CHAPTER 1: When the time stops…
The dark haired girl was enjoying the nice spring breeze as she was lying down among the flowers… it appeared as if nothing could spoil that very moment. In her heart, the girl wished nothing could spoil the peace she felt in her heart…
Then, in a moment, it all was enveloped by the darkness… Blackness as far as the eye could see… then, in the vast sea of darkness, a white face appeared, its mouth twisted in an eerie smile.
The girl got up on her feet, her eyes narrowing as she tried to show no fear to whatever that…THING…was.
"You can't hide what you're feeling…" the white face hissed, staring at the girl with her empty eye holes. That creepy blackness caused a chill to run down her spine. "Your mind is nothing but an open book for me!"
The girl just glared at the pale face above her: she wanted to reply, but for some reasons, words weren't coming out of her mouth. Seeing that its interlocutor wasn't saying a word, the white face stared to a spot, behind the young girl and, in a matter of less than a minute, turned the flower-filled hill into some sort of red water pool; the girl walked to it, as if she was possessed by some force and saw scenes from her own world taking shape inside it: people walking and talking into a city. Then, the scene switched to a park, where two people were arguing in quite a fierce way and started to beat each other.
"Aren't humans quite an amusing species… they have the power to built great things and yet they get caught in petty fight for their own selfish desires… unaware of how much they're headed to their own destruction…" the white face said with a subtle voice, as the two people in the pool kept on fighting to the point of menacing to shoot at each other.
"……yeah…" The girl replied quietly, her voice still showing her anxiety as she saw the two men being turned into two soldiers shooting at each other and then becoming coffins
"Tell me… is there really a point in trying to help such a hopeless species?" It asked, as the girl was clearly in pain as she heard the cries of sorrow due to scenes where people kept on mourning over their dead beloved kept on streaming inside the water pool.
The head continued. "No… but this is a moot point… for soon, the end will come and this won't bother us anymore…"
With that, the girl watched in horror as a black winged demon with the very same face which was talking to her plumbed upon the world, causing calamities which swallowed people, tormenting and killing them as their screams echoed in her head.
Not being able to stand this any longer, the girl's mind snapped as her eyes opened; she looked around, realizing that the place she was in switched to her own bedroom and sighed in relief. It wasn't the first time she had such a dream: as a matter of fact, she suffered the same vision for the last two years, and every time she felt the same terrible sensation, not understanding what that meant.
She got up from her bed and walked to her window while staring at the moon. In a few days it would have been full… the thought of it caused her to frown as she threw an eye to the old glove enveloping her hand: it was a very old cloth glove, which was bound by some sort of beady bracelet with a smooth-looking fang.
Time… is running out…
04/04/09
"…and this is the reason we want these four students to be assigned to our school for their last school year." A male voice concluded his speech on the phone.
"Well I don't know… I still think it would be wise to let them finish their high school here... if not for the sake of their acquaintances…" the woman on the other side of the phone replied, insecure.
"I see your point, Kuroi-San… but rest assured, the study level in this school is quite advanced: there's nothing those students are going to miss… we're always looking for people who can harness their potential to shape the future." The man said, in a quiet and low voice.
"Hmmm…. But still…" the woman kept on sounding insecure.
"I suggest to let them try the place anyway… if something's off, I'll make sure to send them back immediately. As for the travel's fee to this island… I'll take care of everything personally." The man said, as he opened a logbook with several teenager pictures on it.
"This must be really important to you if you insist so much."
"It's in everyone's best interest…"
04/06/09
It was almost sundown when the train finally stopped at Iwatodai station: as soon as the doors opened, a bunch of passengers started getting off, spreading in many direction.
Among them, there was a bunch made of four girls: although they were all the same age, there was one whose look could deceive you in thinking she'd be a child due to being small and flat-chested.
"Hmmmmph!! Well, here we are!" the childish-looking girl said as she stretched. "Took it more than expected though… do trains ever leave punctually??"
Two other girls, who looked quite similar because of their hair and eye color, looked at each other and shrugged. "Maybe we should consider ourselves lucky… if the train did leave at the exact time, me and Tsukasa would have lost it!" The elder-looking of the two sighed as she passed a hand between one of her long pigtails.
"I…I'm sorry, sis…" the other girl, Tsukasa, awkwardly replied, a shy smile on her face "I took more time than expected to pack my things… I didn't know what to take along…"
"Anyway", the girl with pigtails started "I wonder what this program exchange thing is about and why US! All of us!"
Tsukasa looked at her as she tilted her head, not really understanding. "Maybe it's just a coincidence?"
The small-looking girl turned around to the other three, shaking her finger with a wise expression. "No, no, no… if there's something I've learnt by playing all those RPG it's that coincidences-DO-NOT-exist! Nothing ever happens by chance!"
The girl with the pigtails narrowed her eyes and angrily moaned: "This is no RPG, Konata… we're talking about serious school business!"
"Well there's no use in dwelling over this kind of things, Kagamin…" Konata replied, promptly "… I mean, aren't you excited?? We're in a new city and we're off to a brand new school! Man, it all feels like the beginning of a dating sim!"
Kagami just shook her head. "Can you stop talking about games for once?" then, to the tallest of the bunch, a cute looking girl with glasses, wavy hair and a very mature figure: "Umm… Miyuki, what was the name of the school again?"
The girl named Miyuki awkwardly put the pamphlet about the Bay Area away and walked closer to her friends, starting her explanation while smiling. "It is called Gekkoukan High School, a private institute, apparently the only one in this zone; just like some other buildings around here, this school is owned by a big company named Kirijo group. Although it was actually founded in more remote years, it appears to have been restructured about ten years ago. It has a very good teaching degree and its extracurricular activities include both sports such as kendo, archery and swimming or creative activities such as art, music and photography."
"Sounds like a busy place… now you're making me curious!" Kagami grinned.
"Yeah? I see no difference between this and another school... save for the forceful yuri-ish atmosphere private schools have…" Konata sighed as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Anyway, where are we to stay?"
With that, Miyuki started looking at the map (and made the rest of the pamphlets fall in the process!). "Let's see… according to this, there's a dorm not too far from this station… but it seems it doesn't have many rooms…"
Tsukasa started to look concerned. "But then, where are we going to sleep??"
"It's alright." Miyuki said, her gaze still on the Bay Area map. "According to my info, there aren't many transfer students here. I think we should try and go there anyway and hope for the best."
The sun was already down when the quartet reached the local dorm, who looked quite an old style hotel of sorts; they decided to stop to the place immediately, since the long journey did took a toll on them all.
Once they reached the doorway, they all felt a bit intimidated by the look of the building. As Miyuki knocked, they almost expected to see some sort of mystery novel-like butler opening the door for them and taking them in with a sophisticated British accent; when they saw the one who answered, they couldn't help but having a hard time stifling a laugh: a stylish-looking silver-haired young man wearing a red waistcoat over a white shirt, not to mention elegant black pants and gloves was right on the doorway, looking down to them.
When the guy asked "Yes? What is it?", they couldn't control themselves anymore, bursting into a loud laughter.
The guy's left eyebrow started to twitch as his face turned red. "Do I have puppets on my face or something…?" he stuttered, both embarrassed and annoyed.
Noticing that the whole situation was becoming a bit too awkward, Miyuki stopped laughing and wiped off tears from her eyes. "Sorry about that… um… we just arrived in this city… we're to be transferred to Gekkoukan high from tomorrow, and…"
"…well, you could say that earlier!" he puffed. "But I'm not sure there will be enough room for all of you."
"You don't know?" Kagami asked, tilting her head. "But aren't you suppose to work in this place… you know… as a domestic?"
The guy looked at her while placing a hand at his side. "Actually, I happen to be one of the students who live here." He said, causing the quartet to jolt. The guy cleared his throat, still blushing.
The four girls gathered and started whispering to each other: they messed up big time! But at first gaze, he did look like some sort of waiter…
The guy kept on looking at them for a while, then he shook his head and stepped out. "Um, anyway… I have to go out, so if you need something, go ask Mitsuru." He then walked away while muttering "Mistaking me for a waiter… Can't believe it!"
Still not believing to the embarrassing gaffe they just went through, the four girls stepped inside the dorm: it looked even more like that kind of hotel from the inside! There was the receptionist desk right next to the entrance with the keys shelf, a table with chairs and couches around it, an old-looking TV and, a bit farther, some dining tables.
"Wow! I feel like in a mystery novel, even more than earlier!" Miyuki said, clasping her hands together.
Konata looked at Kagami and cupped her chin while smirking. "Hmm… think there is going to be a murderer??"
Tsukasa was quite startled by that remark and hugged her sister, who seemed more annoyed than scared. "Knock it off! You're making no sense! This is a NORMAL dorm!!"
"Ooooh? It is?" Konata's gaze darkened. "If you ask me, that guy we just saw could as well hide some skeletons in his closets…"
"Gimme a break!! There is NO ONE here who has murderous intents, OK?!" Although she acted tough, Kagami was feeling a chill running down her spine.
Then, a sudden voice behind her made her jump.
"Who's there? Is it you, Shugo?" It was a cool, low-sounding female voice.
The girls turned to the staircase leading to the upper floors, where the voice came from: they saw a very attractive and mature-looking girl with long, wavy red hair, a big lock covering her left eye; she wore a refined white shirt with a red bow above her chest, a dark skirt and long boots. The beautiful young woman was looking to the quartet with a confident-looking stare.
On their hand, they all, save for Konata, seemed quite intimidated by this girl's presence and it took some time for them to talk.
Seeing that Miyuki was still in an awe, Konata tapped her arm, bringing her back to reality. "Um… hello… are you from here? We will start schooling at Gekkoukan high school from tomorrow… we came from another city and were wondering if we could stay here…" she stuttered shyly while fixing her glasses on her nose.
"I see" the red-haired girl calmly replied. "But there are not enough rooms for the four of you. Unfortunately, all of our rooms here have one bed."
Kagami stepped forward. "If it's OK I can share the room with my sister… look, I even have a futon!" she said as she opened one of her bags. Then, at Konata's ear. "I brought this along for such an eventuality."
"Good old Kagamin… always thinking ahead!" Konata smirked.
The redhead nodded with a slight smile. "Tres bien, then… please, this way." She said as she guided the four girls to the third floor, where the girls' dorm was.
"Wow… so the dorm is co-ed, huh? But isn't this a bit… well… inconvenient?" Kagami asked, as she took a look at the boys' dorm on the second floor.
"We have reasons for this." The red-haired girl coldly replied as she kept on walking up the staircase.
"This girl… she gives me the creeps…" Tsukasa whispered to Kagami, everything about her telling how unsettling that place was to her.
The girl with the long pigtails tried and cheer her sister up. "Admittedly she IS kinda cold, but she doesn't look like a bad person…"
"Hey, Kagamin!!" Konata whispered to Kagami, a strange light in her eyes. "What if SHE'S the one keeping skeletons in her closets?? SUS-PI-CIOUS…."
Feeling another chill, Kagami snapped at her little friend and yelled: "WILL YOU STOP IT WITH THIS STORY ONCE AND FOR ALL!!" Then, realizing she was yelling, she composed herself and bowed to the host.
The mature-looking girl didn't seem to react to that: she just arched an eyebrow and asked "Something the matter?" with the very same voice tone she always used.
"N-n-nothing at all! Please, don't mind Konata! She's a bit funny in her head…" Kagami answered, frantically waving her arms.
The girl paused and then placed a hand on her side. "As I was saying… this is but a temporary measure. We're keeping you here for now, but you'd better hurry and find somewhere else as soon as possible."
Tsukasa tilted her head. "We can't stay here? Why?"
"It's a bit hard to explain. Let's just say that this isn't an ordinary dorm… only a limited number of students can stay here… that's all I can tell for now."
With that, she led them to their rooms and gave them the keys. She also explained that there was also another girl in one of the rooms currently: a girl named Takeba.
"Well, this should do for now. Sorry if I'm leaving now, but I'm to wait for another " The red-head said before leaving. Then, she stopped on her tracks. "By the way… I forgot to introduce myself: my name is Mitsuru Kirijo. If you have any question about your new school, be sure to ask me." Then she left, leaving them all in the hallway between the girls' rooms.
Miyuki looked thoughtful. "She said Kirijo… so she's involved with the Kirijo group, but…Not an ordinary dorm? Wonder what she meant…"
"In any case, we'd better start looking for another settlement by tomorrow, once the class will be over. I don't want any trouble…" Kagami remarked as she crossed her arms.
"So" Tsukasa said as she clasped her hands together "Now that we're all here… what are we to do??"
As if possessed by something, Konata rushed inside her room and didn't even bother to close the door. A bunch of loud noises were heard from the room as she emptied one of her bags. Curious, her friends peeked inside to see a bunch of clothes on the room's floor and Konata all taken in connecting a PS2 slim to the room's TV.
Kagami couldn't help but face-palming at the sight of it: she should have seen it coming, bringing a game system along! "Hey, didn't you hear Mitsuru-San? She said we'll have to move from here soon!"
"I know, I know!" Konata answered nonchalantly. "But I DO have to perform my late night gaming marathon, or else I'll have trouble sleeping!"
With that, she took out a bunch of PS2 games, including the latest Super Robot Allstars: Next Generation strategy RPG and a shooter named Omega Stella.
"Hey, Kagamin! You wanted to try this one, right?" She asked.
"Definitely!" Kagami answered with a smile, but then she turned irritated again. "But that's beyond the point! We're starting a new school tomorrow, you want to be late the FIRST DAY IN A NEW SCHOOL?! Hey are you listening?!"
But Konata wasn't listening: as a matter of fact, she already flung herself on the Super Robot Allstars game and nothing would have been able to distract her. Seeing it was a lost cause, Kagami shook her head and walked to her room, Tsukasa in her tow.
Konata was having so much fun playing that she didn't even notice that there was just a minute left to midnight. She already completed a good deal of stages and would have gone on forever! Even the stage she was currently playing was almost cleared, as she only needed to deliver the finishing blow to the stage boss. Sure to win, she pressed the X button on her controller and observed as she were watching a movie, while the unit she moved proceeded to attack the boss to finish it off. It was then that the clock reached midnight… and the animations on the screen faded as the TV suddenly shutdown automatically, just like the lamp on her bedside table…
Desperately, she jumped off the bed and frantically tried to turn the console on, but no avail.
"I had to save… I had to save…" She sadly repeated to herself, blaming herself for not saving the game before reaching that stage of the game. Then she walked to the main light switch and tried to turn the lights on, but again, there was no change.
Little by little, her eyes seemed to adapt to the darkness around here, enough to glimpse some sort of greenish shades and she wondered if it was due to the colors inside the room.
"Anyway… wanna bet that the dorm manager purposely switched the main power off to make sure the students don't stay up late? Such a tyranny…" The small girl puffed.
With that, she decided to wait at least thirty minutes before going out looking for the main power switch.
Is it always so creepy at night? Feel like a ghost is going to appear… Konata mused as she examined the greenish shades around her. Then she opened her room's door and tiptoed to the staircase.
It was then that she heard some footsteps and something like someone on the verge of pulling a trigger, which prompted her to dash and duck behind a chair. Holding her breath, she waited for the footsteps to get softer before getting out of her hideout.
Tight security, huh? That's nothing for Solid Konata. She thought with a smirk; then she proceeded to the lower floors, mentally singing the Metal Gear Solid theme.
Konata already reached the second floor, the boys' dorm, as she heard someone speaking from beneath: as she peeked, she spotted a slim guy with emo-ish blue hair, who was writing on something and looked like talking to himself.
Oh, great… just what we needed! An emo kid! Konata thought. But her thoughts were interrupted by a female voice screaming.
"WHO'S THERE?!"
More curious than ever, Konata peeked a bit farther to see a pink-dressed brunette standing before the newcomer. The only moment the small girl was about to jolt was when she noticed that the brunette was about to draw a gun!
Then, another voice. "Takeba, wait!"
Konata recognized the other person walking to the two: it was Mitsuru. Then, as soon as the red-haired girl was close enough to the girl named Takeba, the power was suddenly restored.
Oh, the power's back! Then it wasn't a shutdown… Konata thought, ready to go back to her game. But first, her curiosity pushed her to overhear the conversation between the three of them: it was nothing too fancy, as the two girls were introducing themselves to the newcomer, whose name seemed to be Kenji Shugo. Then, noticing that the brunette, Yukari Takeba, was leading him to the boys' dorm, she decided to rush back into her room, unseen.
When she went back to her room, she couldn't help but jolting: despite the sudden power shutdown, her game was proceeding as if it never occurred and the stage boss was defeated!
"Well… talk about luck with a capital L! Nothing like this ever happened to me!" She said as she progressed to the latest save point before hitting the sack.
04/07/09
"You'll never believe what happened to me the last night!!" Konata enthusiastly told her three friends. "I was playing my PS2 when there was this power shutdown… maybe a black out!... anyway, when the power came back, the game I was playing was just like I left it!"
The three girls just stood there, staring at her.
Kagami's eyes narrowed. "…are you sure it wasn't a dream? Such a thing it's quite illogical…"
"Hey, if I'm telling you it happened, then it happened." The small girl pouted.
"Well generically" Miyuki started. "when electronic devices are forcefully switched off after a power cut, once the power is back, they start up from the beginning. It's especially critical with alarm clocks or VCR, where you have to set the exact hour. If what you said it's true, it's quite a rare and uncommon thing indeed…"
This prompted Kagami to reflect. "Say, Tsukasa… was your alarm clock OK this morning?"
"Huh?" Tsukasa answered. "Umm… I think so…?"
"I knew it!" the girl with the long pigtails snapped her fingers. "If what you said about the power cut was true, the alarm clock would have been set to zero… which it isn't!" then, pointing her finger at Konata. "What you're saying is a hoax!!"
None of them realized that the silver-haired lad from the other day was approaching them; he kept on observing the argument between Konata and Kagami, hoping to see a breach in their vast sea of words.
As soon as he sensed one, he bashfully tried and interrupt. "Er… ah… ex…excuse me?"
But no one seemed to pay any attention to him.
He unconsciously clenched his fists as he raised his voice: "Hey?...HEY!!"
But he gained nothing at all, which caused him to sigh in frustration.
The silver-haired youth was about to leave when Miyuki, noticing him, walked closer to him and, as she smiled, placed a hand on his shoulder. Noticing that, the young man blushed violently.
"You're the one of the other evening, right?" She asked.
"Y…yeah…" He replied, shyly.
"Sorry for… you know… that mistake…"
"Nah, don't be. Anyway, think you could, uh… bring those three to attention?"
With that, Miyuki clapped her hands several time and graced her friends with a smile as they turned around to face her and the newcomer.
"Oh, it's you!" Konata said with a playful smile. "Didn't notice you!"
The lad scratched his cheek with a finger as he left out a hoarse cackle. "…you don't say…"
He then looked around, to see if all of them were paying attention, cleared his voice as his face lost his red hue and then placed a hand at his side, looking serious and self-important. "Hmm… I don't think I'm introduced myself yet. My name is Sanada: Akihiko Sanada. I'm a senior at Gekkoukan High. Mitsuru asked me to be your guide, since this is your first time here (And I'm not particularly eager to do this...)… so, anyway… are you all ready to go?"
Tsukasa jolted as soon as Akihiko stopped talking "AAAH!! I forgot to put the new uniform on!!" and rushed back in her room. Meanwhile, he noticed that Konata wasn't wearing an uniform and, mistaking her for an elementary student, he asked her what she was doing there.
"Tell you what" she answered with a straight face. "I'm a senior this year, just like you!"
He just stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "This is a dorm, not a lie-house… OK, now answer honestly!"
"Konata's not lying, Sanada…" Kagami answered. "We all came from the same school and we're all the same year!"
"Just for you to know" Konata continued as she smiled in a playful way. "I wear no uniform just because there wasn't one of my own size, it's being made up right now and as soon as it will be completed, they'll give it to me!"
Meanwhile, Tsukasa was done changing and rushed back to the rest of the group. Kagami noticed how pretty she was with the new uniform on, although Konata claimed that the Gekkoukan uniform was pretty depressing, since it was mainly black, although the red bow was pretty cute.
"Whatever" Akihiko sighed. "Let's just go, we're a bit behind with the schedule, but if we hur—"
"WAIT!!" Miyuki awkwardly screamed, causing Sanada to almost trip. He then turned to her, his face seemed like saying "Now WHAT?!"
Miyuki hesitated for a while, then, scratching her cheek, said: "Sanada-San was so nice introducing himself, I think we should introduce ourselves too. After all, we're from the same school and the same year."
Akihiko didn't reply; he simply dropped his head in disbelief. That was a very weird bunch of girls to deal with.
Miyuki was the first one to introduce. "My name is Miyuki Takara. I look forward for this school year."
Konata was the next. "Konata Izumi, I will GRADUATE next year!" she said, as to empathize the fact that she was a senior, despite her look.
Then it was Tsukasa's turn: "I am Tsukasa Hiiragi. Nice to meet you, Sanada-Kun."
Last one was Kagami. "Kagami Hiiragi. How do you do."
Akihiko observed both Kagami and Tsukasa for a while. He then asked nervously. "Say… are you two sisters?"
Tsukasa nodded. "Yes! Actually, we're twin sisters!"
"That's…nice…" He replied, his voice sounding like miles-distant, as he looked like thinking of something.
Kagami shook his head. What a guy! She thought. He first rushes us and then spaces out! She then tapped his shoulder, causing his mind to snap. Realizing that time was running out, he rushed downstairs, the four girls in his tow.
"Hey!! Can't you walk a little slower?!" Kagami asked between a light breath and another, as she, and the other girls were running to keep up the pace with their just known schoolmate; he had been walking at a very fast pace since they all got out of the train at Port Station and started to walk to reach Gekkoukan High.
"If I go even slower, we're gonna be late!" Sanada coldly stated as he didn't even look behind. "…besides I AM walking slower than usual…"
"A…are you saying you usually RUN?" Tsukasa weakly asked, completely out of breath.
"Why yes!" he proudly answered, his smile broadening. "This is a great exercise to do all mornings! Improves your breathing and invigorates your body."
Of all the guys, did we have to get involved with a sports fanatic?! Kagami thought, exasperated.
After covering some distance, the quintet reached the gateway to the Gekkoukan High School: it was a huge and modern-looking structure; even the courtyard was very big, a wide open space with many trees and even a few benches.
"Here we are: Gekkoukan High School. Not bad, huh?" Akihiko proudly stated as he faced the four girls. He remained speechless as he noticed that, beside Konata, the other girls were completely exhausted and left out an exasperated sigh as he shook his head.
"Well…" he stuttered with an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry for leaving so soon, but I have pressing things to take care of… (Not to mention the fact that if THOSE GIRLS see me around with an unknown bunch of girls, it might cause a HUGE mess…)… but you should be OK on your own now. Well… see you."
With that, he left.
The first thing to do in the day order was to check the order of the classrooms and contact their own homeroom teacher; while Miyuki went and meet the teacher, Konata and the others walked to the bulletin board to see the order, but since there were so many students in front of it, seeing it was proving itself quite hard; especially Konata was having a hard time because of her small size.
"Over here!" a student wearing a cap gestured to her, inviting her to reach him. "There's some room here, in front of it!"
Thanking the lad, Konata crawled next to the capped lad and managed to read the names on the board: she felt relieved in seeing that her and her three friends this time were all together in the same homeroom, since in their old school, Kagami was in another one!
Then, a voice to her right caught her attention.
"OH NO!! I'm in the same class with Stupei!!" A female voice cried.
"OH YEAH!! I'm in the same class with Yuka-Tan!!" The capped student cheered.
Konata recognized its owner immediately: it was the brunette of the other night, Yukari Takeba! Her surprise grew even more as she noticed the blue-haired emo-ish guy, Kenji Shugo, as he walked up the stairs. It wasn't a dream after all… I was sure of it! Take this, Kagamin!! She thought, satisfied by the fact her wasn't just a dream.
"Hey there, Yuka-Tan!" the capped student said cheerfully. "Same classroom again, hm??"
Yukari shook her head, clearly disappointed. "Please, don't make me think about it… now if you excuse me…" she said before walking up the staircase after Kenji.
"Tough cookie, isn't she?" Konata asked as she examined the lad closer: she then noticed his goatee beard and the fact that he was wearing a blue shirt unlike the standard uniform's white shirt and a silver pendant.
"You bet! She pretty popular in this school… and now the rumor about her coming here with that blue-haired kid…Heheheh, wonder if there's something I don't know anything about?" he replied while scratching the rear of his head.
"By the by, thanks for your help back then!" She said as she smiled cheerfully.
"Hah, that was nothing!" he replied as he returned the smile. "Whoa, right! Didn't introduce myself, didn't I? Name's Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya, new kid!"
"Konata Izumi, 3rd year!" She replied, pointing her finger up.
This caused the guy, Junpei, to jolt and, for some weird reason, his cap jolted as well. "N…NO WAY!! Y-You're my SENPAI?!"
Konata chuckled as he nodded. Surely he didn't expect that such a small girl could be one year older than him, which caused him to react that way. Konata found it quite hilarious, although she didn't was very happy to always be seen as a kid.
"Are you done or not?" Kagami asked as she walked closer to the two; fortunately, the swarm of students in front of the bulletin board was more than halved, so she could approach it no problem. The small girl took advantage of this and introduced her friends to Junpei, who, for some reason, looked VERY pleased in seeing so many new pretty girls.
Meanwhile, Kagami was taking a look to the homeroom order and, just like Konata, she was pleased in seeing that the quartet wasn't going to be split. She also noticed another name: Akihiko's.
Sanada too, hm? Hope he's not THAT fanatic 24/7… She thought. As she kept on reading the names, another one caught her attention: Kumiko Fukuyama; it was the very same name she read on a series of Doujinshi she bought at the local bookstore before leaving, which caught her attention for the art style and the presence of very handsome boys.
"Say, Konata… Isn't Kumiko Fukuyama…" she asked as she beckoned her friend to come and take a look.
"Fukuyama? Wait, isn't she the authoress of all those Doujinshi for the Super Robot Allstars and Chronicles Of games?" Konata asked as she cupped her chin.
"Dunno… but it she isn't, it will probably be the craziest coincidence of the latest days… exchange program aside…"
After the school principal holding his school year opening speech (And it being interrupted by a few students from class 2-F talking, not to mention several questions to Konata and the others by a few girls who seemed quite upset because of the quartet being accompanied by Akihiko), classes officially started. Hours passed smoothly and before they all knew, the first day of school was already over. Most of the students were already gone or about to go; the few left in the four girls' homeroom were a couple of guys talking and a lonely-looking girl who was still sitting to her desk and writing something.
Tsukasa was packing all her stuff inside her school bag and once she was done, she stepped backward, not noticing that the writing girl was just behind her, so she bumped into her causing the piece of paper she was writing on to fall. Embarrassed, the cute-looking girl apologized with this new girl and bent over to pick it up. She was surprised when she noticed that there were some very well done manga sketches on it.
"Wow! You did these??" Tsukasa asked.
The girl silently nodded and swayed her gaze with a slight blush.
"You're very good! Congratulations!" Tsukasa continued; then she called for Konata and Kagami to take a look at those doodles.
As soon as she took a look at the sketches, Konata's mind snapped as she jolted. "Hey" she said "This art style is the same of a few non H doujinshi from RK I happened to read!"
"It's true!" Kagami answered, placing a hand at her mouth "It's the same art style of 'Chronicles of Melodia: To Eternity' and "Super Robot Allstars: Clash of the Two Brothers'."
Hearing that, the girl dropped her pencil and lifted her head to face the girls, giving them the chance to see her: she had long dark brown hair tied in two small ponytails on the rear and two deep brown, almost red eyes; she wore a blue sweater above her school uniform shirt, showing just the uniform's red bow on her chest and the black skirt. She also wore long white stockings and an ancient-looking fingerless leather glove with an old symbol on it, which was tied on her hand by a beaded bracelet.
The girl faced them without changing her expression, save for a slight blush. "You…can tell? There aren't many people who recognize my art style here in the school…"
Both Konata and Kagami exchanged a glare. It seemed they were right after all! "Say, is your name by chance… Fukuyama?" They both asked.
The girl nodded. "I think you realized by now… I'm Kumiko Fukuyama, the very same working on as one of the RK Doujinshi makers."
Then, Kumiko noticed that Konata's eyes started sparkling: she looked like a music fan in front of her favourite singer. Of course that's understandable, since having Doujinshi authoress in your own homeroom isn't something happening often! The brown-haired girl blinked, confused. She then packed her stuff and walked to the classroom doorway. "Excuse me, but I'm a bit in a hurry today. Well… see you tomorrow!" she said before leaving.
"NO, WAIT!!" Konata cried while waving both arms. "Show me around!! Let's go somewhere together!! Don't go!!"
But when the sliding door closed, she dropped her head with a sigh.
Meanwhile, Kumiko was done walking the stairs down and heading to the shoes lockers, when she noticed a man talking to the clerk at the vending stand: he was tall with almost black hair, wearing glasses and a long, cool-looking grey trenchcoat. Noticing the girl, he gestured her to come closer.
As soon as she reached the man, Kumiko opened her backpack and took out her latest manga panels.
"As efficient as always…" the man said, satisfaction in his voice. "Your style is getting better all the time… are you sure you want to stick on plain fan service for girls?"
Kumiko shook her head. "I'm not into that stuff, I told you… besides, it feels kind of awkward to me when I draw men down the crotch." She said as she walked to her shoes locker.
"Oh, wait!" The man called for her once she was done wearing her beautiful black shoes, similar to the ones ballet dancers wear.
"Did I forget to bring you something, Rei-Sensei?" She asked.
The man's eyes became incredibly serious, glasses almost covering them. "Did you meet 'them' yet?"
Even Kumiko's eyes sharpened as she answered with an ice-cold tone. "As a matter of fact, I think I did. But there's no way to tell either they have the 'potential' or not… how can you be so sure?"
"I'm not." Rei fixed his glasses with his fingers. "As far as that matters, we can just wait… there's a full moon the day after tomorrow, so chances are that 'those things' will appear out in the open… it's the perfect time for us to find out."
Kumiko smirked. "Heh, hopefully Ikutsuki and his kids won't find it out before you do…"
"Hey, they could be your comrades soon, you could at least be a little more cooperative…!" Rei puffed as the girl quietly walked away. Right…the day after tomorrow it's a full moon…that means 'he' will probably wake his power too… he quietly though as he watched the blue-dressed girl running towards the station. It's time to put things in motion!
04/08/09
The second day at the new school proceeded smoothly; at the end of the school day, Konata managed to persuade Kumiko in guiding them in a tour around the school. The girl showed them around and also explained all the extracurricular clubs.
Once they were done with their tour, they all took the train together to leave the island the school was on. Once they arrived at Iwatodai station, Kumiko said goodbye to her new classmates and headed to the strip mall while the quartet headed back to the dorm.
Once they were inside, they noticed a few persons sitting in the lobby: it was Kenji, the blue-haired boy Konata spotted, Yukari and a sophisticated-looking man with long, wavy brown hair who wore glasses and a brown outfit.
The three of them turned to face the girls.
"Oh, good evening!" the man politely said with a friendly smile. "are you lovely ladies guests in this dorm as well?"
"Well, not quite…" Miyuki answered as she blushed. "It's just a temporary measure, we'll soon have to move to another place…"
"I see… too bad…" he frowned. "But allow me to introduce myself anyway: I am Shuji Ikutsuki, the chairman of the board for your school."
Konata cupped her chin as she frowned. "Ikutsuki… what a funny name! Kinda tongue-tying…"
Kagami winced at that remark and nudged Konata. "P…please don't mind her!..."
Ikutsuki didn't look angry at all at that remark: instead, he let himself go to a chuckle. "Oh, it is no problem, really! Even I get tongue-tied when I introduce myself at times… anyway, although it's just for a few days, I hope you'll stay well in this place and will get along with the other students here. Talking about this…"
The chairman gestured the guy and the brunette to get up and greet the girls.
Ikutsuki continued to talk. "She's Yukari and he's Kenji. He just arrived here like you did."
After looking at the four girls, Kenji's gaze stopped on Tsukasa, who was gracing him with the friendlier of smiles. He did the same with her and both started chuckling.
On the other hand, Yukari looked like suspecting something. He approached the chairman and whispered. "Chairman, are these girls…?"
"No, their presence here wasn't planned." He whispered back. "Anyway, should something happen, they'll mostly forget about it, so there's no point in worrying about them… you just worry about making our guests feel good… and mainly focus on monitoring him…"
Shuji then faced Kenji, who was still making friends with Tsukasa and the others. It took a while for him to notice that the chairman was calling for him and when he noticed, he awkwardly knocked his own head and sat down.
"Back to the subject, Kenji…" Ikutsuki said. "Is there anything you wanted to ask me?"
Kenji paused for a long moment as he was thinking about something to ask, then he simply answered he didn't.
"…Are you sure…?" Ikutsuki asked. Kenji felt a chill running down his spine: there was something shady in that man's eyes, something he didn't like at all!
"Well forget about my question then. I hope you all will have a successful school year. Now if you excuse me…" The chairman said before getting up from his seat and taking his leave.
04/09/09
The whole day went normally for all the four girls and nothing strange occurred… until that night…
Miyuki suddenly felt some unexpected panic that caused her to wake up in the middle of night. Strange, she usually was one to not have sleeping trouble but this time, it was as her slumber suddenly disappeared as a strong anxiety took its place, making her feel as if something terrible was about to occur. Quietly, she walked to her room window and opened the curtain to take a look outside. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked: the sky was of a strange green hue, something similar to blood covered the streets here and there and there were a few vertical black coffins scattered around, which looked like emanating a reddish aura.
"W…what is this?!" She breathed, her anxiety getting bigger and bigger. She then took a look at the full moon: its pale green glare made the whole scenario even more unsettling.
"Don't let fear to overcome you." A male voice at her back whispered, causing Miyuki to jolt. She turned around and saw a mysterious man wearing glasses and a trenchcoat.
"Please, don't scream. I'm not here to harm you, rather, I'm here to help you and your friends." He quietly said to calm her down.
"W…who are you?" she stuttered "How did you get here?"
"That's a moot point now. What matters now is this…" he said as he placed a hand on the window. "Focus… can you feel anything?"
Miyuki placed both hands to her chest and closed her eyes. She felt like something surging from inside her, as she could clearly picture some strange black creatures in her mind.
"I see…" she mechanically said with a voice which didn't even sound like hers. " I feel strange… it's as if something inside me could make me see things I couldn't see before… sense them…"
"That's it" the man whispered as he placed his hand on Miyuki's shoulder and interrupting her trance-like state. "That is your power… a power only you have."
"My…power… but what…?" she murmured, still confused.
"I'll tell you everything, but later…" he answered. "Now we must get your friends and leave this place. It will soon become too dangerous…"
The two of them then rushed to wake Konata, Tsukasa and Kagami up. Once they were all awake, they all hid inside the Hiiragi sisters' room, which was the largest. Konata recognized the greenish shade around them, since it was the very same she saw when she first arrived at the dorm.
"We don't have much time, so I'll just brief you about the current situation" the man with glasses said. "What you see around you is the result of a hidden hour."
"Hidden hour…?" Tsukasa asked, still groggy.
The man nodded. "Normally, people wouldn't notice it. Have you noticed those coffins on the streets? Those are actually people… they sleep inside those as long as this… hidden hour lasts."
"I don't get it…" Kagami frowned, crossing her arms. "why didn't we transform into those?"
"I'm not sure… it might be because of your…abilities…" the man said with a slight smile.
"Hey, I know!" Konata interrupted, looking at the man with a mischievous expression. "Maybe those who won't become coffins have some nifty super power that allows'em to get inside this hidden hour!"
This last remark caused everyone to stare at her with a doubtful look, save for the man, who almost looked pleased.
"As whacky as it sounds, it is quite correct!" he explained. "Besides, it's during this hour that 'those things' appear."
Miyuki suddenly felt a chill. She wondered if the man meant those creatures she saw in her weird trance state.
Konata nodded. "I see! Those things are a dangerous enemy and are to be stopped, right? So you're planning to get us because you want us to become a super special team to fight them and save the world??"
"Please, be realistic…" Kagami muttered.
"This whole thing is not realistic to start with, so why bother?" Konata replied, amused.
"Actually, there already is a special team fighting them… you should know them, since they're your schoolmates who live in this dorm…" Rei continued with his explanation.
This late sentence caused the four girls to be quite surprised. But it all suddenly made sense: of course it wasn't an ordinary dorm, it was meant to host members for that special team!
"And you're here to scout us for us to join that team?" Tsukasa asked, trying to make a sense to the whole thing. The man shook his head, looking all serious.
"…then what do you want with us?" Kagami asked, finding the man quite suspicious.
"…I'll explain better once we get out of here… but first…" he said, placing a hand over his right ear. Then, as if he was talking on a communicator. "Kumiko-Kun, you hear me? I recovered the girls. What's the situation out there?"
"Please hurry and get out of there, Rei-Sensei!" Kumiko's voice could be heard from the communicator. She sounded like being quite tense "They're coming here at full force… and one of them is huge! The likes you don't see often…!!"
Rei frowned. "'Coming here at full force'? What do you mean by that…?"
"It's SEES…" she replied. "One of them is being chased and the big guy is following him here! I hate to say this, but… at this rate…!"
"…Kumiko-Kun! Draw their attention and prevent them from approaching us… keep them busy, but ignore the big one!" Rei ordered, keeping himself cool-headed.
"…Sensei?!" The girl seemed quite surprised by that order.
The man simply smirked. "Don't worry. I have a hunch that he'll be taken care of. You just focus on given orders, as you always do…" then, when the contact was done, he started to search inside his trenchcoat.
"It's true…" Miyuki said as she focused. "There are things I never seen before coming this way. Although I never saw them, I KNOW it's them…"
"Hey, I thought you said that those guys were supposed to protect us!!" Kagami snapped. "Who's the idiot who's luring those things there?!"
While this was happening, a familiar-looking silver-haired guy with a red waistcoat sneezed. He then shrugged and kept on running to the dorm while clenching his aching ribs.
Finally, Rei pulled some equipment out and delivered it to the girls; except for Miyuki, he gave Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa a different weapon: Konata received a short sword, Kagami received A small machinegun and Tsukasa a crossbow.
"W…whoa, whoa! Hey… what is this?!" Kagami stuttered, since the whole fact of wielding a weapon made her quite scared, unlike Konata, who was admiring her sword, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"It's just to be ready for any eventuality. There's a chance we might be involved in some fighting." Rei coldly stated.
"Y…you got to be kidding me!!" Kagami cried as Tsukasa gripped her arm. The whole situation was getting way out of hang!
Then Rei threw another object to the girls: it was a grey thing, similar to an old joystick, with a polished blue button in the middle. When the girls asked what it was, the man smirked, but before he had time to explain, the ground started shaking as some loud thuds were here from outside.
"W…what's going on here?!" Tsukasa cried as she hugged her sister.
"Damn… there's no more time!" Rei cursed and opened the window. Then, he cued the girls to hold him tightly and they all jumped down.
The golden blades of Kumiko's chakrams swirled and slashed the shadow's slimish body in two halves as the creature dissolved in a black-reddish cloud. But she had no time to relax, for another wave of them was on the way.
Wiping the sweat off her chin, she swiftly glimpsed at the biggest of them, which was walking away from the pack, as if its attention was caught by something else.
Crap… what are you doing, Sensei?! She thought, her grip on her twin chakrams tightening. She then shook her head and intensely looked at the shadows around her.
"That's OK… I'll behave myself and comply this time…" she said to herself, her voice as sharp as an ice dagger. She then dashed to the shadows, killing them one by one in a deadly, yet graceful death ballet.
Then, something was caught in the corner of her eye: she noticed two SEES members, Mitsuru and Akihiko, who were as busy as her fighting those critters and she unconsciously smiled.
She then noticed something wrong in the silver-haired one's movements… he looked like being slowed down by something and being unable to move as swiftly as her. Seeing that he was about to be mauled by a shadow, Kumiko hurled one of her bladed rings to it, killing it with a single blow.
Instantly, the guy faced her and smirked. "Meh… you're the last person I'd like aid from… but your timing is as good as always…Fukuyama." He said between light breaths.
Kumiko just shrugged. "I just figured out you might need some help, especially given your condition, Sanada."
"Pf… so you noticed…" he replied with a grimace.
"Regardless" Mitsuru added with a slight smile. "Your help in such a circumstance is welcome, Fukuyama."
Kumiko nodded and the three of them charged to the shadows.
"S…sis! I can't keep it up anymore!" Tsukasa cried, totally out of breath.
"Please, try and hold on just a little longer! We're almost there!" Rei shouted at his back.
"…I…I…I can't!!" The little girl said before falling on her knees.
Immediately, everyone rushed to her, who was unable to move, due to exhaustion.
Rei knew that reaching the hotel had priority, but he couldn't force Tsukasa to keep on running neither, so decided to rest for a few minutes.
Unfortunately, their rest didn't last long, since Miyuki suddenly felt something approaching. Before they knew, they were all surrounded by a group of four shadows, who crawled to them after appearing from the red pools on the floor.
As the four girls pressed together, Rei instinctively drew his small daggers out; he then halted himself. These are nothing for me, but…if I defeat them now… I'll never give chance for these girls' power to sprout!
"H…hey, what are we to do…?!" Kagami stuttered, under her breath.
"Well, how does it look to you? We gotta defeat'em, duh!" Konata replied while clenching the hilt of her sword as she grinned.
"H…hey!!" The girl with pigtails cried as her friend dashed to the closest shadow.
Instantly, the small girl started to slash the shadow repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Miyuki kept on focusing on the shadow; as she felt like plunging in the same trance-like status, she felt a great source of energy being released from her body as she saw a big faced book materializing in front of her.
"I am Personomicon, the book of absolute knowledge. Through my mind and your eyes, we shall reveal what truth is…" The book pronounced through Miyuki's soul.
"Per…so…nomicon…?" Miyuki mechanically muttered as the book opened. Both Kagami and Tsukasa were unable to understand what that strange thing was as Rei smiled, satisfied.
"Hey, what are you doing?! Give me a hand!!" Konata yelled, causing the Hiiragi sisters to snap out of their awe and point their weapons at the shadows. Unfortunately they both missed the target and it was quite close that Tsukasa pierced Konata with one of her arrows, causing the girl to fall down.
"WHOA!! Hey, you could kill me!!" Konata said as she sat on the ground.
The shadows took advantage of the situation and released some small pillars of energy that blasted the three girls away, while Miyuki was clinging to Rei.
"E…EVERYONE…!!" Miyuki gasped as the blast was cleared and her three friends were still stunned on the floor.
Konata was the first to rise up on her knees. "I'm fine, Yuki-Chan… a bit bruised, maybe, but nothing to it!" she said as she thumbed up.
Then Tsukasa tried and rose up, but she was halted by a shadow right in front of her. Startled, she floundered to grab her weapon or whatever could be sharp enough to use and grabbed the weird joystick-like thing Rei gave her instead. Right when the shadow was about to attack her, she let herself go to a scream and instinctively pressed the blue button. As soon as she did it, beads of blueish energy started to flow around Tsukasa as she felt a warm energy surging from her body and separating itself from her, into the shape of something similar to a bottle.
"I am Balshemikos, bearer of bitterness and sweetness. You, who generated me, feel free to wear me as your armor…" The bottle said as it opened its cap and caused a strong wind to wipe the shadow away.
Kagami looked even more confused. "…T…Tsukasa too?! Hey, what's going on here?!"
But Rei didn't answer, he just kept on smirking.
Konata promptly grabbed the joystick. "I don't know what this is about but… I think I understand what these…joysticks are! Come on, let's do it!!"
With that Konata closed her eyes, her smile broadening and pressed the blue button. Just like Tsukasa, she was engulfed by blueish energy beads as a warm power inside her separated from her. This time, with the shape of a round catlike odd creature which had the very same hair Konata had.
"I am Nekonata, part of you, just like you're part of me. That's all that there is to say, actually…" The odd creature said as he started shooting a pink beam from its mouth, smouldering another shadow.
"Oooh, the heck! Whatever!!" Kagami said before taking a deep breath and pressing the button. The energy from her body took the shape of a familiar-looking rodent with big eyes and, a red tie bow and a green bowler. But this time, the summoned being didn't talk, it only said "FUMOFFU!!" before smiting the last shadow left with its heavy machinegun.
As soon as all the shadows were destroyed, the summoned beings vanished into thin air, leaving the girls a bit dazed.
Behind them, Rei started to clap his hands, satisfied. "That battle went even smoother than expected… you managed to trigger your potential sooner than expected!"
"Rei-San… what just happened? What were those things?" Miyuki asked, a bit dizzy.
Rei was about to explain, but a beeping sound from his communicator caused him to focus on something else. He swiftly answered.
"Sensei, all minor shadows around the dorm have been taken care of, but… there's still the big one to deal with!" Kumiko said through the communicator.
"That shadow is not of our concern. Be on standby and wait for further orders." He said.
"How are things on your hand?"
"Great. The girls are OK… and… they're all Persona-users, as to be expected. We're headed to Kotobuki Hotel right now."
While Rei was having this conversation through the communicator, Miyuki seemed to sense something else. Immediately, she checked through Personomicon's eyes and started to check.
"…Rei-San!" she gasped. "I'm picking up something else!"
"Is it one of those things?!" Kagami asked as she clenched her fists.
"N…no… it's… different… it's a human! And he's at Port station…"
Rei nodded. "Kumiko-Kun, you heard it? I'm taking the girls to Kotobuki Hotel. You go to Port Station and help this person!" If my insight is right, then this person must be…
Before leaving for Kotobuki, Rei took a final glance to the dorm at distance, and noticed another clash between a gigantic shadow with many limbs and a black creature with coffins all around.
"Thanatos, huh… nice Persona…" he muttered with a smirk.
As soon as she ended the communication, Kumiko started to run towards Port station. The battle was long, but being just a few minor shadows, she still had much of her stamina.
Suddenly, she felt an incredible flow of dark power which caused her heart to jolt from inside her chest: the very same dark energy she could feel in her dreams was close, really close. She stopped running and faced the dorm, where she felt the energy come from.
"Kumiko-Kun!" she heard from the communicator. "Why did you stop? Are you alright?"
"Ah…no, I'm fine… it was just… a chill." She answered, trying to sound calm, before resuming her run to the port.
As soon as she arrived there, she could see a young boy running madly through the red-stained streets: he was wearing a sleeveless brown jacked over a white shirt and light brown pants; he had unkept black hair and his eyes, of the same hue Kumiko had, were desperately looking around to find a place to hide.
He then found a small alley and hid there, hoping those black things couldn't find him; he couldn't hear them moving… he heard nothing… safe for his light, shallow breaths and the rumble that was his thumping heart.
Then, seeing that no weird thing was jumping out, he left out a sigh of relief.
But as soon as he got out of the small alley, he felt something black and viscid fall on his left shoulder. Immediately he stretched a hand to it and looked up, just to choke when he saw one of the black things chasing him, which was about to assault him. Promptly, he flung himself aside, avoiding the assault, but saw many others coming at him. The boy frantically rocked his head back and forth, unable to find a way out. Then, when a shadow jumped at him, he squeezed his eyes shut, thinking for the worst…
The blow was never delivered, for someone sliced the creature to death with some sharp, circular weapon. The boy opened his eyes to see a dark-haired girl slicing the shadows as much as they came. After about a minute, it appeared there were no shadows around, so Kumiko sighed in relief.
The girl put her chakrams away and walked to the boy.
"That was a close one, wasn't it?" she asked, stretching her hand to him. The boy just stared at her, unable to say a word. Kumiko was starting to wonder about him becoming one of The Lost…
Then, all of the sudden, the boy left out a sharp scream and slipped backward in the outmost shock.
Kumiko tried many times to make him reason, but he just kept on screaming and pushing her away. When she had enough of his hysterics, she grabbed him and placed a vigorous hand over his mouth.
"I have to words for you, boy: SHUT UP!" she said, gazing at him with an ice-cold, piercing stare which hushed him. "Now… if I remove this from your hand, will you be quiet?"
The boy looked at her and nodded.
"Alright then…" she said as she released the boy's mouth.
"Holy shit… holy shit, holy shit… HOLY SHIT! What…WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?! I was there…. And now all of the sudden I'm here… and… there were these black things who wanted to harm me, I kept on running and running and running and running…"
Kumiko placed a hand on his mouth again. "OK, OK… I didn't ask for your life's story! Now calm down and come with me."
The boy frantically removed himself from her grasp and stepped back. "Wait a sec… how can I be sure you're not in league with those THINGS?!"
Kumiko jolted. "Wha… I just saved your LIFE!"
"Well it might be all a setup!"
None of them noticed that their yelling was causing more shadows to appear around them… and when they noticed, they both jolted.
"Well done, kid… look where your screaming brought you to!" Kumiko muttered as she drew her chakrams.
"AH! Now it's MY FAULT!!" The boy complained on the verge of tears.
"Shut up, now!... I must concentrate now…" Kumiko coldly stated as she looked around. She then dropped her left chakram and started to focus on her glove.
She then smirked as she stretched her left arm, the hand almost glowing as she slowly spoke.
"…Come to me, Yamatano-Orochi!"
As soon as those words were uttered, she stretched her hand wide open as blue energy surged from her, taking the shape of a gigantic eight-headed serpent. Each head opened its mouth and released ice energy on each of the shadows, literally freezing them. After that, Kumiko dashed and delivered them the finishing blows.
Once the battle was over, the girl was starting to feel exhaustion, as her eyesight started to blur and she felt dizzy.
The boy was still there, shaking in fear after watching the whole scene.
"I…I can't believe it…" he stuttered on the verge of tears. "It's just like a TV show… monsters appearing from nowhere and a girl summoning a giant snake… WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?! WILL YOU EXPLAIN ME ONCE AND FOR ALL?!"
After snapping a final time, the boy's mind seemed to be too exhausted as he felt light-headed and passed out a few instants later. Although exhausted, Kumiko slowly walked to the boy and looked at him.
"Well… at least you'll stay put for a while…" she weakly chuckled.
She then bent over to carry him on her shoulders. She was very tired and he felt much heavier, but she managed to pull it out, somehow, although seeing was much more difficult.
As she tried to climb up the staircases to the main plaza of the port station, she bumped into something which caused her to fall down the staircase and drop the poor boy. Slowly, she raised her gaze to find herself in front of a menacing-looking man with mid-long brown hair: this person was wearing a heavy-looking dark red and black coat over a dark shirt and black pants; he also wore cowboy-like boots and a black beanie, this one almost covering his eyes, thus making him look even more menacing. The man coldly stared at her and the boy, promising nothing good…
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW!!
Konata: On the next episode of PERUSURI…
Kagami: Whoa, whoa! That won't do! This is a psychological-feeling tale!
Konata: Oh, right… like in those introspective anime?
Kumiko: Tainted green moon… forgotten memories… a reason to fight for…
Shinn: …a boat horn: BOOOOOOOOOOOORE!
Konata: You're not telling absolutely nothing about the next episode!
Kagami: …Think you can do better than this?
Konata: Leave it to me… on the next episode of PERUSURI, a new special team, akin to SEES but unrelated to them is BORN!
Tsukasa: We will explore the big tower… um… what was the name? We will explore it…and then an intense mission where we get a new comrade!
Konata: A hint: he's cool, he's a womanizer and he's voiced by Akira Ishida!
Kenji: Watches a pretty butterfly and then looks around Me?...me…is it me??
Akihiko: A rival group, huh? Heheh, now I really do feel motivated! crocks his knuckles
Rei: Or is it why Shinji is introduced in the next chapter?
Akihiko: …shut up!!
Junpei: A group with all those pretty Senpai?? Hey, mind if I join??
Yukari: Is that all you can think about? Sheesh…
Junpei: …well at least Kona-Chan is nice at me… . ;
Miyuki: So feel free to read and review. Your opinions are always welcome by the authoress!
Mitsuru: But flamers shall be… EXECUTED!
Kumiko: See you in the next chapter of SMT: PS! You DON'T want to miss it!
BLUE VELVET: The PeruSuri trivia channel: Ep.1
Elizabeth: Good day you all and welcome to the very first episode of Blue Velvet. I am Elizabeth, your host, and this is my… er… hey, where's Maxwell?
Igor: From afar Ah, the young one? I think he forgot the key for this room… again…
Elizabeth: Oh goodness… what am I going to do with that guy… Shakes her head
Igor: Let him be… being young and scatter-brained is typical of people like him.
Elizabeth: Whatever… I think Maxwell will be introduced to you in episode 2… anyway, in this small corner the authoress granted us, we are to check trivia, outtakes and hilarious omake about the whacky world of PeruSuri. Of course, we also take care of things you, the readers, would like to see as trivia, outtakes omake… so be sure to send your requests! The authoress could be interested and put them into the next fan fiction instalments… or maybe not! So, anyway… Takes a pamphlet out This is not the first crossover fic idea the authoress had for the Persona 3 universe. She was also, since she's such a Super Robot Wars fan, to make a SRW/P3 crossover. So, here's a small scene from her idea.
SuPersona Wars 3 outtake: We see Aigis walking towards the Gekkoukan high school entrance as Ryusei Date walks to her, holding a bouquet.
"I love you, Aigis… mine was love at first sight… please answer my feelings or I will die of sorrow!" he says
Aigis stares at him, without blinking. "I do not compute." She answers.
Behind Ryusei, two auras appear, menacing: they belong to his fangirls Mai Kobayashi and Latooni Subota, who look really ticked off at him flirting with the cyber girl and proceed in beating him into a pulp. Watching this, Kenji shudders, saying: "Oh crap… it could have been me!!"
Elizabeth: Not half bad… in any case, this is the final idea she thought for a crossover fan fiction involving P3. Well, today's episode was just a pretext to say hello, we'll be back next chapter with more stuff for you to see… so be sure to send suggestions and requests! Well, we look forward for the next time. And now, instead of bidding you farewell in a typical way, I'll do it in a trend I've heard being used by the authoress: later days! Hmm, it has a nice sound… yeah, later days!