A/N: So, I've been in a bit of a writing slump recently (even before DR 4 was officially finished) and I figured I'd try to get out of it by writing something new for a change. So, here we have my first Persona fic. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Kasumi Survives!
Chapter One: A Change of Fate!
The pitter patter of raindrops on the sidewalk echoed in Ren's ears as his feet shuffled in the damp walkway. His eyes were glued to his phone, his messy, unkempt black hair shielding the torment in his eyes from the numerous passersby he bumped into.
How did I wind up in this mess? One night, I walk home late and try to help a woman being attacked, the next I end up with a criminal conviction for something I didn't even do and expelled from my school…all because of that man…
The angry, hateful eyes from his memory caused Ren to freeze. Overtaken by the memory of the man who sealed his fate, he might as well have bene a statue, frozen by his tormentor, until a young girl's cry shook him out of his trance.
"Look where you're going! The light's red!"
"Huh?"
Shaking his head, Ren finally looked up from his phone. His eyes widened as the sight of a distraught young girl with long, crimson hair ran into the crosswalk…right into oncoming traffic. Another girl's desperate pleas reverberated in his ears as time seemed to slow down.
That girl…she's gonna get hurt! Or…worse. But…what can I do…?
His hand gripping the umbrella shook with indecision. As much as his instincts told him to run and try to save the girl from a likely gruesome fate, the sting of betrayal from the last victim he tried to help made him genuinely wonder if intervening was the right thing to do.
"What's the matter?" A deep voice questioned, causing Ren to gasp.
He quickly turned his head, trying to find the source of the sound, but couldn't see anyone who even noticed him, let alone trying to speak to him.
There's…no one else here. But…who was that voice-
"Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking her to save yourself? Death awaits her if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?"
The memories of the woman crying out for help and Ren himself being led away by police flashed before hsi eyes once more. This time, though, the traumatic images seemed to only make him scowl and narrow his eyes in fury.
"…It wasn't." Ren finally spoke, shaking his head. No matter what happens to me…I can't abandon someone in trouble!
"Very well…then heed your resolve! Vow to me." A sudden pain suddenly seared in Ren's skull, causing him to drop his phone and clutch his face with his now free hand. "I am thou, thou art I…Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!" Ren cried out in agony, as though his very face was melting away, a painful metamorphosis for the shy, traumatized teenager who only wanted to keep his head down. "Call upon my name, and release thy righteous rage!"
What the…? Ren gasped through his howls of agony, pulling at his face as though he was trying to tear off a mask by force. The name…I…I almost know it! A…A…
"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"
"ARSENE!" Ren finally screamed, tearing away a small, white mask that had appeared on his face once he called out to the disembodied voice.
Once it too fell at his feet, blood started to drip from his face. The nervous grimace was gone, morphing into a crooked grin that oozed with confidence. The blood soon turned to blue flames, evaporating from his face and reforming into a strange being in front of him.
"I am the pillager of twilight - Arsene!" The strange red-limbed creature declared, flapping its black wings. "I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall grant you the courage to break through this crisis."
Ren looked up into what passed for Arsene's face. The eyes and mouth seemed to be burned into the head, which was covered by a black tophat, long black horned protruding out from under it like a demon.
This is totally crazy, but there's no time to worry about that now! "Lend me your courage, Arsene!"
"Very well…" Arsene nodded, dissipating. "Now go, use your newfound bravery!"
As Arsene dissipated, so did the stranglehold on the flow of time. A horn blared in Ren's ears, reminding him of the urgency of the situation. Without a second to spare, he dashed into the crossway, earning several astonished gasps and jeers from the crowd.
"Is he crazy?!"
"Hey, kid! Do you have a death wish?!"
Ren ignored them and continued to close the distance between him and the girl as fast as his legs could carry him.
No matter what happens to me, I can't back down ever again! I won't let the consequences stop me from saving people in need!
That was the last coherent thing he thought before he made one last desperate lap towards the girl. As he pushed against her belly with his palm, their eyes met for a split second. The glasses not unlike his own and red irises that matched her hair were all that Ren could take in before the blaring of a horn and darkness overtook him.
"Today was brutal, huh?" A red-hared girl mused, turning her head from the safety of her yellow and black-striped umbrella.
Walking next to her was a girl with similarly crimson locks, though this girl's hair fell down her back, as opposed to her companion's ponytail. Seeing the girl's somber look despite her hung head and the frame of her glasses obscuring what little view of her eyes could be afforded, the ponytailed girl turned to face her, and smiled softly.
"Feeling okay?"
The other girl shook her head. "It's not that." She let out a heavy sigh, trudging ahead as her eyes lingered towards the sidewalk in front of her. "Why am I doing so bad? I keep messing up my routine…"
She looked up , slightly startled to see the ponytailed girl smiling at her. "Your growth spurt's just changed your eye level. You'll get used to it." As if to prove her point, she raised her hand above the girl's head. "Look! You're as tall as I am now."
"We practice the same amount…" The glasses-wearing girl pointed out dejectedly. "But you are the one who always gets first place. I can't catch up to you, Kasumi…"
Forgetting for a moment the other girl's somber state, Kasumi grinned and rested her hand proudly against her chest. "You know why? Because it's my right as the elder sister."
"We're in the same grade, though." Her sister's dejected argument shook Kasumi out of her boastful state of mind.
"Aw, don't be so down." Kasumi giggled in an attempt to cheer her sister up.
Her eyes suddenly turned serious as she turned around, craning her head to look up at the clouds crying above them. "We'll reach the top of the world together…That's our dream, right?"
"…You don't get it." Kasumi turned towards her sister in surprise, stunned by the girl's intensified frustration. "You'll never understand how I feel."
"What?" Kasumi's eyes widened in shock as her sister took off in a run ahead of her. "Hey, wait up!" Her heart nearly leapt out of her ribcage as she saw the distraught young girl run onto the crosswalk. "Look where you're going! The light's red! Hey! Sumire, stop! Listen to me!"
The blaring of a horn and a turn of the head caused Kasumi to pale. A giant truck approached from the perpendicular, trying in vain to warn the distracted Sumire.
Sumire…she's gonna get hit! She's gonna die…and it's all gonna be my fault! I… Tears of horror and grief steamed down Kasumi's face, melding with the rainfall. I…I can't let this happen! I have to save her, no matter what the…huh?!
As Kasumi was preparing to leap into action, and possibly into death's embrace, the unexpected happened. A lanky, black-haired boy beat her to the punch, pushing Sumire out of the war and causing the distraught girl into her sister's arms. Kasumi grunted, feeling th ekind get knocked out of her before she recovered.
"Sumire!" Kasumi cried as her sister groaned in pain. "Are you okay?!"
"H-Huh?" Still dazed, Sumire looked up into Kasumi's fretting face. "I…I'm fine. I was pushed, by this…black-haired boy, and…"
both their eyes widened at the realization of what must have happened to Sumire's mysterious savior. Lookign up, their eyes widened at the sight in front of them. The truck was stopped, the boy lying on his side a few feet away.
"S-Senpai!" Sumire shrieked, leaping out of her sister's arms and running over to the fallen boy. "L-Let me through!" She demanded, forcefully pushing her way past the gossiping crowd that had gathered around him.
Falling to her knees, she finally got a better look at the boy. His wavy, messy hair obscured his eyes, and what skin wasn't covered by his black uniform was covered in bruises.
"Senpai, are you okay?! Senpai?!"
"Sumire, calm down!" Kasumi's voice echoed in Sumire's ears as the other red-headed girl finally rejoined her sister.
The slightly calmer girl gently gripped the boy's wrist with one hand while the other hovered just above the boy's lips. She sighed in relief as breath tickled her skin and a regular rhythm pulsed against her thumb.
"He's alive; I'm gonna call an ambulance." Kasumi pulled out her smartphone and frantically tapped at the screen before holding up the ringing device to her ear. "Hi, I need an ambulance at Shibuya Crossing! A boy's been hit by a truck and he needs to get to the hospital!"
A boy's been hit…a boy's been hit…
Kasumi's frantic words echoed over and over in Sumire's ears as she stared in guilt at the boy in front of her. No…he wasn't just hit…I caused him to get hit. This boy tried to save me cause I was too stupid to see where I was going. If he odesn't make it…if he dies…then…his blood is on my hands!