of your story." Comes the exasperated voice of Moka.
"Of course, it was nearly a whole year of my life. It's not like we have all night. We do still have school tomorrow." I say with a deadpan.
"Fair point, I think I've had enough of this for now, I'm going back to sleep." Moka says as she puts the rosary back on herself.
The sleeping Moka opens her eyes, and stares at me for a moment.
"You said you met other vampires." She says from her seat.
I nod, "I've met 3 vampires. 4 if I count you. There was a lot I didn't explain."
I'm fairly certain I ended up in multiple hells, and a version of heaven. In the same day.
"Ever met a succubus before?" asked Kurumu, hugging my arm between her breasts.
"One of my personae is a succubus. She is good at inflicting status ailments."
That got a blink from Kurumu.
"Does that mean you're part succubus or something?" she asked, her face screwed up in confusion.
"No, it's different than that." I walk up to my book shelf and take the storage scroll I had gotten last summer, and retrieve the book I needed.
"this is a research Journal from the Nanjo Group. It has some of the basics behind the power of persona, since after the groups split, the Nanjo Group started focusing on the power of persona itself."
I give the journal to Kurumu, who opens it for a moment, before going cross eyed and looking at me with a blank look.
"What language is this written in?"
I take it back and say, "it's Japanese. I forgot that the academy only translates the spoken word."
Kurumu blushes and admits, "I thought everyone here was speaking French this whole time."
Moka looks at her in surprise. "you're French? But your name sounds Japanese?"
Kurumu leans back and says, "my family usually interacts with the Japanese more than not, but the language we speak in the Succubus city is French. Or at least something close enough. Mom says modern French is just a split off of the Succubus language."
Ooh, Language of love I guess right?
Sounds about right.
"we seem to be getting off track, I'll give you three a quick rundown of persona."
Moka and Kurumu sit next to each other with matching notebooks and pens.
This seems a bit silly, no?
"The power of persona, is connected to Shadows, in a deep manner that can not be ignored. Because of that I need to describe shadows at the same time I describe persona.
Like I mentioned before, Shadows are deeply connected to two separate planes of existence, Makai, and the Sea Of Souls.
Makai, or the realm that demons live in, is where the form of persona come from. Since it is a place where being that mankind have created through belief are born and live, separate from the earth, they are heavily based on mankind's perception of their kind.
The Sea Of Souls, or the realm that all souls come and go to and from, is where the nature of persona comes from. Since it is the place where souls are born from, it is the source of all soul based powers, persona especially.
These two realms make up the shape, and nature that form the power of Shadows. And in return, the shape and nature of persona.
Shadows are pieces of thought. Literally, the shadow cast by negative human thought.
If somebody has a negative thought, they cast a shadow in the in between realms, the ones mentioned earlier, and those shadows coalesce into forms that resonate with those thoughts.
If those negative thoughts revolve around say, the idea of somebody acting slimy, then the shadow fragments will transform into the shape and temperament of the demon known as slime.
A persona is essentially a shadow, that has been accepted.
When a person faces their own shadow and accepts their flaws, they gain the power to wield their shadow, as an extension of their own self.
Of course, the only way to even meet your own shadow would be to enter a world that already holds shadows and remain there long enough for yours to manifest. Because of that, the Kirijo group developed a device called an Evoker."
At this I remove my evoker from its hidden holster.
"a device that looks like a gun, that you must put to your head, and pull the trigger to use."
The girls pale at that statement.
"The device uses a magical crystal as it's key component. It shatters the boundary between you and your shadow, and connects your mind with it.
It's a brute force method, to say the least, but when you have accidentally started the apocalypse, you tend to look for results rather than finesse.
Sometimes you find people with rigid senses of self, capable of wielding only one persona, who can eventually go through a growth of self, and evolve their persona.
Other times you find people who are more multifaceted and adaptable, these people are able to wield several persona within a certain series of Arcana, something I will explain later.
And finally, we have the most powerful, versatile, and fundamentally broken sort of persona user.
The Wild Card.
Someone like me, who has been touched by divinity, influenced by a deity of some sort. We can wield ANY persona, and we can make ourselves stronger by forming bonds with others.
We are powerful, but we are damaged. Like I told you, I was devoid of emotions, until I made connections with people for the first time.
And as far as I'm aware, I'm the only person in the last century to be a wildcard."
Moka raises her hand as if we were in class, "Yes Moka?" I ask with a hint of amusement.
"do you know who your predecessor was?"
I give a slight smile, and say, "in 1884, a young shrine maiden in the Yatsugatake Mountains of Japan, named Miko Hakurei, ended a bloody war between humans and Monsters, by making a truce and helping to create a haven for monsters.
That place is known as Gensokyo, and is considered one of the most fantastical realms in existence."
At the look of confusion on Moka's face I realize she has never heard of it before, which does disappoint me a bit, but Kurumu seems excited.
"I know that place! My cousin Koakuma lives there with her master!" comes her excited shout.
I blink in surprise. "that's your cousin? I didn't realize she was a succubus."
They both look at me, their own surprise evident. "she's really shy for a succubus but yeah, her mom is my aunt." Says Kurumu, "When did you go to Gensokyo?"
I wave my hand, "that's a story for later, lets get back on track.
As I was saying, the power of persona can only be gained through psychological trauma. So even though it is powerful, it has an intense price.
And the balance an intricacies of it are difficult to explain without some extra discussions on Jungian psychology, and the art of Tarot.
So, with that in mind, any questions?"
The two looked at each other and asked Moka asked, "inner Moka wants to know how a human can get strong enough to beat death itself, and yet we have never even heard of this persona stuff before?"
I shrug.
"maybe the monsters in charge are aware of it, but why spread knowledge of it. If people like that punk guy from yesterday knew that humans could get strong enough to be a danger to monsters, how long before they start hunting us in an attempt to prevent persona users from getting strong at all?"
They flinch and nod at the observation.
As I look out the window, I notice that the sun is almost all the way down.
"it's getting late, you two should get going, otherwise rumors might start."
Moka blushes, and gets ready to go, but Kurumu smirks and says, "they aren't rumors if we make them true~"
I look her in the eye and say, "you do realize, I just time travelled. I was with my girlfriend less than 3 days ago."
She gets a hurt expression, and I soften my gaze. "Listen, I'm not saying no to you. I'm saying that I need some time to adjust to things. At some point this year I'm going to get in contact with my old comrades and speak with them. So when that happens, I have a… feeling, that Aegis will be coming to the academy. I wont shun you or ignore you, but you need to talk to aegis before I do anything sexual with you."
She looks at me for a bit before she pouts. "okay… but I WILL be getting all sorts of hugs and cuddles." And she grabs her stuff.
I smile at her, and it's the first genuine smile I've let out since I've got here.
Both Kurumu and Moka blush pretty intensely as they hop back out the window.
Ha, you lady-killer you.
Shush Ryoji.
-P+V-
The next morning, I get out of bed and get ready for the day, only to find something unexpected left behind by Kurumu.
Is that?
Her bra?
Yes, it is.
When? No how?
I don't know the answer to either of those questions Ryoji.
-P+V-
As I go to class, I notice a few people openly staring at me, and I can't quite hear what they are saying before I'm ambushed by two rather happy voices.
"Minato!" comes the synchronized voices of Moka and Kurumu as they jog over to me.
Moka hugs my left arm, and Kurumu my right.
The stares turn downright hostile and I understand the whispers now.
"Hi honey~ I brought you some cookies I baked for you!" says Kurumu.
Ah, baked goods, my second biggest weakness.
"Hey, I thought you were waiting for Aegis before seducing him?" said Moka with a frown.
"I'm not seducing him; I'm being affectionate with him." Comes her happy response.
I would tell Moka that she isn't bothering me, but cookies.
One of these days, your stomach is going to get you in trouble.
I'm sure it will.
As I keep walking to class, I ignore the lighthearted bickering between them and just enjoy this new normal.
"Thou Art I... And I am thou... Thou Shalt have our Blessing When thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana."
Oh.
So, they are my new fool link?
Your own little harem, I'm so proud of you!
It's not a harem. A harem is a place where only women are allowed.
You know damn well what I meant. And if it hadn't been for you being so clueless, you would have had one in Gekkoukan.
As accurate as that may be, it's still rude.
"Thou Art I... And I am thou... Thou Shalt have our Blessing When thou choosest to create a Persona of the Moon Arcana."
Wait, what?
I have no idea.
Who did I connect with?
I still have no idea.
I think we should keep an eye out to figure out who just gained that sort of connection with me.
Agreed
While I shake out the confusion in my mind about what just happened, we get to class and take our seats.
Nekonome sensei starts the day and takes rollcall, and I start dozing. I already know about the human world anyway.
-P+V-
My danger sense kicks in, and I grab the piece of chalk out of the air, and I wake up to a surprised class, including a shocked Nekonome sensei, who quickly regains her composure and says, "I'm sorry to bore you to sleep Minato-Kun, but if you can catch that chalk, you can answer this question."
She points to the board, which I realize must have some kind of spell on it if it looks like Japanese to me yet Kurumu can read it, and read the question.
In order to travel quickly, humans use large metal machines similar to the bus, these are called-
Are you serious?
"Yes, I am."
Oops that was supposed to be my inside voice.
"I mean cars, Nekonome sensei." I say with a straight face.
"that's right, good job sleepy head." She says with an equally straight face.
As I listen to the rest of the lecture, entirely about the basics of human transportation, two things become increasingly clear.
First, Monsters are clearly clueless about humans.
And second, Nekonome sensei is hiding her intelligence.
The way she describes everything in as much simple detail as she can, without confusing anyone too much, shows it.
I wonder why she does it?
-P+V-
"Alright everybody, thank you for trying so hard today, be prepared because classes will be cancelled tomorrow in lieu of the fact that club recruitment will be going on. You are required to choose a club by school rules, so make sure you give it a lot of thought!"
Class is over for the day and I'm ready to get some food, but first I think I want to speak with Nekonome sensei.
Moka and Kurumu stay behind with me as I approach Nekonome sensei.
"Nekonome sensei, I noticed something during class today." I say to start the conversation.
"If you are going to say something about having dreams about me during your little nap, then please save it for another time Minato-San." She says with a smirk on her face.
Moka and Kurumu get shocked looks on their faces as they look between me and her quickly.
"Sorry to disappoint, but that's not it." I respond, feelings of amusement running through me. "I was referring to the act you put on."
For the second time today I saw Nekonome Sensei surprised, and this time I was close enough to see her blue eyes.
"You figured it out, huh? For someone who sleeps as much as you do, I didn't think you could be that observant." Came her response. Moka and Kurumu looked offended on my behalf.
"Most of what you teach is stuff that I've known since I was a kid." I shrug. "If it wasn't a required course, I probably wouldn't attend at all."
Nekonome Sensei looks at me with a wry smile. "I suppose human world classes would be rather dull to a human."
I look her directly in the eyes and say "extremely."
The girls seem freaked out, but I already knew she had figured out that I wasn't a monster.
She notices my lack of surprise and her smugness dissipates. "You aren't going to ask how I know? Even a little?"
I shrug, "other than the fact that I'm the only person in the whole school who hasn't let their true form out at least once? You were neither upset I was asleep in class, nor surprised that I knew the answer to the question."
"I suppose I wasn't being enough of an airhead to throw you off the trail, huh?" she sighs.
I sit in the front seat and ask, "why the act? Surely you want your students to respect you?"
She laughs, "hardly, nobody here respects me. I'm only here because I've been living in the human world for years, and I'm the only person the headmaster could find who was qualified to teach about the human world."
Now that's unexpected.
"I'm happy to teach, but nobody takes cats seriously. I mean sure, I WILL melt if someone scratches mu scalp just the right way, but that doesn't mean I don't have a sense of pride!"
She is on a roll.
"combine that with the anarchy this place is in constantly, and it's just safer to make sure everybody thinks you are barely smart enough to read. I have four doctorates, FOUR. I could be teaching in Tokyo U! but I agreed to teach here."
I wonder if she even realizes that she is ranting?
"don't get me wrong, it's beyond satisfying to know I'm helping young monsters learn what they are going to need to get ahead in life, but all I want is some damned respect! Is that too much to ask for?" she finishes.
She pants in frustration, as she looks at me with a slightly unhinged expression.
"I think you are doing a good job, all things considered." I say.
"Yeah! You are really good at explaining things, I've never been to the human world, but I'm sure if I go there, I'll know exactly what I'm doing!" says Kurumu. Moka just nods enthusiastically behind her.
"Thanks, you kids, I appreciate it." She says with a tired expression.
"Is there anything I could do to help" I ask.
"well, the club selection day tomorrow is usually a nightmare. We usually have around 15 student casualties a year."
What?
"if you and your ladies here, could just keep an eye out around the campus to make sure nothing goes wrong, that would be really helpful."
What?
"big warning though, if you see anybody in black coats, or saying they are with the public safety committee, avoid them, don't get involved no matter what. If you defy them they won't hesitate to kill you."
What?!
"Thank you, I'm sure you can handle this!" and with that, Nekonome sensei bowed quickly and left.
"Thou Art I... And I am thou... Thou Shalt have our Blessing When thou choosest to create a Persona of the Star Arcana."
"Did we just get signed up to be security tomorrow?" asked Kurumu.
I nod.
"Did she say 15 people usually die tomorrow?" asks Moka.
I nod again.
Did she say that the Public safety committee is basically a yakuza cell?
I sigh and nod.
"Tomorrow is going to be troublesome. Isn't it." I sigh.
The girls nod.