Setting
Default Location for Persona: Halcyon Days
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Kinomoto, Japan is a part of 
Persona: Halcyon Days.
9 Characters Here
Koyama Koyo [6] Don't let someone else make decisions for you in life. Live it like everyday is your last... - The Fearless Knight of JSO
Haruo Yukimura [6] The Vampire of Kinomoto, and leader of the Junior Shadow Operatives
Kana Iwasaki [5] Smiley goofball of the JSO.
Arisu Itou [4] The worrisome Second-in-Command of the JSO.
Lamilius Kusanagi [3] JSO's jackass who always comes through.
Takehiro Saitō [1] "Some decisions are hard. Some easy. Whatever you decide, own it completely."
Hikari Saitō [1] "I may not be judge and jury, but I don't mind playing executioner."
Naoya Tsukehara [0] The JSO's aloof advisor, and navigator
Chiharu Mitsuharu [0] Former leader of the JSO (Deceased/WIP)
Start Character Here »
Setting
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PART I:
WITH TEETH BARED AND EYES ABLAZE
From the diary of ███████
h̢ello
̧i͏t́'s ͜n̴ot ̀what͜ ̵you can͜'t͟ ͜sée͝ ̶in͏ th͏e ͝dark̴ ͡th̢a̢t͠ ҉you shouĺd̸ ̴b́e̴ a̧fra̛i͜d̷ ơf͟
̢
yòų ha̧v̵è ̵all ̶co͠m҉f̡ort̡ed̵ ͠y̛o̵urs͘ęlve̴s̡ ́w͞ith͏ t̵h̀es͠e͝ w͘o̧rds̡
"p̀e̶opļe͞ f̶e̶a̕r ͟the ͝unkńo̶wn̴"
̀TH͡AŢ'S ̸S͏O̴ F҉UNNY̶ ́H̛AH̶AHÀHA̢HAHA̛H̸AHAHA̧H͞A͜HA͝HAHAHAH̵AH͡A̷H̡AH͘AH͟AHA
͜H̵A̷HA̸H͟A̧HÁHA̧H̨AH̛A͢HA̴H̸A̛HAH̶A̛HA͝HA͘H͟A͠HA͝HAHAH̵A̵HAHÀHAHA̵H̵A̵H̶AH̷A͘H̡AHA҉HAHAH̕AH͝AHA͠HĄH̷AHA҉H͠A͘H͞A͢HAHAHA̸ ̧H̸AHA͘H̀AH͏AH҉A͟HAH͜A͡H̴AHAHA͢H͝AHAH̀A͝HAH́AH͠AHAHAHA̸H̛AHAHAHAHA͜HAH́AHA̛H̴AHAHAHAH͡A͘H̴ÀHAHA̡HAH̵ĄH̢AHA
H͟ÁH̴A̢H͜AHAH͝AH́A̕H͝ÀH̨AHAH̴AHAH̵AHA͘HAH̵AHA͏H̕AHA͏H҉AHA̧HAHAH͡AHAHAHAH͞A̶H͘AH͝A͏H͡AH̷A̧HAHA̕HA͟HA̷H̀AH͠A͝HA̧H͝AH̡A
̕HA̴HAHA͟H̕AH҉A̕H̡ÁHAH͏A͜H҉A̕HA͝HAH҉AHAHAHAH͘AH̛AH̛A̧HA̸H̴
͞
͢but ̀i̧ts͟ ̕ńo̧t the̡ dark ͘th̛a̸t ̴y҉o̵u s҉houl̢d fea̵r͞
҉i͡ts n͏o҉t ͞the ͢unkn̸o̧ẁn̢ ̸t̕hat҉ s͘h̵ould̶ ̵se̢ize͟ ̴y̕o͠ur ̸h͢e͠ar͜t
̶
it͝ is ̀y̨oursȩlv͠es̀
̢i͜t̛ is̷ e̕ac͡h̴ot̶h̛e̡r
̡
YOU LIȨ
̀C҉HEAT
̢
MU͝RD͞ER
́
yo̕u͞r ͢bi͟g̷g̀e͘sţ ̸enemy̴ i̸s YO҉U
͘b́ut ít͘s̴ fu͢n҉ny
̵
its͡ ve̴r̀y̵ ͡f̴un͢n̴y
b͢e̷c͝a̕u̧se̡ ͡i ̴know̷ w͜he̵re̷ ҉you a̷r҉e ͏go͠in͘g̛ ҉
̴a̕l̨l͘ ̶o͘f yòu
͘
͞ ͟i̢ ̨k͝now̷ whe̕r͘e͟ you̶ ͏a̸re͟ ̢g̴o̷inģ ҉
i wi͠l̸l s̷mil̷e̸
m̷y ţe̢e͘t͠h͜ ͠cl͟enc͡hi̧n҉g͡ ͜toge҉th̡er̛ t̡iǵh͠t̷ly, ti̡ghtly,̡ ͜tiǵh͜t͞ly̛,͘
҉
my ęyes͏ u̢nb̢li͝nki̴ng ̴w͞atch̡i̕ng̡ e͏v̢eŕy̛thin̡g̸ ͢f͢àl͝l in̛t̵o ҉pļa͝c͏e͢
҉w̡eep̕ing͠ ̴an͢d shri͡velin̸g,̢
̶
and̢ ̡l̡a̷ughin͞g̨
̴
go̶òd͘bye̡
̵
i h͜a̧té y͜ou
"It's getting late, don't you think we should be getting home?" The girl said, resting her head on her crossed arms, which in turn sat on her knees. The boy smiled a distant, detached smile, and gazed out at the horizon, its pink light illuminating the dark sea, and casting a warm glow over the sand.
"No. Not yet." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled faintly, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Haruo?" she spoke, puttig her arm around his waist and looking up at him.
"Yeah?" he said, still gazing out across the water. He looked over at her.
"W̧HY̨͜ ̡̕͠A̷̛Ŕ̸́E ̨̕Y̷̧̢O̕U ́͢S̕U̢C͏́H͟͝ ̢A̵ ͞͡G̡ƠD ͜D̸̵̸A͝M͏̷N҉ ͘҉C͟͢͏OWA̧R͞D?͠"
Haruo jutted awake, gasping for air as he released the pillow he had been clutching in his sleep. He breathed deeply and shut his eyes. This is what he had been told to do, what would calm down his panicking mind whenever he awoke with such fervor. He opened his eyes, still breathing heavily and looked around the room.
4:18
"Two and a half hours of sleep. Must be a new record." He thought, rising from his bed. He opened his dresser door and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat off of his chest and forehead. He heard the soft moaning of a cute brunette in the corner of the room, and couldn't help but smile.
"Come here boy!" Jorah, his Rhodesian Ridgeback, stood up and trotted over to him. he reached over and stoked the dog's head. "Alright big guy, lets go for a run."
He returned through the front door, being careful not to wake his parents, or even worse, his sister. He poured Jorah a bowl of water, and removed his sweat-stained t-shirt, tossing it in the laundry basket. He had been going for early morning runs regularly for two years now, always the same route, the same pace, the same time, and with same person. That is, until recently. He sat down in front of the television and ate a quick breakfast, then prepared himself from school, grabbing his backpack and taking out his cellphone. He figured it would be a good idea to remind everyone of the meeting they had scheduled this morning before class, in the
7:22 - Hey losers, don't forget about the meeting this morning, up and at em'!
He backed out to his contacts, tapping Arisu's name. Out of all the JSO members, he felt like he was closest with her and Chiharu, and now that Chiharu was gone, Arisu had stepped up to fill his previous position as second-in-command, which served to deepen their relationship even further.
7:23 - Hey, you awake? Lets walk to school, I'll meet you halfway.
And with that, he walked out the door, making his way towards Kinomoto Academy.
Beep-beep!
The phone rung through the small room, shockingly loud in the early morning as it vibrated across the nightstand.
"Ugh... already?" Arisu moaned, grudgingly shifting her blankets aside. She made a few sleepy attempts to grab her phone, nearly knocking over the nightstand before finally getting a hold of it. She turned it on, squinting at the suddenly bright light, and took a quick glance at the text sprawled onscreen.
7:22 - Hey losers, don't forget about the meeting this morning, up and at em'!
She couldn't help but sigh. "I have an alarm, Haruo." She muttered, a little irritated. Not at the text, no, but at the fact she had already slept through the alarm an hour earlier. She took a breath, rubbing her eyes as she trudged towards the bathroom. Yet, as she was about to step out, her phone rang once more.
7:23 - Hey, you awake? Lets walk to school, I'll meet you halfway.
She seemed to wake up a bit after reading, and quickly replied.
7:24 - I am now, be there in a few!
Not too long later, she was already running out the door wearing her uniform. She fumbled with her hair as she walked down the street, pulling it into her all-too-familiar ponytail with an elastic band she had wrapped around her wrist, managing to wring out a little bit of moisture. She really only had time for a shower, and not much else, for she couldn't be late for the meeting. And she'd feel bad for leaving Haruo out to dry.
Arisu was sure she looked terrible, there were probably dark circles under her eyes, and her uniform was definitely not as tidy as it typically is - she was going to have to fix that before the meeting. She had an expectation to uphold, after all. Then again, with the general population in the group, most of them probably wouldn't care.
Maybe she'd fix it before she met Haruo, then. She was sure he'd notice. It's not like she could redo a tie while running, though. After a few minutes, she found herself at the mentioned halfway point, a little area they typically met up at. She came to a halt next to a bus stop, peering around for her friend and absentmindedly smoothing her skirt.
"Haruo?" She said, raising her voice somewhat.
"Three... Two... One."
An acoustic guitar chord shattered whatever silence was to be found in the room, followed by a singer who's rough voice sounded like it gargled with whiskey and gravel. The song played for a few moments before the alarm was finally turned off by the man in bed. Takehiro didn't do much besides contently stare at the ceiling above his head and wish the seconds would slow down. Wishful thinking would do nothing beside make the time speed up in the end, and he knew it too. Instead of deciding to waste away in bed, he swung his feet out and stood, cracking what felt like every bone in his body. Hiro had woken up moments before the alarm would sound, and he spent those moments trying to guess when exactly it would blare. He'd managed to call it exactly so he took it as a good omen for the day.
He made up his bed first, tucking the covers in under the mattress and spreading out the bedspread until it was immaculate, and he crossed a likewise neat room and began to dress himself. Off went the sleepwear and on when the school's uniform, tie hanging haphazardly around his neck-- for the moment. It wouldn't stay like that for long, Hiro would see to it. Slipping out of his room and into the bathroom, he set about brushing his teeth, until he wandered out and went down the hall to a different room. "You've got two options Hiki," he said as he twisted the door knob and entered. "You can either keep on sleeping with your dreams, or you can get up and chase them. Rise and shine!" He said over the toothbrush jammed into his maw. Then he wisely slipped away from her door and tried to escape her inevitable retribution.
He returned to the bathroom and finished brushing his teeth, before spending an inordinate amount of time in front of the mirror tying his tie just right until it was perfect. He'd not be seen in public with a lopsided tie.
The sound of something heavy hitting the door behind Hiro’s exit was perhaps as much of an auditory confirmation as he was going to get that his sister had heard him. Hikari had never been a morning person, but she managed well enough. Usually by the time it hit nine o’clock, she was much more energetic and ready to attack the day, but prior to that, well… it was a bit of a struggle. Still, she wasn’t one to be lazy when she could be productive, even in the instances where her proactive attitude sucked. Like now, when her bare feet hit her wood floor and she shivered from the distinct lack of a warm blanket cocoon.
Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she pressed her lips together momentarily as she remembered it, what she referred to mentally as The Incident, capital letters definitely included. It was the first thing she thought of every morning when she woke, and the last one before she went to sleep at night, and occasionally, thoughts of it would creep up on her during the day, too. That door, the cowering boy… and Hiro, by her side, their hands clutched together as they watched a broken knight and a mechanical angel destroy amorphous blobs of something that still gave her the creeps.
Pulling a breath in through her nose, she released it in a gust, pushing off the bed and striding to her closet. Rocking up onto her toes, she placed her hands on her hips and curled the short digits on her feet into the pile of the rug that lay there, surveying not her selection of clothing—the school uniform was pretty universal, after all—but rather the short, prismatically-arranged row of scarves that occupied the left side of the storage space. Selecting the indigo one, she threw it onto her as-yet-unmade bed and grabbed the rest of the necessary articles, hopping around a bit as she slid the thigh-high socks on. There was just no way to do that gracefully; or at least, she had yet to find it. Maybe the other girls all knew it by know, who could say?
“Jam toast?” The call had the tone of a request rather an actual question—it wasn’t like she could fail to know that her brother was in the kitchen even now, working on whatever he was pulling together for his own breakfast. Actually, she could probably even name it. But she also knew that by now, he could make hers and his and be ready in plenty of time, so she didn’t feel too bad about always asking. She, on the other hand, finished getting dressed and made her bed (more or less), before dashing into the bathroom to brush her teeth. The jam toast was going to taste weird, but whatever. She could deal. Wrestling her hair into some kind of submission was always the most challenging part of the morning, but fortunately it was mostly cooperating today, and lay nicely over her shoulders, at least until she wound the scarf on and yanked it out the back. Close enough—it wasn’t like she lived to impress people.
Though it would be nice, maybe.
Brushing aside the errant thought, she popped her head into the kitchen, carrying Hiro’s school bag as well as her own—compensation for the strawberry-flavored, crispy deliciousness that would be her breakfast if he were feeling magnanimous this morning (and for her, he always was). “Your tie's a little crooked,” she lied facetiously, the glimmer in her eye and the sly little half-smile on her lips giving away the joke. She still managed to get him to look down sometimes, just to make sure.
But not this time. Oh no, definitely not this time. He stared at her with a peanut butter plastered toast hanging from the side of his mouth, the edge of his lips upturned in a knowing grin. He'd just spent way too much in in front of a mirror only moments ago to ensure that his tie was anything but perfect. Perhaps she'd have better luck later on the day, when the possibility that time had made him inattentive, but not right not. "Nice try. And your scarf isn't," He said, taking a bite of his own toast. His own tease would probably have less of an impact than hers, seeing how she was far less meticulous about her clothing than him. It probably said something about him that he spent more time in the bathroom than her, but he wilfully ignored it.
Pushing a plate of jammed toast toward her, he traded it for his school bag. With it in his lap, he opened it and sifted through it, double checking to make positive that everything was exactly where it needed to be. And of course it was. Everything had a home, and he'd see to it that they reached it safe and sound every time. Satisfied, he sat the bag down beside the table and began to chew at his toast. "So what's on the itinerary for today?" He asked unconsciously adjusting his tie despite himself. Habits died hard.
Heh. He still couldn’t help himself. It was like the mere suggestion that anything about him was a hair out of place was enough to set him all a-twitch. “Other than class?” Hikari lifted her eyes to the ceiling. Her memory recall was usually excellent, but she’d been understandably a little distracted for the past few days. “Nothing I remember hearing about. Sports clubs start recruiting soon, and culture clubs a while after that, but not today, I don’t think.” Which meant that she’d probably be putting in some study hours at the library after school, unless something pressing came up.
She doubted anything would, though. They were still very new, and neither of them really had any friends besides the other yet, so the likelihood of anything coming along to interfere with their schedules was low. Except… well, there was that one thing hanging over their every conversation now, but she waited to broach the subject until they were clear of the house and their grandfather, who even at this hour was up tending the garden. She had this feeling she knew what Hiro would look like in fifty years.
“I mean…” she finished the last bite of her toast and swallowed. “Unless you think something weird’s gonna happen to us again, that is.” It was the kind of thing you would think should be detectable in coming, but the day it had happened had seemed perfectly ordinary up until the late evening, and then… well, then it was a little like falling down the rabbit hole. Only Wonderland was a place you really, really didn’t want to be.
Weird. That was the polite way to put it. Even days removed from The Incident with ample amounts of time to think about it, more questions arose than were answered. Why, what, where, and how, was only scratching the surface of the whole ordeal. As they walked, Hiro rubbed his chin and shrugged, "Let's hope not? I still don't know what happened." It was almost like a dream. The sudden appearance of a door that led into nothing but something at the same time. Hiro still remembered walking a lap around it. Then what happened on the inside. It was like a bad dream, and he'd honestly thought that was all it was. At first. Until Hiki revealed she remembered it too. They were twins, and they shared a lot of things, yes, but dreams? That was pushing it.
"You have any guesses as to what it was? Because I've still got nothing." He said interlocking both hands behind his head. Even trying to wrap his mind around it was tiring, but he could never stop those thoughts from slipping back into his mind. The gleam off the armor of a crippled knight, the whirring of the mechanical wings of an angel, the way they fought those... Things that sucked in all the light that hit them. And the kid that they found cowering, and the way he just...Forgot all about it the next day. It was frightening then, and still uncomfortable now. It was all he could do to think about it though, because there was a sneaking suspicion that if they talked to anyone about it, they'd just be labeled the crazy new kids-- not exactly the best first impression to make at a new school.
Shaking his head with the confusion of it all, he simply sighed and said, "Like I said. Let's hope not. Else I'd seriously have to start questioning our sanity." Soon, though a smile slowly worked it's way back into his face and began to talk again. "Doors, and monsters, and darkness-- Oh my." The end of his sentence was punctuated by a quick click of his heels.
Hikari thinned her lips into a straight line, tipping her head back and folding her hands together behind it, twining her fingers at the nape of her neck. “I just…” She sincerely hoped this wasn’t about to sound really stupid, because there was a pretty good chance of that, considering how absurd it already seemed in her own head. “That one monster, though… it felt… a little bit like I was looking at me.” She didn’t know how to explain it better than that—though it was obvious there was little physical resemblance between herself and the robotic angel-creature. It was still familiar in the same way her own face was—not something she always saw, but something she instinctively knew was of her. In a way, the knight had been even more familiar, because it felt like…
“And the other one was like looking at you.” She shook her head—the school building was approaching. Probably best that they didn’t talk about it too much more where other students could pick up on the conversation. She was used to being ostracized, but not for this reason.
"He was," Hiro agreed without hesitation. Even though it's face was obscured by a tattered hood, He knew that the knight was looking at him, like it was expecting something from him. What it was, he couldn't say, but... He felt a resonance, something about it spoke to him, but he couldn't tell what. Taking his glasses off he rubbed his eyes and simply gave up on trying to understand it all. "Come on. We have class," he said as they entered the school. He took the lead and went to their classroom, somehow already having memorized the path. "2-A, 2-B, and... 2-C. After you, little sister," He said, opening the door for Hiki to go first.
“Oh, no please, dear brother," Hikari smiled. “Age before beauty, I must insist."
An acoustic guitar chord shattered whatever silence was to be found in the room, followed by a singer who's rough voice sounded like it gargled with whiskey and gravel. The song played for a few moments before the alarm was finally turned off by the man in bed. Takehiro didn't do much besides contently stare at the ceiling above his head and wish the seconds would slow down. Wishful thinking would do nothing beside make the time speed up in the end, and he knew it too. Instead of deciding to waste away in bed, he swung his feet out and stood, cracking what felt like every bone in his body. Hiro had woken up moments before the alarm would sound, and he spent those moments trying to guess when exactly it would blare. He'd managed to call it exactly so he took it as a good omen for the day.
He made up his bed first, tucking the covers in under the mattress and spreading out the bedspread until it was immaculate, and he crossed a likewise neat room and began to dress himself. Off went the sleepwear and on when the school's uniform, tie hanging haphazardly around his neck-- for the moment. It wouldn't stay like that for long, Hiro would see to it. Slipping out of his room and into the bathroom, he set about brushing his teeth, until he wandered out and went down the hall to a different room. "You've got two options Hiki," he said as he twisted the door knob and entered. "You can either keep on sleeping with your dreams, or you can get up and chase them. Rise and shine!" He said over the toothbrush jammed into his maw. Then he wisely slipped away from her door and tried to escape her inevitable retribution.
He returned to the bathroom and finished brushing his teeth, before spending an inordinate amount of time in front of the mirror tying his tie just right until it was perfect. He'd not be seen in public with a lopsided tie.
The sound of something heavy hitting the door behind Hiro’s exit was perhaps as much of an auditory confirmation as he was going to get that his sister had heard him. Hikari had never been a morning person, but she managed well enough. Usually by the time it hit nine o’clock, she was much more energetic and ready to attack the day, but prior to that, well… it was a bit of a struggle. Still, she wasn’t one to be lazy when she could be productive, even in the instances where her proactive attitude sucked. Like now, when her bare feet hit her wood floor and she shivered from the distinct lack of a warm blanket cocoon.
Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she pressed her lips together momentarily as she remembered it, what she referred to mentally as The Incident, capital letters definitely included. It was the first thing she thought of every morning when she woke, and the last one before she went to sleep at night, and occasionally, thoughts of it would creep up on her during the day, too. That door, the cowering boy… and Hiro, by her side, their hands clutched together as they watched a broken knight and a mechanical angel destroy amorphous blobs of something that still gave her the creeps.
Pulling a breath in through her nose, she released it in a gust, pushing off the bed and striding to her closet. Rocking up onto her toes, she placed her hands on her hips and curled the short digits on her feet into the pile of the rug that lay there, surveying not her selection of clothing—the school uniform was pretty universal, after all—but rather the short, prismatically-arranged row of scarves that occupied the left side of the storage space. Selecting the indigo one, she threw it onto her as-yet-unmade bed and grabbed the rest of the necessary articles, hopping around a bit as she slid the thigh-high socks on. There was just no way to do that gracefully; or at least, she had yet to find it. Maybe the other girls all knew it by know, who could say?
“Jam toast?” The call had the tone of a request rather an actual question—it wasn’t like she could fail to know that her brother was in the kitchen even now, working on whatever he was pulling together for his own breakfast. Actually, she could probably even name it. But she also knew that by now, he could make hers and his and be ready in plenty of time, so she didn’t feel too bad about always asking. She, on the other hand, finished getting dressed and made her bed (more or less), before dashing into the bathroom to brush her teeth. The jam toast was going to taste weird, but whatever. She could deal. Wrestling her hair into some kind of submission was always the most challenging part of the morning, but fortunately it was mostly cooperating today, and lay nicely over her shoulders, at least until she wound the scarf on and yanked it out the back. Close enough—it wasn’t like she lived to impress people.
Though it would be nice, maybe.
Brushing aside the errant thought, she popped her head into the kitchen, carrying Hiro’s school bag as well as her own—compensation for the strawberry-flavored, crispy deliciousness that would be her breakfast if he were feeling magnanimous this morning (and for her, he always was). “Your tie's a little crooked,” she lied facetiously, the glimmer in her eye and the sly little half-smile on her lips giving away the joke. She still managed to get him to look down sometimes, just to make sure.
But not this time. Oh no, definitely not this time. He stared at her with a peanut butter plastered toast hanging from the side of his mouth, the edge of his lips upturned in a knowing grin. He'd just spent way too much in in front of a mirror only moments ago to ensure that his tie was anything but perfect. Perhaps she'd have better luck later on the day, when the possibility that time had made him inattentive, but not right not. "Nice try. And your scarf isn't," He said, taking a bite of his own toast. His own tease would probably have less of an impact than hers, seeing how she was far less meticulous about her clothing than him. It probably said something about him that he spent more time in the bathroom than her, but he wilfully ignored it.
Pushing a plate of jammed toast toward her, he traded it for his school bag. With it in his lap, he opened it and sifted through it, double checking to make positive that everything was exactly where it needed to be. And of course it was. Everything had a home, and he'd see to it that they reached it safe and sound every time. Satisfied, he sat the bag down beside the table and began to chew at his toast. "So what's on the itinerary for today?" He asked unconsciously adjusting his tie despite himself. Habits died hard.
Heh. He still couldn’t help himself. It was like the mere suggestion that anything about him was a hair out of place was enough to set him all a-twitch. “Other than class?” Hikari lifted her eyes to the ceiling. Her memory recall was usually excellent, but she’d been understandably a little distracted for the past few days. “Nothing I remember hearing about. Sports clubs start recruiting soon, and culture clubs a while after that, but not today, I don’t think.” Which meant that she’d probably be putting in some study hours at the library after school, unless something pressing came up.
She doubted anything would, though. They were still very new, and neither of them really had any friends besides the other yet, so the likelihood of anything coming along to interfere with their schedules was low. Except… well, there was that one thing hanging over their every conversation now, but she waited to broach the subject until they were clear of the house and their grandfather, who even at this hour was up tending the garden. She had this feeling she knew what Hiro would look like in fifty years.
“I mean…” she finished the last bite of her toast and swallowed. “Unless you think something weird’s gonna happen to us again, that is.” It was the kind of thing you would think should be detectable in coming, but the day it had happened had seemed perfectly ordinary up until the late evening, and then… well, then it was a little like falling down the rabbit hole. Only Wonderland was a place you really, really didn’t want to be.
Weird. That was the polite way to put it. Even days removed from The Incident with ample amounts of time to think about it, more questions arose than were answered. Why, what, where, and how, was only scratching the surface of the whole ordeal. As they walked, Hiro rubbed his chin and shrugged, "Let's hope not? I still don't know what happened." It was almost like a dream. The sudden appearance of a door that led into nothing but something at the same time. Hiro still remembered walking a lap around it. Then what happened on the inside. It was like a bad dream, and he'd honestly thought that was all it was. At first. Until Hiki revealed she remembered it too. They were twins, and they shared a lot of things, yes, but dreams? That was pushing it.
"You have any guesses as to what it was? Because I've still got nothing." He said interlocking both hands behind his head. Even trying to wrap his mind around it was tiring, but he could never stop those thoughts from slipping back into his mind. The gleam off the armor of a crippled knight, the whirring of the mechanical wings of an angel, the way they fought those... Things that sucked in all the light that hit them. And the kid that they found cowering, and the way he just...Forgot all about it the next day. It was frightening then, and still uncomfortable now. It was all he could do to think about it though, because there was a sneaking suspicion that if they talked to anyone about it, they'd just be labeled the crazy new kids-- not exactly the best first impression to make at a new school.
Shaking his head with the confusion of it all, he simply sighed and said, "Like I said. Let's hope not. Else I'd seriously have to start questioning our sanity." Soon, though a smile slowly worked it's way back into his face and began to talk again. "Doors, and monsters, and darkness-- Oh my." The end of his sentence was punctuated by a quick click of his heels.
Hikari thinned her lips into a straight line, tipping her head back and folding her hands together behind it, twining her fingers at the nape of her neck. “I just…” She sincerely hoped this wasn’t about to sound really stupid, because there was a pretty good chance of that, considering how absurd it already seemed in her own head. “That one monster, though… it felt… a little bit like I was looking at me.” She didn’t know how to explain it better than that—though it was obvious there was little physical resemblance between herself and the robotic angel-creature. It was still familiar in the same way her own face was—not something she always saw, but something she instinctively knew was of her. In a way, the knight had been even more familiar, because it felt like…
“And the other one was like looking at you.” She shook her head—the school building was approaching. Probably best that they didn’t talk about it too much more where other students could pick up on the conversation. She was used to being ostracized, but not for this reason.
"He was," Hiro agreed without hesitation. Even though it's face was obscured by a tattered hood, He knew that the knight was looking at him, like it was expecting something from him. What it was, he couldn't say, but... He felt a resonance, something about it spoke to him, but he couldn't tell what. Taking his glasses off he rubbed his eyes and simply gave up on trying to understand it all. "Come on. We have class," he said as they entered the school. He took the lead and went to their classroom, somehow already having memorized the path. "2-A, 2-B, and... 2-C. After you, little sister," He said, opening the door for Hiki to go first.
“Oh, no please, dear brother," Hikari smiled. “Age before beauty, I must insist."
The sunrise barely started to break through the the dark tint of Koyama's bedroom window, its rays slowly rising up from his chin and washing his face in its light. As it rose up his face, Koyama drifted into a lighter sleep until it reached the crack in his eyes, where they immediately shot open as he sat up in an almost mechanical motion. He leaned forward and heaved a soft sigh, but immediately regained the energy he had when he first woke up. Despite his futon being extremely close to the floor Koyama was able to spring to his feet and look around his desolate room. The room was barren with only a hardwood floor, an even harder futon, a crumpled up school uniform tossed into a corner, and an under dressed man who was already sprinting out to the world.
Barefoot and in his boxers, Koyama dashed through the urban suburbs he lived in, going down one street as fast as he could. His calm and picturesque face showed he wasn't having any trouble pushing himself to such an intense speed passing through the empty roads. For a good fifteen minutes he was all alone until a businessman emerged from his house and saw the almost-nude teen going for his morning run. With nothing more than a puzzled expression on his face he called out to Koyama, "He-Hey kid! What're you doing out here dressed like that at this time in the morning? Isn't that bad for your health?"
As soon as the words reached his ears, Koyama dug his heels to a complete stop and proceeded to walk to the man's home, examining it with a quizzical eye, then looking back from where he came. With a smirk he looked up to the man and commented "I was beating my record. I passed my goal of 300 houses and made it to 325. Ya see that?" Koyama pointed over towards a small house in the distance with a blue roof. "That was where I was stuck at for the longest time. Kind family too, but I had to move on. I appreciate your concern about me but I'm completely fine. Don't worry, I've been doing this for years now." Leaving the businessman in an even more confused state than he was before, Koyama turned around and started to jog back home, waving back without even looking at the man who stopped him this morning.
On his way home, other people were coming out from their houses, and those who have seen his practice over the years gave him a polite wave and cheerful words of encouragement for him. It was these kinds of people that he liked, those that didn't force what they thought was better down onto him like it was their decision to how he lived. There was one woman who he had issues with every morning - who always soured his mood - and her shrill voice broke through the peaceful morning air like a whip crack against the skin.
"Why you little prick! Why do you constantly insist flaunting your naked body to everyone else! It's impolite, immoral, and disturbing if you ask me!" A fairly young looking woman wearing a lavish bathrobe and having curlers strewn throughout her hair was leaning out of her window just to yell at him. "And another thing! You can't expect people just to give into this bullshit you do! They all talk behind your back about how horrible of a kid you are and how you have no respect for anyone else but yours-"
"You know what lady, if you would just shut the fuck up for one moment in your life, maybe I would take you seriously for once." Koyama stopped his jog home, his peaceful face swapped with that of an angry one. His eyes lost their sparkle and became dull and intimidating; and his smile was crushed and thrown away to be replaced with a scowl. "If someone wants to be such a picky little bitch then I guess I can join in as well since I know we both aren't gonna listen to each other. You're nothing but a leach on your husband's resources because all you do is sit on your lazy ass and watch TV all day - and trust me I've heard this from others. You feel so afraid about the way you look that you spend countless hours working on your appearance just to boost your confidence; but in the end all you end up doing is looking stupid with those obnoxious looking curlers in that swamp hair of yours form all the chemicals you put into it. You're so fucking shallow that I bet the only reason why you get up this early is because you want to yell at me because you get a kick from making others feel bad." Koyama's body was straight, tight, and focused on one thing - and that was taking her down a peg. "You know, I'd actually listen to you if you didn't sound like such a whiny, entitled ass all the time. I've had discussions with other neighbors about this and changed what I was doing because they gave me real reasons why what I was doing was being a nuisance to the good of everyone else. I've cut down on the noise I make, I've stopped running into people's yards, and I am even wearing more clothes than when I first started my routine. What you are," Koyama took a step towards her house so he was right at its front gate, "is trash that should've been kicked to the curb for how much she smells like shit. Now, while I wish to continue to berate you, I must be off... I have someplace to be unlike you." As he jogged away from the house where the woman continued to scream and yell at the mere thought of him winning the argument, he raised his middle finger high in the sky until he couldn't hear her voice anymore.
When he arrived home he quickly jumped into the shower and whistled a happy tune to himself. "What a fuckin' bitch she is. She's gonna piss someone off who's more dangerous than me and she's gonna get hurt... but she's gonna deserve it still. The day she turns out to be like everyone else is the day that my hair finally becomes a natural color for once. Ah well, I still one that one and she didn't even put up a fight compared to last time."
After only taking a minute long shower he quickly threw on his normal clothes and stepped out of the bathroom. Looking at the house clock it read: 6:30 AM. Smirking at the thought of shaving more time off his usual morning routine, he started to cook a pan full of eggs and tossed some bread into the toaster. After a few minutes he had two plates set at the table with a generous helping on one and a meager amount on the other. While he began to brew some coffee he called out into the house, "Mama, if you don't get out of bed your breakfast is gonna get all cold."
A few moments later a very tired looking woman came out from the bedroom, stretching her arms and giving a big yawn to start off her day. Despite having grey hairs grown around her head and bags coming around her eyes, she was only 40 years old. When her husband abandoned the family her reality was shattered and she never was able to reclaim her composure after that. When she saw her son though, she gave a smile that would melt ice, and walking over Koyama to give him a hug. "Aww, Koyama you are so kind to do this for me every morning. You really don't need to do this for me."
Koyama couldn't help but smile back at his mother's embrace and comment. As he poured a cup of coffee for both of them, he softly told her, "But I love to do it for you mama. I mean, you're always workin' so late, so it is hard to get up in the mornings. It's the least I can do. Now let's go eat - we want scrambled eggs not scrambled mush. You get the big one and I get the little, just like usual. I know you never eat dinner so you have to have a big breakfast!"
Throughout breakfast the two of them chatted about his mother's previous work day and about her friends and projects she needed to get done. Working at a news station was a major time drain on any one person, but she was willing to do it so she could provide for Koyama. This unfortunately meant that he wasn't able to see her at all unless it was at this time of day. By the time she finished eating, Koyama was already finished with a box lunch for her. Everyday he went through this process just to show her that he wasn't going to leave her anytime soon.
"Well mama, I have to get to school. I was asked to go early just to meet some friends and plan some stuff for our club. I'll see you tomorrow morning?" His mother responded with a meek nod as she stood up from the table to go and get changed for work. With the best smile he could ever have, he walked out the door and started towards school with absolutely nothing that would signify his standing as a student.
As he walked down the streets leading towards the academy, he let his smile fade away for a much more serious and focused look. He knew that this meeting for the JSO wasn't going to be something happy, and with the recent death of Chiharu he couldn't help the feeling that things just weren't going to get any better. "I hope none of those assholes forgot about this meeting. They need to stop taking it so easy and focus for once. We have to stop pretending to be adults and actually act like them for once."
For most people, entering the academy without the proper uniform would be incredibly tough since it was such a high class and private academy. Unless you were specifically allowed under special circumstances, you'd be chased off if you were caught by anyone who was staff. But coming into the school at 7:10 AM made it very easy for Koyama since security wasn't quite at its full capacity. He was able to swiftly make it into the meeting room without anyone noticing him and it came to his attention that no one was in the room but himself. "You gotta be kiddin' me. How late does Haruo want to start this? I can't believe he'd waste so much time and start it later than this." With a miffed expression, he decided to just lean against the doorway since there was nothing better for him to do. He figured it'd be better to just wait on them all to arrive than leave and come back. It'd show he was impatient, and he wanted to prove that he was diligent enough to at least wait a few minutes.
Lamilius reached out from his position in bed, and grabbed at a pair of sunglasses. As they slipped onto his face after a deft movement a wide grin sprouted across his face. As he prepared for school, with a solemn sigh he muttered to himself, "Without her is there even a point of going to school, she was the only person who ever put up a real challenge."
A glint of light sparked in his eyes and with a small snarl Lamilius combs his hands through his hair. Slowly he starts chuckling to himself as the depression vanishes from his thoughts a new idea came into his head. "Fresh meat." He had heard a rumor of some new students transferring in today maybe they can fill the void left with her absence.
7:22 - Hey losers, don't forget about the meeting this morning, up and at em'!
"... I'm punching him" Lamilius said calmly to himself after getting a message from Haruo.
He grabbed his uniform and donned it onto himself. Then sending his reply to Haruo.
7:26- I'll be there for two different reasons you should prepare Haruo ;).
With something to be excited for Lamilius left his house a smile on his face and omnipresent glasses reflecting the world around him.
Kana stirred under her covers on another quiet morning, her internal clock had decided to wake her before her alarm did. Intent on silencing the machine before its disruptive noise shattered this morning's serenity she sat up and reached over to flick the switch to turn the thing off. With a moment spent to stretch her arms and rub her eyes Kana kicked off the covers and hopped out of bed, shivering slightly at the sensation of her bare feet on the cold floor.
The steady sound of her footsteps was the only source of noise as Kana walked out to the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to ward off the cold as the large red shirt she wore swayed about with each step. These lonely mornings were something she had grown used to over her time spent here, she had been living alone in this small apartment for just over a year now after moving away from home to attend Kinomoto Academy. Finding some discomfort in the silence Kana began to hum a horribly off-tune melody to herself as she began to prepare some tea for the morning, pausing upon seeing her distorted face in the reflection of the chrome tea pot. Her hair was a total mess and that combined with the odd shape her face took in the rounded surface of the teapot moved the girl to a quiet giggle, though this was promptly interrupted as her ears perked up at the distant sound of her phone chirping to life back in her bedroom.
Hastily she filled the teapot and put it on the stove before jogging back to her room, easily spotting the small glowing screen that laid not far from her pillow. With a single swift motion she scooped the electronic device up and began tapping and swiping at its surface to see what the commotion was. It looked like an email from her manager about an upcoming shoot, Kana shrugged and dismissed the alert, she'd just read it later. As she lowered the device it buzzed to life once more causing Kana to blink as she brought the device back up to see, this time it was a text from their new leader, Haruo.
7:22 - Hey losers, don't forget about the meeting this morning, up and at em'!
A small smile played across Kana's features as she quickly scanned the message over and tapped out a reply of her own.
7:23 - You got it boss! Last one there buys drinks? ;D
Feeling her usual energy begin to return to her as the morning drowsiness faded, Kana moved on quickly with her usual morning rituals, grinning all the while. As she headed out her front door she locked it and glanced back into the dark and empty apartment, speaking out to no one in particular "I'm heading out."
The bus station was just a short walk from her apartment, and the school just a short bus ride from that station. Kana didn't have to wait long for the bus to arrive, it was usually ahead of schedule by a few minutes by merit of the typically few passengers at this time and place. After paying her fare she took a seat near one of the windows as her headphones hummed their tune into her ears, "I want a girl with a mind like a diamond..."
It wasn't long until the bus arrived at the school. Kana made a hasty exit as she hopped out of the bus and gave the driver a wave goodbye before running up towards the school, and more importantly, to the clubroom. She of course wanted to be first, but as long as she wasn't last she really didn't mind. Even from a distance Kana could make out that bright red hair of Koyama's. Feeling only slightly disappointed that she hadn't gotten here first she grinned and raised her arm up to wave in his direction before calling out to him, "Yo! Morning Koya."
7:29 - Sorry Lam-chan, I told you, I'm just not that into you. hopefully someday you'll find someone that likes you like you like me :c
Chuckling with a satisfying grin, he clicked his phone to lock it and put it back in his coat pocket. He then took his cap off and ran a hand through his umber-brown hair, letting out a large breathy sigh. The stress of leading the group of rag-tag operatives was beginning to get to him now, and it wasn't like Naoya, their sensei, was being any help at all. The man offered very little in terms of out-of-field assistance, insisting that he was merely "An adviser to guide your way, not a babysitter to hold your hand." He reached a certain point of his walk to school in which he would always see a tattered old homeless man sitting on a street corner by his favourite American diner. Sure enough, there he was, sitting on the grass with his legs folded underneath him, mumbling in between swigs from a half full forty of beer. He absent-mindedly grinned, remembering the time he and Chiharu had stolen a cab sav from Haruo's parent's liqour cabinet, taken it to the forest and drank the whole bottle, then had to get Haruo's older sister to come pick them up.
“She was so mad...”' He thought, smiling.
Approaching the bus stop where he and Arisu usually met, he noticed she was facing away from him. “How the hell'd she get here first?” He wondered. He decided to sneak up behind her, pressing his hand down hard on her shoulder, he grabbed a pen from his pocket, clicked it loudly, and pressed it into her back. Making his voice as deep and gravelly as he possibly could, he said, trying not to laugh,
“Don't move."
Arisu's heart nearly jumped from her chest when she felt the weight on her shoulder, hearing the subtle click. For a moment, it felt as if she were paralyzed, her mind trying to frantically run through every course of action.
Of course, she felt very, very foolish a moment later when she heard the voice behind her.
“Don't move."
Maybe it was the ridiculous inflection. Maybe Arisu had been around Haruo long enough to distinguish his voice, no matter what trickery he tried to pull. But even if her friend had been able to sneak up on her, there was no way he'd be able to fool her, especially with that lackluster attempt.
Giving an exaggerated sigh, she raised her hands, turning around to face her fearsome adversary. Her gaze drifted downwards for a brief second, noticing the pen he held in his hand. "Oh, you almost got me. Were you going to scribble me to death if I didn't cooperate?" She asked wryly, a small grin appearing as she pushed the deadly murder weapon aside.
“No no no my dear, I was going to stab you. Let out all my Penned up aggression.” He said, snickering with self-satisfaction. "Though you have to admit, I had you there for a sec."
"Another lame pun like that, and I might just be doing the stabbing." Arisu retorted, "And it was hardly even a second! You just surprised me a little, I knew it was you from the beginning." Which might be a very slight fib.
She turned away, beckoning Haruo to follow as she started walking towards the street. They were both probably going to be a little late for the meeting. And speaking of... "So, what's this one about? I imagine it's a little important, since you don't really do meetings too often."
He followed behind her, walking at a brisk pace. “Yeah, it's about the two that Naoya told us about. I think it's time we approach them.
The two chatted a bit more before arriving at the school, and heading to the club room, where they found Kana and Koyama. “Hey you two, having a little pre-meeting meeting I see?”
After waiting for a few minutes Koyama heard a preppy voice come from out of the hallway, and it was a voice he recognized far too easily. Turning towards the source of the voice he couldn't help but give a quaint smile and a polite head nod to her greeting.
Leaning back off of the doorway after she entered, he reached out and gave a soft smack to the back of her head as he walked past her and towards a chair close to the opposite wall. Spinning it around so he would have to straddle it while looking at her he said in a pleasant voice, "Mornin' to you Kana. Took ya long enough to make it here. At this rate you'll never beat me."
Kana's eyes squinted as she peered over at Koya, though this unusual and unnatural scowl quickly faded as her usual smile won out. With a hand on her hip and the other rubbing the back of her head she offered the young man that sat before her a shrug. "Oh? I wasn't aware we were competing... But eh, long as I'm not the last one here I guess I don't really care. Though, that said, if you -did- wanna throw down I'd be happy to take you on."
She gave a confident grin before reaching up to tug the loose red cap that sat atop her head off, leaving the black locks of her hair to spill out messily around her face. With a quick glance over her shoulder and out the doorway behind her she dipped her hands into her jacket pockets. "Say, you have any idea what this meeting's actually supposed to be about?" Her quizzical gaze refocused once more upon Koya hoping he might have an idea.
Giving a soft chuckle to her response about fighting Koyama followed suit and gazed over towards the door with Kana, with an annoyed grunt he grumbled, "It should be right now to be honest. These people need to take what we are doing more seriously." Glancing up towards the clock on the wall he noticed the time was 7:30, and he had a momentary twitch of his eye from how annoyed he was that no one else had showed up. "I mean, what does he plan to talk about in less than an hour? I'm gettin' the feeling that they aren't trying as hard as we do."
Shifting his angered gaze back to Kana, he gave a light sigh and scratched the back of his head. "At least you're here though. I can at least be thankful for that despite that 'always sunny' attitude you can't seem to drop." While he tried to say that in a humorous tone, he couldn't help but also agree with what he said. This girl can't be happy all the time and shouldn't be pretending she is.
A short sigh escaped Kana's lips as she closed her eyes and shrugged at Koya. "I don't think it really has much to do with anyone not taking it as seriously as anyone else... I... Think it's more likely that we're all just still adjusting, ya know?" She offered a meek smile as her eyes reopened, "Besides, getting all worked up over it won't change anything, if you really think it's an issue bring it up with Haruo after the meeting."
With that said she began to roll her shoulder as she approached one of the desks in the room. After removing her hands from her pockets she plopped herself atop the flat surface and fished into her pocket to retrieve her cellphone. She hadn't received any further texts or calls but she figured she should probably check the email she received earlier from her manager. As she casually swiped and tapped at the screen she grinned at Koya's attempted humor. "And what? I should start frowning all the time like you? That's hardly very cute." Her eyes quickly scanned over the contents of the mail as she registered the details down into her memory before placing the phone back into her pocket. She began kicking her feet idly through the air and tilted her head back to examine the ceiling. "Sure wish they'd hurry up though..."
"Ha, yeah, cute is exactly what I want to be in life. That and being a model like you are. If I accomplish those two things my life will be so complete." His smirk shrank away as Kana took to herself in silence - absorbed in the presence of her cell phone. He couldn't help but be a little annoyed about how absorbed his friends could be with such a pointless device, but he wasn't going to tell her to stop. It wasn't like she was hurting herself in any way, plus she was probably checking on some text that Haruo sent her.
"I'm gonna assume he never mentioned a meeting time huh?" Standing up from his chair and spinning it on one leg with his left hand, he looked back over towards Kana. "That man may be a bastard of a planner, but he is our new leader for a reason. I'm sur-"
“Hey you two, having a little pre-meeting meeting I see?”
Being cut off by Haruo was something that Koyama was both happy and upset to hear. Looking back over his shoulder he gave a nod to both Haruo and Arisu coming through the doorway. "And where the hell were the two of you? Why call this meeting if ya can't even give more than an hour to talk about the important things. I don't want to be in school any longer than I can help it."
Kana glanced over to the doorway as Haruo and Arisu arrived. She found it a bit curious that the two had arrived at the same time but she decided not to read too much into it. All she could do was raise a brow and shake her head as Koya took off to immediately begin berrating their late leaders. "I think what he means is 'good morning you two'." With her usual grin she hopped off from the desk and approached the two new arrivals. "So what's this meeting about anyways? We should get it started soon if we wanna make it to class on time." She knew they were missing someone but as far as she knew he probably wasn't coming anyways.
7:29 - Sorry Lam-chan, I told you, I'm just not that into you. hopefully someday you'll find someone that likes you like you like me :c
"He wants me to kill him, he is begging for it." Lamilius mutters to himself reading the text Haruo sent him. A large frown crawled down his face, as he cracked his knuckles in Preperation for when he smashed Haruo in the face. Looking up he noticed he had arrived at the school. A smile returned to his face when he straightened his glasses, and then stepped through the gates to school.
With a little smirk Lamilius muttered to himself "I should almost wait another 20 minutes before going to the club room, but that's not my style."
Approaching the door to the club room Lamilius notices everyone had already arrived. "Hey Haruo clench your teeth" Lamilius says stepping through the door.
"And where the hell were the two of you?"
"Sorry, I got a little sidetracked." Arisu said, with the barest hint of fluster. She wasn't going to go and say she had almost slept in. Especially not when Koyama seemed irritable enough already, she didn't need to add more fuel to his fire.
"So what's this meeting about anyways?" Kana spoke up, seeming to extinguish Koyama's flames.
Arisu glanced towards Haruo, wondering if he'd speak up. It was his meeting, after all, and he knew more than her about the twins. But, nobody got a chance to speak, for Lamilus chose that exact moment to burst in, challenging Haruo. She had to be honest - she was surprised he had even showed up, as out of anyone in the group, Lamilius seemed to show the most contempt for Haruo, especially after Chiharu's death.
"Perfect, we're all here." Arisu said, giving Lamilus a venomous stare. "Now, before Kusanagi ruins the entire meeting, it's about the two transfer students."
She glanced once more towards Haruo, idly smoothing her skirt with a free hand. Nervous, subtle tells. She didn't want to be the one to speak, but Lamilius seemed to be the focus of attention. "Tsukehara... he believes we've observed them long enough, and it's come time to approach them. Now, does anyone have any classes with those two?"
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