Author's Note: Got Nothing to say but that this took way too long to do... Just enjoy and review!
Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!
NOOOOOO!
What do I do now! Sanada is going to come in soon and drag me to a place that doesn't even exist, what's worse is that Minako is going to going to find out too; and from there things beyond my control are going to start happening. My somewhat (Non)comfortable life will be gone and I'll have to start from scratch.
Do you know how hard it is to find a comfortable bench to sleep on? Do you?
Alright calm down, I can get out of this situation no problem. I mean I've been through worse right? This can't be as bad as the time I accidentally punched a yakuza, or the time I almost got ran over by a truck. This'll be easy, I just have to calm down...
Breathe in...
Breathe out...
...
This isn't helping! If I don't do something soon...
I start scanning the room to see any viable way of escape. There's not much I can use, surprisingly this is a private room with only a TV, a window and a table beside my bed with...
My iPhone and Wallet?
I grabbed both of them to confirm if they were mine or not; sure enough they were. Well with these I solved one problem, but what now? I've got barely anytime to do anything, I can't leave through the front or Sanada is definitely going to get me, the last and only viable option would be to jump out the window...
You must be thinking to yourself that this guy is a suicidal freak, and that it's impossible to jump through a window and survive. Luckily for me I've done this thing quite a bit, and I'm here right now aren't I? Before this I'd jump from the third floor of our school, I did it only to avoid Minako a couple of times when she started to whine at me. Plus, I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure I'm fit enough to do this. Of course I'm no Superman, I know my limits. There's no way I could survive a 5 floor jump.
I quickly take the sheets of my body and get off the bed. I made sure my feet was steady and it looked like I was in good condition. I could still walk around like normal, it didn't hurt at all. I thought I was still going to be in pain, but it looks like I'm all better. Guess it has to do something with "Persona". Remind me to thank Ace later.
Alright time to see if I could make the jump. I went to the window in hopes that it was low. Please! I don't want to get sent to the hospital again... Wait, this is the first floor? As soon as I opened the window I had seen solid ground only about not even a foot off the ground. Guess I was worried for nothing, but I was kind of hoping to get high off adrenaline from the jump. Well it's easier on my body, just healed up can't expect to do what I usually do. Making sure I had my things in tow I made it out of the hospital, being as discreet as I could. I swear that no one saw me as I headed into town...
"... Was that Hikaru?"
Alright, well that was pretty easy. I got out no problem. Now to solve problem number 2; find something to wear, I'm in a friggin bath robe. Luckily for me we're in Iwatodai; one of Japan's shopping destinations, and I have a wallet with all the money I "borrowed" from the leader of idiots...
...
Even though I don't believe in some higher being watching over us I will say some words of respect. God bless their souls...
Those guys... Were true idiots, but did they really have to die? I must've sounded like I regret not doing anything, and yes I do. They died, leaving behind people they care about unlike me that doesn't even have a home to begin with. In a way though I'm kind of jealous, sometimes I just feel like I'm wasted space that has nothing to live for. Sometimes I feel like I want to take my own life...
But, there's just something that always stops me. It's not like I chicken out last minute, but there's just some sort of force that just stops me. It's actually quite strange.
Anyway, I shouldn't get so lost in thought in this city I'll be an easy target for just about anything. I'm not even wearing anything too, but no one is stopping me just yet. But cause of my mindless wandering I winded up in Iwatodai's fashion district. This place probably has the most expensive brand name clothes known to man. I don't shop here, this place is too expensive; I shop in what most people would call the flea market district, it's so much cheaper. I better hurry it up though, they close soon...
"Hikaru~! Where are you~!"
...
No...
Why...?
Why is Minako here? Better yet why is she looking for me? She's about 10 feet away from me, I'm more surprised that she hasn't seen me yet. Oh god if she were to find me now...
AAAAHHHH!
I can't even think of what would happen, I'd rather die. Oh God...
Out of instinct I just ducked into the nearest store not caring what would happen, I was scared for my life. The glass was between me and Minako and I swear to god if she catches a glimpse of me it would all end just like that. I can't leave this store and if she gets any where close to me she'd recognize me in an instant, leaving me with barely anything I could do. What should I do? Why me? WHY!
"Excuse me mam, is there something the matter?"
...
Yeah, yeah there is. First off I'm in deep $#!t, secondly did you just call me "Mam"? I am 100% male, and your calling me a "she"? If I could yell, I would've unleashed the floodgates at this person. How the hell would you think I was a chick? I look nothing like one...
Right across from me past the employee was a full length mirror and I could easily see a reflection of myself. Yes I still had my abnormal coloured hair, but this time it was different. My hair is actually pretty short, at least it was before I got arrested; somehow in two weeks time I had grown so much hair that I had it going down my waist, the style looked as though I was indeed female with it smoothly flowing down my back. I was even questioning myself who the heck that was before I realized it was me. I don't understand how this happened in two weeks? I barely look like a guy now, heck I was questioning my sexuality at this point.
For a moment I was stunned, then came shock, then realization, and finally a stroke of genius! I could use this to my advantage! If done right I think I could make a disguise...
Wait... What store am I in again? I take one glance around and I see nothing but black, oh but that's not all; I also saw A LOT of girl's clothes. It took me a minute to realize that I had for some reason found myself to be in an All-Girls-Gothic-Lolita-styled store. Yeah, I'm actually starting to doubt the plan now...
...
"HIKARU~!"
Screw it...
I grabbed the nearest articles of clothing that I could gather, put ¥500 000 on the counter, ran to the nearest vacant change room and got to work...
F**k...
I think I threw away my dignity as a man...
This can't be possible, I don't understand...
Why do I look like this? I... Actually look like a girl...
What is wrong with me...?
Some way or another this disguise of randomly assorted clothes some what actually came together and made something. Right now I'm wearing some sort of abnormally long skirt thing that goes to my feet, with a simplistic black dress piece that somehow matches, and finally a top hat was stuck on my head. It all came together perfectly and I looked like an actual female cosplayer...
What sucked was that, I'm actually doing this. Oh God, what did I do to myself? Did I actually do this? Am I actually cross-dressing?
I-I-I feel like... I just lost everything that was precious to me when I slipped into the skirt. This feels incredibly wrong, on so many levels. Nothing I do now will be as bad as this...
"Oh my! You look absolutely stunning mam! That look totally suits you!"
No! No! No! No it doesn't! Do you know how wrong this feels? If you knew I was a man would you say the same thing? No!
"Well your total came to ¥499 800, here's your change..."
No... I truly did lose everything precious to me... So much money... Gone... Is this what they call karma?
I just left the store without anymore difficulties, I had lost so much doing this there was nothing else I could lose. I could do this!
...
"Hikaru~! Come out, come out where ever you are~!"
Shivers ran down my spine, it was the moment of truth. I slowly walked towards her with the intention of just trying to pass her, it should be easy now that the streets were starting to get more crowded. There was only one chance in getting this right, I had better not screw up. I was about to pass her but then I had gotten a slight reaction from her, this was bad. Did my disguise fail me? She turned to face me and I could feel her gaze on me intently; I was frozen in fear. I slowly turned around knowing full well that everything was over, my attempts were futile. I could no longer escape...
Minako, just make it quick and painless...
"Oh my God! You look so Kawaii!"
...
Huh?
"Are you going to some event? I've never seen such good cosplay! You look so pretty! I'm so jealous right now!"
...
What?
Wait, so Minako didn't recognize me? I am so confused, why is this happening to me? But I'd better not question this good fortune. It'd be terrible if something like last time happened...
Minako was staring at me with this strange glint in her eyes, it was like I was a goddess in her eyes and she was really starting to creep me out. What did I get myself into? Minako looked liked she was about to explode with happiness, which isn't very surprising when it comes to her personality...
"Umm... I know I might be asking much... But can I please take a picture? Pretty please?"
No, absolutely not! I refuse to have a picture taken of me cross-dressing/cosplaying, nothing you say or do will...
I don't know how to say this but I think Minako was glowing with expectation, I could literally see the light around her...
...
Alright fine, you win...
I nodded accepting my silent defeat against Minako, when it's her you just can't say no...
Or you'd probably die, at least that's how I see it.
But I could also just be really submissive. Either way though, I can't win.
She was just taking pictures of me like crazy, I could hear the clicking of her cellphone camera go off and the flash it gave off every time. She took pictures of just about every angle I could think off, it was actually kind of... Weird? It didn't feel as bad as I thought letting her take these pictures. Does that classify me as a freak? I am crossdressing/cosplaying... And I thought I'd never do this kind of thing ever...
"Ohhhhh... You look so Kawaii! Oh! But I can't get distracted! Ano... What was I doing again?"
...
Oh... My... God...
You completely forgot what you were doing? Oh for the love of...
...
I should just get out of here while I have this chance. I simply wave my hand which was an obvious signal of my farewell, and left a Minako who was deep in thought about what she was doing. Seriously, I really wonder about that girl. Nothing gets through to her anyway, and she acts like a complete idiot at times. It's really annoying when she does that, regardless if it's intentional or not.
Oh well, I am safe! That was actually much easier than I had thought. And here I was thinking I was going to get caught, I'm too good for that. HaHa!
Victory is MINE!
...
But at a cost... I'm broke and stuck in girls' clothing...
*Gurgle...*
And now currently starving... When I think about it now I haven't eaten anything decent in over 2 weeks, of course I'd get hungry. Geez, what do I do now?
I'm too tired right now, I'll just sleep on it now and worry about everything else tommorrow.
Oh bench! How I've missed you so!
When everything is wrong in the world all you gotta do is sleep and it'll make everything feel better! It's late, I've been through a lot, I'm hungry, broke, and I've been out of it for two weeks; leave me alone! I don't care if someone caught me wearing this, I will sleep here tonight!
*Click!*
Huh?
Where did that noise come from? I look around me seeing that there was no one at the shrine or anywhere nearby, so where did that come from?
"Initiating..."
Wait...
I check my iPhone, and sure enough I saw it...
The strangest program I have ever seen; Program P.E.R.S.O.N.A. I don't know why I have this but what I do know is that it saved my life. Without it I'd probably be a burning mess, and I just didn't feel like dying yet. Still, I have no clue whatsoever, on how this thing works. I mean, how does a phone have the ability to summon a being that's ten-feet tall when you smash it? There is absolutely no logic or reason, it just kind of happened and it's just screwing with my brain. Now I'm also kind of curious, what else can it do?
I'm just staring at the "app" icon that shows the familiar mask on the cards I've seen in the Velvet Room, debating whether or not I should press it. In the end I did tap it, and when I did nothing that special happened. All I got was some strange looking menu, let's see here...
Huh...
There are options here but some of them aren't accessible at the moment, but let's see what I can use.
Inventory
Money
Port. Compendium
Status
Options
P.E.R.S.O.N.A
...
And that's all I got now. I'm really tempted to see where this "money" option will lead me. But I'm more curious about the "P.E.R.S.O.N.A" option, I'm pretty sure I know what'll happen. But for safe measure I just wanna try it again. Then again, I'm not sure what the hell would happen...
"Would you like to initiate Program P.E.R.S.O.N.A?"
Woah! What the hell? Did it just read my mind or something? How'd it know what I was thinking? This is really starting to creep me out. But as they say nothing ventured nothing gained.
"Initializing..."
Man, it really can read my mind. Energy started to flow through me again, the power was the same one that I had felt that day. It was intoxicating, my heart and soul felt in such harmony more so than what they originally were. The charge you could get with this was otherworldly, but at the same time it was like feeling something close to you; like it was coming from within the depths of your soul.
It took a lot of will power to not smash my phone, I knew full well I shouldn't mess around with such a power. It's not like I didn't want to, believe me I wanted to relieve myself of all the pent up anger and frustration with this. But I do have to take into account what could happen if I were to summon, what was it again? Ace! Yeah, summoning Ace in a public place is probably not the best idea, and while it is late there are always those people who come out here late at night and do things I'd rather not diverge into.
In the end I decided to put it away, at a whim the energy died down and the phone reverted back into its old state. Better take in the fact that I can use the program at a whim. There's so much that I don't know about it, also the thing that attacked me; what exactly was that? Program P.E.R.S.O.N.A, that monster, they're probably related in some way. Also those idiots that died and the other serial killings, these things could tie into that incident. Only problem is, is that I have nothing to go on and no idea what I'm supposed to do. In the end I'll have to find Officer Sanada, if anything he knows things I don't. He'll probably have all the answers I'm looking for, and a good explanation about what's happening.
Well I got a lot on my plate for tomorrow, better get some sleep...
...
Sleeping with long hair and in girl's clothing is weird...
Okay before anything else I'll have to find something else to wear and something to cut my hair with...
Alright...
Night...
I wake up to the sound of someone's voice. I can't make out the words or the voice and my vision is all mucked up and blurry. In the distance I could see a lone figure in the blank distance looking at me like it was expecting me to follow.
And follow I did...
I felt compelled to it somehow, I wanted to follow it wherever it went; I just wanted to be with it.
As I started to catch up the image started to become more clearer, but I still could not see who it was. I could make out the figure, it was definitely feminine and it was also deathly familiar. I swear I have seen this person before, a person that meant the world to me. Yet I could not recall.
Just when I caught up to her she had stopped in her tracks, and I followed suite. I could make out more features; she had very long hair that reached down to her waist and was a familiar shade of blue, she was wearing a simple pure white sundress, but the most significant one was her smile it was incredibly heartwarming and gentle but there was that sense of nostalgia again as I kept staring at that smile. I could not see her eyes but I could not take my eyes off that smile. I noticed her lips moving, trying to form words to express something; but all I heard was silence. I could see her, yet I could not reach out to her nor speak to her. I wanted to ask so many things. But the most important thing I wanted to know was;
Who are you?
I woke up gasping for air, sweat was apparent and I felt butterflies in my stomach. I felt sick, but most of all I felt terrified. I don't know why, but I think it has to do with my dream. My mind goes weary and blank as I try to recall what had occurred within my subconscious. I couldn't remember a thing about it.
Well I shouldn't worry about it now, I have to get out of here for now. I have a lot to do today...
The first thing in my list is...
Get new clothes.
I feel f*****g ridiculous wearing something no male should wear. But I blew all the money I had left buying this stupid disguise so I could bypass Minako. I can't buy anything, but I think I have a spare uniform at school. But dammit! That means I have to go to school looking like this? If I didn't look like a freak before I do now...
Oh well!
Next is to get some scissors and start chopping off this stupid hair. If I keep this I'll have more issues I'd have to deal with later.
And finally, get some questions answered ! I know I should prioritize this first but I think if I visited Sanada like this I'd actually die of embarrassment. Besides he'd never let me live it down for all I know.
So on wards!
*gurgle...*
After I get something to eat! If I remember right the convince store near here should be throwing out yesterday's lunches right about now. I need to hurry up before someone else will beat me to it.
Unbeknownst to me, something dark and sinister was following me as I ran down the steps of the shrine.
After this day, I'd find myself in a whole world of problems.
"FffFFfoOoounnnnD uuuuu..."
To Be Continued...