Everyone...?
I guess they finally remember...
I'm glad... I'm so glad...
Ah... But I feel so sleepy...
I feel so tired...
I feel very light...
I wish I could see them again...
"I'm glad I met you..."
I wanted to reply...
But I can't even open my eyes anymore...
I wish... I wish I can stay with everyone...
Chapter 1: She's Back?
April 1, 2014-Tuesday
"Tch. Can't believe I forgot to buy more milk."
The tall brunette mulled over himself as he turned to the door. He was wearing a black turtle neck shirt and long brown pants.
"Arf!" A bark echoed from behind him.
The man brushed back his unkempt dark-brown hair before turning to the white furball. He smiled at the dog and crouched down, gently patting its head as it wagged its tail. "I'm just gonna grab some ingredients" he said to the mutt before getting up.
It barked again with its pleading bright red eyes directed at him.
"Yes Koro, I'll be sure to get you some treats. Now, go back and be a good boy" he chuckled before closing the door behind him.
It was dark, the streets were quiet and barren, save for a few people walking here and then. Most were shady characters, but some were businessmen on their way home after a long day of work.
The streetlights flickered as he passed through, hands on his pockets. No one dared come close to him. Perhaps it was because of his equally piercing eyes that he they avoided him. Either way, he shrugged off his surroundings as he continued on his way.
'I hope the store is still open. It's s'posed to be... but that old man has some issues' he sighed at the thought.
The brunette took out his hand and stared at his leather wristwatch- it was almost midnight. With another sigh, he slipped his hand back inside the pocket. He was thankful that the dreaded hour was not coming. Every time he was awake during midnight, it felt like it would, but it never did... This night though... he felt quite uneasy. He pondered a bit, before finally blaming it on the cold weather, after all, it was spring season.
"Looks like it's still open" he let out a small smile, staring at the convenience store.
As he approached, a suspicious silhouette of a female trying to peek inside the establishment from a afar caught his eyes. It was dark and difficult to see her face, but she was wearing the Gekkoukan High uniform. Strange... school's not starting until the 7th.
"Hey, what're you doing over there?" he called out in a gruff tone which seemed to have surprised the girl.
For a moment, she stepped back but stopped. The girl lowered her head as the man approached her. "U-um... Well... I haven't eaten..." she mumbled in a weak voice. "But... I don't have money..." she added, sounding embarrassed.
The man was rubbing the back of his head as he walked closer to the girl, "tch. Another one?" he shook his head, "standing around ain't getting you anywhere. People might think you're some burglar or somethin', c'mon, I'll get you a sandwich and send you home." He gently pulled her by the wrist, toward the well-lit store.
As they drew closer, the girl seemed as though she hesitated to follow him. Of course, he knew very well why. He's a stranger after all, not to mention, he was aware of how intimidating his appearance cane be. Ugh. What a pain- he thought. He turned back to assure his his little companion that it's alright... -Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. The moment he laid eyes on her, his gray eyes widened as if he saw a ghost.
The girl just stared at him dumbfoundedly, with her bright red eyes. Pale white skin, had reddish brown hair which were tied to the back and barrettes on her hair which form the roman numeral 22- those were the traits he knew so well.
'It can't be her, because she's...!'
"You-" before he could finish his words, a shiver suddenly crept up his spine. It felt as if an ominous aura suddenly wrapped the area.
The world didn't turn green or bloody like he feared though, no coffins neither. Even the lights still work... though they strangely stopped flickering. Such were the signs of the dreaded 'world' he had to experience every night during his teenage years- the Dark Hour; not seeing them made him feel some relief... however, after looking around, he noticed everyone seemed to have stopped moving. Then, he stared at his watch- it stopped at 12:00 AM.
At that moment, he felt confused. Was he dreaming things? It's not exactly the Dark Hour since there were no bloody streets and coffins... and yet...? He tried to process everything, when a voice called out from the behind them.
-"What are you two doing this late...?"
The two turned to the direction of the voice. Just like the girl, the man appeared as a silhouette hidden in the darkness of the night at first, but when he stepped under the light, the image of a middle-aged business man appeared. He had neat black and some white hair, coupled with his grayish eyes. The stranger was wearing a dull-gray suit complete with a red neck tie, and an equally dull-colored pair of pants.
"Couples shouldn't be out at this time... especially youngsters like you..." he spoke in a cold, chilly tone. The man approached them with a wide grin on his face.
For some reason, the younger man felt uneasy and hid the girl behind him. His face immediately twisted into a combination of rage and terror while he witnessed the events that follow-
This businessman's grin had widened so much as to reach his ears, his gray eyes had also turned hollow and dark, with a slight tint of gold. Before they knew it, his skin began bubbling and black slime oozed out from his body, starting from the mouth, ears and eyes. The slime covered him up and piled, creating a large slimy figure wearing some sort of blue mask was now in front of them.
The young man bit his lip and muttered the word "Shadow...".
"KEKEKEKE! YOU ARE NOW MINE TO FEAST!" it screeched with a thin, shrill voice.
The male clenched his fist and shoved away the girl. He took out a gun-shaped object from his pocket. Apparently, he always carried it around as a charm, or at least, when something of the sort happens. He never really expected that he'd be using it again though. At most, he had hoped it would've been a good item to scare off scums and muggers in case they decide to pester him. To think... he'd have to call out that thing again. He didn't want to, as much as possible, but as he had no weapon on hand right now, he knew he had no choice either way. Thus, he pointed the Evoker onto his head just like old times. "Stay back ya hear?" he told to the girl without turning.
She didn't respond. Her bright-red eyes were on the silver gun, as if she was in a trance.
The young male pulled the trigger...
"...?"
He pulled it again...
"The fuck...?" for a moment, he stared at it and then pointed it to his head, repeatedly pulling the trigger. Every time he did so, nothing happened. Could it be that he lost his ability to summon? Or was it broken? Either way, they're screwed.
The creature screeched and swung its claws at them.
The male finally gave up on his Evoker and kept it in his pocket, pushing the girl with him to dodge the attack. "Shit! Fucking stupid gun...!" he hissed as he held the girl's hand tightly, pulling her with him.
"H-hey...! I..." the girl attempted to call him out.
"Tch... Save that for later!" he growled.
This Shadow resembled a Maya. An overgrown one. It chased them from behind, it was quite strange seeing all the people who stopped their motion. It's even stranger that the creature kept going for them instead of the frozen people... Why would it go after them? Getting the motionless targets would be easier, right...? Then again, maybe things around work like the Dark Hour? Like if you don't move, you can't be touched by them similar to the coffin thing?
The couple kept running, the girl was huffing, the man was cursing. Finally, they reached the back alleys of the Port Island, a shady place filled with now frozen shady people. It wasn't the time to worry about that though, their main priority was to escape... except... they're at a dead end.
"KEKEKE... YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN AWAY?" It crept up from behind them.
The two were in a not so narrow alley filled with trash bins and trash bags on the sides. Their left and right were blocked by building walls filled with graffiti, while the behind had a tall, steel fence. It's possible to climb it, but should you use the bin as a step, you can reach the top.
The young man gritted his teeth and picked up a long wooden pole in the trash. It seemed to be used for hanging curtains or something, but it was broken off, so the tip had a jagged edge. "Kid, climb that thing and run" he commanded without turning to the girl before charging at the creature.
Again, it tried clawing him before he reached it, but with his quick feet, he was able to jump up the arm and slash its mask with the pole. His swing was so powerful that it immediately broke off, but it also sent the enemy screeching in pain.
"Heh. I still got it" he smirked.
The creature turned back to him and tried to attack with its claws again, but he was able to jump back. He charged at it again and swung what was left of the pole, but the creature caught it and threw him and sent the male crashing to the wall. Before he could stand, it followed up with another scratch.
"Ugh...!" he cringed in pain.
During the last attack, he was able to roll away, but was still injured by the creature. Blood dropped down from his right leg as it flowed on the cold floor.
"Are you alright?" the girl called out, running toward him.
His face twisted in pain, both from his injury and from seeing that the girl was stupid enough to still be there. "IDIOT! Why are you still here?!" he shouted angrily at her.
The girl flinched, but her attention was still on his injury. "S-sorry... I just..." She looked away with a apologetic look again.
He sighed and ruffled her hair, "tch... You two are so similar... it's scary..." he chuckled.
She blinked upon hearing his comment.
"I'M STILL HERE!" The creature hissed.
Their attention returned to the creature.
The girl trembled in fear while the man tried to stand, but to no avail.
"Leave me here... Run!" he barked.
The girl looked terrified. Shaking her head, tears started to fall, "no! I can't leave you...!"
"To go this far for a stranger... You're one annoying kid..." he chuckled again.
"YOU'RE IGNORING ME AGAIN! YOU COUPLES DISGUST ME!" It roared angrily, suddenly recapturing the attention of the two.
The man kept screaming to the girl to run, but the girl kept shaking her head as she cried. Finally, the creature released its attack, the girl was in front of the man, blocking the fiery explosion.
"Run you moron!" He shouted as the flame closed up to them.
It was as if time was moving in slow motion.
The girl turned to him with a gentle smile, "I'm not losing you again..."
His gray eyes widened at her words.
She began glowing in blue light and her skin began peeling of like shards of broken glass... It all happened within a short moment, and yet, it felt like an eternity. The flames engulfed the girl, soon covering everything in dark smoke.
He felt his heart sink, seeing that happen in front of him. Seeing that he wasn't able to do anything again. Seeing that he could not protect the girl. He gritted his teeth, pounding the ground with a fist... However, that feeling didn't last for long. The moment the smoke subsided, a partly familiar figure floated in front. She still had her long reddish brown hair, but her overall appearance was different. The girl looked like a combination of Messiah and Orpehus, 'HER' first and ultimate Persona. They were so similar, but this one was more feminine in appearance and had a white skirt, with that body, wings and head of Messiah, arms and legs of Orpheus, having a pure white and silver combination.
The man stared at her. She didn't summon a Persona... she turned into one? But... being Messiah and Orpheus... Does that mean she's...? Or was it just coincidence that they look alike?
"KEH... YOU...! YOU'RE A...?! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR A HUMAN?" the Shadow growled in astonishment. It was staring straight at the girl... or whatever she was.
Her bright red eyes gleamed under the bright moon. "He is important to me..." she answered in a gentle smile.
For some reason, the young man couldn't help but blush at her answer.
The creature hissed in anger and attacked with its claws once more.
She didn't move.
The 'Persona' swung her arm and sent the creature flying before it reached her, making it splatter a few feet away. It regained its composure, but now, it looked angrier than before. Again it tried attacking, this time, with Agidyne. The creature released another burst of flame. Still, she didn't budge. The 'girl' placed her arms in front and simply brushed off the flame. It hissed in anger and threw a few more shots, but all the attempts ended the same with the fire being brushed off like a fly.
"Is that all...?" She said in a monotone voice. Her face showed no expression, and yet, it was terrifying in its own way.
The Shadow flinched.
"G-GEH...! D-DON'T... I WAS JUST J-JOKING...! I-I'M SORRY! WE'RE THE SAME AREN'T W-WE?" its voice was still thin and cold, but there was a hint of fright. It was evident that this giant Maya was now trembling in fear after realizing their gap in power, after all, she was able to brush off its most powerful attack with a wave of the hand.
The girl sighed and turned around, "pitiful..."
'HEH! FOOL!' If the Shadow had a mouth, it would be smirking right now.
It charged another attack of Agidyne while her back was turned on him. Before it realized what had happened, the Shadow disappeared in the face of the earth. It was frozen into a large pillar of ice which exploded afterwards, creating numerous specks on falling ice crystals everywhere.
She used Niflheim on it while it charged up its attack.
"No one gets away with harming him..." she muttered in an angry tone before glowing in blue light again.
The 'Persona' turned back to the girl and fell down on the arms of the man. He stared at her with his unbelieving gray eyes which seemed to scream 'No way...'.
He smiled as if forgetting the pain of his injury...
I've had this idea for some time now... I can't figure out how to start it out though... Or from who's POV to go with... I tried to start with her waking up or him finding her in the doorstep... In the end, I went with this...
Anyway, as much as possible, I want this to focus on them XD
Since... I'm no good with battle scenes...
As for the title... Currently, I can't really think of anything... So I ended up with that... Novus is supposed to mean new, while initium is beginning. It was going to be the title of my other story, but I didn't use it, so I used it here.
I'm not yet completely sure how things will play out... So for now... That's all...
Oh, and I'm accepting suggestions... Like side stories or something... So don't hesitate to PM me with it or post it in reviews...
(P.S. Check the poll in my profile pls.? Also, you can check story progress there ;D)
-Persona 3 and any SMT series does not belong to me-