Fandom PERSONA : COLON

[Pierrot]

The Velvet Room's Guest!




THE MOOD-SWINGING NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!

​

Spoiler

- @Hellkite -

The Velvet Lounge Lineup!


PEOPLE WHO CAN DIE FOR KOHAKU!


THE INNOVATOR OF IMOUTO-KUNE-DO

- @Father Gigantor -

THE KNOWLEDGE-HUNGRY PUNGEON MASTER

- @Procculus -

THE MODEL STUDENT WHO COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL!

- @Hellkite -

THE IRON-FORGED BROTHER-COMPLEX SIBLING

- @Pierrot -

THE PERFORMING CONNOISSEUR OF BEEF BOWLS

- @Pierrot -

THE BRUTAL BIKER BABY OF BRIMSTONE

- @Monokuma -

THE IMPERIOUS IMPERATOR OF IMPRECISE INTELLECT

- @Father Gigantor -

THE LUCKLESS LADY LOVIN' LOSER!

- @Procculus -


​

Spoiler

Now, without further ado...

1.5 Days Before the Incident

"We'll switch to Kei Saionji, reporting live on the site of yet another one of these mysterious body piles. Kei? What can you tell us about the bodies?"


"Yes, now if you look behind me, the police have just cordoned off the alleyway to prevent anyone from tam-"


The voices that came from the TV cut off. Again, the news covered the mysterious body piles that seem to pop up every two weeks or so. People are thinking that Strega is the one behind this and Shou was very much inclined to subscribe with the notion. That organization has always been recognized as a threat to the stability of Daitomi, according to local news channels and the mayor of Daitomi. Supposedly, it would only be a matter of time before the Strega presence is completely rooted out of Daitomi, but that declaration was almost a month ago.


His sister was watching TV in the other room and he just kept the door to his room open to let the background noise in and hear the news, which seemed to be only channel their TV ever tuned into for the past week or so. No doubt Rika was just waiting for the announcement that Strega has been purged from Daitomi.


It really set her on edge that a bunch of homicidal maniacs were running loose and their momentum just didn't seem to slow down at all. She'd always check if he kept the small frying pans stowed away in his school bag, whenever he leaves for class and always walks him to Shinka Academy, which was arguably near their house, whenever she could. The frying pans were there as a weapon for when she couldn't be around to protect him, not that he needed her protection but still.


Shou heard the footsteps down the hallway and soon his sister's head peeked into his room. Rika's hair was disheveled and her bent pair of glasses were on her nose, tilting to one side of her face. She was supposed to be going to class looking like that?


"I'm heading out for class, Shou. I'll be back in 3 hours. Are you going anywhere for the afternoon?"


"I don't think so, sis. It depends, I might get a text or something from a friend or something."


"Okay then, but be careful alright? If anything comes up don't be afraid to call me because I'm not afraid to just storm out of class. Lock the house up if and when you leave...in fact, I'll lock up the house even while you're in here."


"But-"


"No buts, a bunch of psychos are out there and I'd rest easier knowing you're at least safe."


"Fine."


"Good. Now I'll be off."


It was clear on her face that Rika did not want to leave the house and Shou alone. Though she was probably taking this a little too far. She was overprotective of him after all, so it was also very natural and somewhat expected. He heard her footsteps down the hall soften and then heard the front door open and close. His overprotective sister was out of the house, he had no one to talk to and nothing to do for the day.


Shou lay down on his bed and picked his phone up. There weren't any notifications at all, no new messages nor missed calls. He turned on the Blipper act and as usual, the Blipper feeds were filled with all the thoughts on the recent news about those mysterious corpse piles popping up in Daitomi. There wasn't anything new there which made him resort to the web browser and research whatever random topic came to his mind first.


Somehow Shou wanted someone to contact him, to ask him to hang out and all. Otherwise this would be one long afternoon spent browsing the internet or something along those lines.

 

[Hellkite]

Kohaku Mirazune shoved pens, paper and folders into her school bag before hanging the satchel on her bedroom door- ready for the first day of school when it arrived. She then crashed on her futon, arms outstretched, staring at the ceiling.


New house, new school... I wonder what it'll be like?





She rolled onto her side and studied the photograph that hung on the wall. It showed two girls- one with short hair, one with long, but both otherwise identical. Haku smiled as she studied her sisters face. She remembered the day that picture had been taken. They'd both been eight, and their parents had taken them to the park. Kaede, who'd never been keen on sports, had wanted to just sit on a bench but Haku had finally convinced her to play rounders.


Kohaku smiled. It had been a good day. She studied her sister's face for a moment longer, before rolling back off her futon and moving to her cupboard.


I ought to go explore the area. If I'm going to live here, I need to know my way around.





Shrugging a thick coat over her shirt and jeans, Haku made her way downstairs and to the front door.


"Mom!" She called back into the house. "I'm going out to explore. Be back soon!"


Haku wasn't sure whether her mother had heard her over the blaring of the news report on the TV, but stepped out onto the street regardless.


Boring News report- always so depressing. Besides- the stories are always going on far away, never on my doorstep. Why should I care?





Haku paused for a moment on the pavement, studying the street signs. One pointed towards a mall. Haku set off in the same direction.


Gotta start somewhere, she thought.


(Apologies for the short/mundane post. Writing on phone and always find beginnings hard. Future posts will be better, promise!)

 

[Monokuma]

In an alleyway on the route to the mall, a crowd seems to gather and rumble with cheering and hollering. In the middle of the ring of bodies are soldiers of rival biker gangs, duking it out for dominance and control of the nearby districts. Who will win in the brawl? Will it be the fearsome Roaring Lions? Or will it be the Terror of the Streets, the Southern Sparrows? So far, it appears the Roaring Lions are winning this brawl!


Suddenly, a small girl wearing an oversized Bosozoku jacket over a Black and Red Schoolgirl's uniform walks right through the crowd, grabs the Roaring Lions soldier by the neck, and slams him into the wall face-first!


"Oi! Listen up, 'ya shitheads. If y'wanna try 'yer hand at my gang, 'ya gotta go through ME first! An' trust me, I'll kick 'yer asses six ways to sunday before a song could even finish its chorus!"


And just like that, a song begins playing from the phone of a Southern Sparrows Gang Member and Roaring Lions Members begin to swarm the Little Girl in the Jacket.


This is Ten Percent luck, Twenty Percent skill.


The Ring of Bodies turned into a Whirlwind of Fists and Kicks around the Little Girl in the Jacket. However, none of them seemed to connect and cause damage as the Girl was too fast in her movements. Before the rivaling men could realize what had happened, the Girl was already behind them and beginning to charge.


Fifteen Percent concentrated power of will.


Fear. A look of fear was the best way to describe how the first Lion Soldier had reacted as the Girl threw her first punch with the force of a Freight Train crashing through a flimsy wall. As fast as he was hit, the Lion fell back onto the ground, covered in the same blood that coursed through his own veins.


Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain.


Then came the Second Lion as he tried his best to land a blow on the Jacket Girl, to no avail. Quickly, she grabbed him by the wrist and slammed her palm into his elbow, snapping it like a twig and throwing him down to the ground beside the First. The Girl in the Jacket then picked up the First Lion by the legs and spun around, knocking his face into the rest of his comrades.


And a hundred percent reason to remember the name.


In a state of panic, the entirety of now outnumbered Lions charged off out of the Alley, leaving behind everything in order to get away quickly. "Yeah, that's right! Sod off, I dare 'ya! An' you can tell that Higashikata prick that if he wants Suzume Minami's land, he'll have to send people besides a bunch'a WIMPS!" The girl shouted, shaking her fist angrily as the members of the gang helped up their comrade and patted him on the back. "And you! Don't make me come save your sorry ass again, Suzumiya! Second strike. One more, and 'ya lose 'yer privileges to the Gang's Perennial Picnic!" Suzume then stormed off away from them and sat on her Motorcycle, sitting a little way's away from the Town Mall.

 

[Hellkite]

Kichiro was sat on the school building, gazing out over the grounds and streets beyond. Alone, as had become normal for him. He found it easier to sit with his own thoughts rather than to mix with others- it was the best way to avoid the scathing glances he recieved, and the rumours that circulated the school like clockwork. Kichiro finished his sandwich before checking his watch. Time for his next lesson. With some reluctance, Kichiro stood, brushed the crumbs from his uniform, and picked up his schoolbag. Climbing down the fire escape, he made his way around the side of the building to the main doors of Shinka Academy, which sood wide open to admit the torrent of students returning to class. Kichiro joined the throng- ignoring the jostling and allowing himself to be swept inside.


A handful of people murmured an “Afternoon, Senpai,” to him as he passed and to those precious few, Kichiro smiled. The others treated him with a stony silence that the ex-prefect returned in full, scarcely acknowledging their presence except to raise an eyebrow at a pair of first years brawling in the lobby. When the pair spotted his gaze they released each other, but as he passed he saw them whispering to one another, catching a trace of, “Kichiro,” and “Suzaku” amidst thier conversation. Kichiro ignored it, but clenched his teeth as he began to climb the stairs.


Reaching the third floor, he joined the other Third Years waiting outside their classroom. He nodded to the group curtly, and one of them nodded back. Recognition. That was all Kichiro ever recieved from his peers anymore. Recognition which rarely emerged from any of the right reasons. Kichiro hated the rumours. He leant against the wall and stared at the ceiling for about a minute before the teacher told them to come inside. As he passed the threshold of the the classroom, he checked his watch again with a sense of longing. Only a few hours more before he could escape back home for the weekend.

 

[Procculus]

AZUKI MAYOMITA

I hear it hurts a lot. It's rather punful. Get it? Painful? Heh heh heh.



​

"Why do I wear boy's pants underneath my skirt? It's not because I enjoy SKIRTing around the rules, I tell you! I'd RULE that out if I were you! Heh heh heh, I'm on a RULE today. Get it? Roll? Rule? Heh heh heh heh heh." Azuki scribbled on her worn notebook furiously, jotting the puns down, pacing to and fro in front of the third year seated in front of her. The clubroom was empty, with the exception of the two. Azuki had helpfully chased away the rest of her underlings that had thought to spend their time in the clubroom for lunch time, ushering them out with the excuse of 'private matters', as she dragged in one of the third years with her by the hand and shoved him into the room unceremoniously. Her underlings knew Azuki well enough to understand that this was not one of those silly romance subplots in the making. When Azuki wanted some alone time with a person, it meant they were going for a trip to hell and back. However, they were not at any liberty to divulge any information about her actions, and, knowing Azuki, wisely stayed outside, whistling while wishing the best for her newest victim.


It had not occurred to the young man as to what Azuki's plans were, though, and he still had that grin plastered on his face, even as he was shoved into a solitary chair in the front of the clubroom. However, as Azuki paced about, writing on her book, and tossing out more and more puns, it was clear that she wasn't another of those girls that chased him about in school. For one, Azuki Mayomita was known for her rather peculiar behaviour, and not for boy-watching. Another was that her constant rambling right now was beginning to feel like torture. It hurt way worse than if someone had put a knife on the nape of his neck and slowly drew it all the way down. After a few minutes of constant pun after pun and incessant scratching of pen put to paper, he finally stood up. "Hey, what is this about? My girlfriend's going to be worried sick."


"Hai, icchimashou, kimi wa best best friend!" Azuki did not answer, but rather sang a little tune. Without twisting out of her standing posture, her leg struck out, and swept the third-year's foot from underneath him, sending him sprawling back into the chair. "Chotto fuzakete mitara, motto fuzakete kaeshite kuru..." she continued singing, leafing through her notebook, and then pulling out a single photograph. She gave it an once-over and dropped it in his lap. With one fluid motion, she caught the leg of a chair with her foot, pulled it over, twisted and fell into a comfortable sitting position. She crossed one leg over the other, and rested her chin on one hand, grinning. For the first and the last time, the third year noticed her piercing green eyes. The natural emeralds seem to bore into his own eyes. She had seemed like one of those really weird girls who motivated her club members by being extraneously cheerful, but what he saw behind those eyes were nothing but lust for destruction. His destruction. He swallowed, and averted his gaze to the picture on his lap. Sweat broke upon his forehead as it dawned on him what exactly the photo was.


"Do you think your girlfriend will still be worried sick if I happened to...sick my underlings on your 'girlfriend', if you can still call her that, with these pictures on hand?" Azuki leaned forwards, one finger twirling a lock of her blazing hair around it. A moment of silence settled between them. He could not speak- he dared not speak. This was the one behind it all. The revealing of the previous Student Council President's connections with the underground, the star student's constant visits to unsightly places. Azuki Mayomita. The very same girl suddenly threw her head back and laughed. She wiped a tear away from her eye, and grinned again. "Heh heh heh. Get it? Sic? Sick? Heh heh heh heh heh. I tell you what, seeeeeenpaaaaai. You drop all those other girls, and stick with the only one. Or, you know, get none at all. It's your choice. I'm a merciful goddess. She straightened up, kicking the chair back behind her, and gave a bow. "Of course, make known of what transpired here, and I'll ruin your entire life."


She shut the door behind her, and motioned to the group of underlings that stood outside the room, waiting for their turn to use it. She strode down the hallway, back to her classroom. That little fiesta taken care of, all that was left was the muuuuuuuurdeeeerrrs happening all around town. She peeked into a few classrooms and made a few more annotations to her notebook, and turned to a fresh new page. She smoothed it out and penned down, in the center of the page, right at the top.

Strega

​

 

[Father Gigantor]

Takuya Kawaguchi

​

"Allegro! Allegro I said!" came Takuya's infamous bark in between notes as the piece entered its finale, the four poor first years struggling to keep up with the Megalomaniac Maestro's frenzied playing.


"And a one, and a two and finito!"


The Maestro's saxophone blared in unison with the other instruments as the final note was struck, lingering for what seemed like a full century, before signaling to the juniors to stop, marking the end of yet another hellish training session for them. Most of them breathed sighs of relied, frantically trying to catch their breath and slumping backwards onto their chairs, utterly drained by the ordeal. The only one not showing any signs of complete physical exhaustion was Takuya, who wasted no time in flipping the score sheet and gulping down half his water bottle in one go.


"Onto the next one! And properly this time!"


The collective groan the first years gave was loud enough to have shook the school's foundations to its core, nevertheless the beleaguered students wilted under Takuya's piercing gaze, and they reluctantly prepared for another seven minutes in Satan's domain.




"Goddamnit," thought Takuya as he rushed down the hallways to his classroom. He'd blew it yet again, yelling at the juniors like a complete jackass for the fourth meeting in a row.Getting himself labeled as sociopath was most certainly not at the top of his to-do list, but each and every little mistake they made pushed it further and further up. Failure, be it complete or partial, was permanently ingrained into his mind as one of the worst possible sins one could commit, just behind rape and slightly ahead of armed theft. And those juniors were most certainly committing that sin with reckless abandon. (That is to say, failure, and not rape or armed theft.)


Nevertheless, four meetings worth of torment was rather harsh, and he had to at least try to make up somehow. Maybe a couple of beef bowl coupons would do for the time being. In the meantime, class awaited him, and he wasn't about to miss out on his final few classes.

 

[Hellkite]

Haku weaved her way out of the crowd, finding herself stood outside the main entrance to the mall. From the highstreet; it didn't look impressive. Just a simple arch with the words 'Daitomi Mall' emblazoned across its peak, beneath which stood a glass door leading inside. Haku paused beneath the archway for a second, feeling her phone buzzing in the pocket of her jeans. Leaning against the wall, out of the crowd's way, she pulled out her phone and flipped open the case.


From Mom:


Where are you? Just finished watching the news- please don't go walking alone with a murderer on the loose. Come home.


Haku scowled, but nonetheless paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard, trying to work out what to say. She knew that her mother would worry, but equally wasn't sure she wanted to come home quite yet- not so early. Haku glanced around, and found her eyes drawn to a disturbance across the street. Figures fleeing from the mouth of an alleyway, followed by a stormy looking girl who moved to sit on a motorbike in the alley entrance.


She looks dangerous, even though she looks so young- maybe I should do as Mom says..?


Haku's fingers moved across the keyboard in a sudden, yet decisive motion. She knew that the old Haku would have gone to chat to the biker, but she just wasn't that sort of girl anymore.


On my way, She typed before slipping her phone back into her pocket and pushing the door to the mall open.


I'll check out the mall, then I'll head home for the night. So long as I don't do anything that Kaede wouldn't have done, She thought. I'll be fine. Besides- I'm hardly going to find trouble with all these people around.


Kohaku entered Daitomi Mall, drinking in the atmosphere. Just like on the highstreet, there were people everywhere, noise everywhere. Haku spotted a map in a stand near the door, and went to study the floorplan. According to the map, the Mall was comprised of three floors, which rose up over a central, square atrium. Each floor was connected by escalators, and each held different kinds of shops. The atrium seemed to contain the Mall's food court: restaurants, cafes, and fast-food joints. The first floor was devoted to clothes and fashion, the second to technology, and the third apparently housed an assortment of miscellaneous stores- among them a book shop and an antiques dealer. Haku moved past the map and into the centre of the Atrium, looking straight up and ignoring the jostling of the crowds. She could see the balconies of each floor, and above them, a skylight. She noted that there were four floors, and wondered, for a moment, what was contained on the fourth.


It'll be undergoing a renovation, I expect.


Haku turned back to the rest of the atrium, caught the eye of a waiter in the food court, and was soon sat at a table, waiting for her coffee to arrive. She reached into her pocket and produced her wallet, which she set on the table, ready to pay when the waiter returned. Then she stopped dead.


Mere paces away from her table, there fluttered a blue butterfly. Haku watched it unblinkingly. She'd never seen a butterfly that looked quite like this one- so blue, almost ethereal. Haku stared for a moment longer, then several things happened, almost at once.


First, someone in dark overcoat knocked against the table, hard. Haku jumped in her seat, blinked, and the butterfly had vanished. Then she reached for her waller- and her hand closed on empty air. Haku leapt upright and checked beneath the table. Nothing. Turning, she saw a man in a black overcoat a short distance away, looking over his shoulder at her, grinning. As thier eyes met, the grin slipped off his face and he started to run.


Haku burst into pursuit. The man tore through the crowd, shoving some shoppers aside while the others scurryed out of his way. Haku kept his eyes fixed on his back- determined not to loose the thief in the crowd. She was sprinting, arms pumping, but her breath already coming in short gasps. Once she'd been good at athletics, one of the best at her old school, but she hadn't practised for years now, and it showed. The man in the coat exploded through the Mall doors and onto the highstreet, scarcely slowling. Haku staggered after him, grinding to a breathless halt on the pavement as the distance between thief and victim widened.


"Thief!" She called hoarsely at his receeding back, pointing. "Thief..." Haku managed again, but more quietly this time, giving way to simply panting. Her hand fell limply to her side, and Haku clutched at the stitch which tore at her chest.


How do I expalin this to Mom..?

 

[Hellkite]

Haku set her toothbrush back down on the wash basin, before crossing over to her futon and sprawling on top of it, burying her face into her pillow. She still couldn't believe that she'd had her wallet stolen- on the first day as well. Haku still hadn't told her mom yet and had no plans to either. If she did- then Kohaku wouldn't be allowed out of the house for days.


Rolling onto her back, Haku took checked her the time on her phone. Eleven PM. Time to go to sleep. Flipping the switch on her lamp, the room was plunged into darkness. Haku yawned, and fidgeted, trying to get comfortable. As her eyes slowly shut, she realised that she wasn't enjoying her time in Daitomi nearly as much as she had expected she would. It was all too big, too busy, too scary. As Haku drifted off to sleep, she sincerely hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.


The room contained nothing more than a table with a square piece of cloth on it, at least that was what the only source of light showed. The shadows cast were dark, darker than a normal shadow, making it impossible to see beyond the gloom. It could have been that the room was not a room but rather an illuminated platform in the middle of an abyss.


Seated across Kohaku, was a man with balding white hair, very pointed ears and an equally pointed long nose. His head was bowed but a few seconds later, it raised itself to meet the girl. The man's eyes were bulging and they were somewhat bloodshot, as if straining to keep the eyes attached to his head. A wide, toothy grin was installed on his face, like his face knew no other expression than that grin.


"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who have forged a contract are allowed to visit this place. My name is Igor and I am quite pleased to make your acquaintance."


Igor waved his hand over the table that was positioned between himself and Kohaku. As the hand made its pass, a slip of paper materialized on the table. Written on it were several provisions that didn't make much sense; the gist of it implied that Kohaku would be given her freedom provided she took full responsibility for her future actions. Haku raised an eyebrow as she read that part.


Take responsibility for the consequences of my actions..? Sounds ominous...


Reaching the bottom of the page, she saw a space to fill in her signature.


"I don't have a pen." Haku glanced up at Igor, but as she did so a blue quill materialized on top of the contract in front of her. Shaking her head slightly, Haku gripped the quill and scrawled her name on the dotted line, before pushing the paper towards Igor.


"Excellent." The Nose sounded pleased.


With another pass of his hand over the table, the contract disappeared and a deck of cards replaced the contract. The deck itself was right in front of Igor while the five cards were arranged in a cross. Only the center card showed its content. He picked the card from the table and held it up and scrutinizing it, as he did so the deck and other four cards spread on the table disappeared.


"Interesting. The tower in the upright position, sudden change is about to happen in your life, young lady. Who knows, perhaps it is already happening right now."


He crushed the crushed the card in his hand and the sound like glass shattering filled the room.


"Tell me, in this dimly lit room, how many figures do you see with me?"


Haku scanned the shadows. There was definitely one silhouette in the darkness- someone with a tall, slight build. Haku guessed a woman, who seemed to be slumped behind Igor. Kohaku opened her mouth to give her answer, when she spotted the slightest movement, behind the first silhouette.


"Two figures, I think." Haku said tentatively


"I see, such a perceptive guest we have. Isn't that right Theodore?" The voice emanated from the woman.


"Yes, sister, I am quite looking forward to aiding you on your journey."


"As am I."


The lighting expanded to cover the entire room. It illuminated what looked like a coach in a train. Lining the walls were posh, purple couches that looked comfortable enough to sink into and sleep on, seated on one of them was a woman. Behind Igor was a bar, the counters were made of fine oak and there was a man seated on one of the stools. The racks carried quite the assortment of liquor that would make any connoisseur's paradise. Of course, there seemed to be dispensers of cola as well.


Both the man and woman had very pale complexions but what was most striking about them was their eyes. They were golden, a clear contrast to Igor with his bloodshot eyes. Both were clad in blue, the man was in a bellboy outfit while the woman was in what looked like a stylish business coat buttoned all the way. Both were bleach blonde that possessed some sort of dullness to it, the man's was slicked back to accommodate the bellboy cap on his head while woman had a wavy head of hair that was decorated with a blue headband that matched her attire.


"I am Margaret."


"And I am Theodore."


As the pair introduced themselves, Haku's eyebrows rose steadily.


If this is a dream, then this is definitely one of the weirder ones I've had.


Haku eyed the woman. She seemed strict, but authoritative, and even Haku had to admit; her sense of style -while outdated- was impeccable. Turning her attention to the man, Haku felt slightly more at ease- still unsettled, but less so now. Theodore caught Haku studying him and the corner of his mouth twisted up ever so slightly. Haku looked away.


As the two finished their introduction, Igor spoke up.


"I am sure you are still confused by what is happening but all will be made clear in due time. Now, time marches on in your world and we must send you back. The next time you return will be of your own volition, young lady."


A key appeared and floated in the air between Kohaku and Igor. Shortly after, the key itself shattered and the sound of glass shattering was heard again.


Haku jolted awake, and sat bolt upright. Had it been a dream? She knew without looking that whatever had just happened: it had not been just a dream. Her hand was gripping something tightly. Something small, and cold. Haku flipped on the light, and slowly opened her fist. It was a key- small, with a strip of blue ribbon attached to it. Enough proof for Haku to accept the Velvet Room's existence, even if she couldn't justify quite why she had been summoned there.

 

[Pierrot]

-TIME SKIP!-


JUST BEFORE THE INCIDENT


The weekend zoomed by in a blur. Her little brother was being having one of his "I don't wanna do anything" fits and had effectively wasted a Saturday while she was off meeting the impossible demands of a senile professor. Even if your class was the very definition of competent and the subject matter itself was about English, a language Rika was already proficient in, if the professor was an old man who was probably on the verge of being a complete Alzheimer's victim, there would be no easy way out of it. She had spent majority of her Sunday cooped up in her room in a conference call with everyone else, discussing how they would go about wrapping up this project in time for the deadline.


Monday came and they decided to do all the filming in the space of a day. They had all the costumes ready, they had all the lines printed onto a script, they went through the flow of the filming more than a dozen times and all that was left was to act it all out. Rika was up and out of the house before her younger brother even thought of turning over in his sleep. The group went hopping all over Daitomi to film a number of scenes and get a few landscape shots in as well. They rarely ever stopped to take a break until all this was done, at the very least it had allowed her mind to be preoccupied with something other than the recent rash of killings.


She arrived home that night to find that her brother wasn't home yet. A surge of panic demanded that she call his phone a couple of dozen times, fearing that he may be kidnapped or worse. It was call after call, text after text as she sat in the living room, propped a chair facing the front door and occasionally sipped cheap coffee from a mug with a smiley on it. She was ready to grill her little brother the moment he stepped through that door. A quick glance at the clock said that it was half past nine in the evening when the doorbell rang and Shou returned home. Apparently, the little shit's excuse was that practice had dragged on too long and that his phone was on silent the entire time, to help him focus he said. She wouldn't buy it.


And no one ate dinner that night.


A few hours later, Rika found herself hunched over a particularly interesting manga. She had done all her work for the day and it was tiring to say the least and although she wanted to sleep and rest, she found it hard to do so. A spot of late night reading might help at least which prompted her to grab a random manga off her work desk and then began reading it. It was an old favorite of hers, a comedy whose humor was a cut above the rest and required a bit of thinking on the reader's part. The first few pages were still as interesting as they were when she first read it, after a while her eyes just became heavier. She was almost at the end of the chapter when she suddenly tipped backward and her eyes closed shut.


Rika jerked herself awake, aware that she would hit her head on the headrest of her bed if she didn't.


Except she wasn't in her room when she opened her eyes. Rika was overcome with a sense of weightlessness as she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a vast canvas of stars with varying degrees of brightness and sizes. A violet nebula gave the stars an equally violet light. It was beautiful and she would have wanted to take a photo of the scene. She looked around to find herself in the company of strangers in varying degrees of confusion or wonder. Among those strangers was Shou, he looked captivated by the scene around him. Rika thought that she must be dreaming already and by the looks of it, it was a good dream indeed.


Except it wasn't a dream.


A pale woman with short hair, golden eyes, a blue hat and a matching blue outfit that included a sophisticated looking sleeveless dress, knee high boots and black stockings appeared before the gathering of strangers. She was carrying a brown leather-bound book but a small frown was on her lips and a her brow was furrowed.


"I do apologize for bringing everyone here earlier than expected. Why, the Velvet Lounge isn't even complete yet but wheel of fate began turning earlier than expected. I do apologize for summoning you nine here so abruptly but it has to be done now."


Rika was confused and wanted to demand an answer from this strange woman. However, she couldn't find her voice, she was unable to speak and it looked like everyone was in the same position as well. The woman floated toward each of them gathered together and lightly tapped their chests, specifically where the heart is. A feeling of warmth spread throughout her and yet she could hear the sound of what was probably cracks forming on glass as the gloved hand touched her chest.


"I promise, I will try to explain everything the next time we will meet. For now though, welcome guests of the Velvet Lounge. My name is Elizabeth and every week, on this specific hour, we shall all meet here. I wish we have more time to properly smooth things over but you are all about to be in danger. What I have done will not completely protect you, but it should help your masks manifest sooner. I wish you all good luck in the coming hour and I pray that all of you will live through it."


Elizabeth waved her hand in front of her and suddenly Rika's eyes closed shut.


She felt her head make contact with the head rest and pain blossomed at the back of her skull. It didn't crack it but it hurt all the same, her hand was rubbing the back of her skull when she opened her eyes to see her room bathed in a red light. Rika turned to look out the window to her room to find that the moon was large and yellow with a layer of red on it. She grabbed the phone off her desk and pressed the buttons on it, but the screen itself remained black, inactive. She soon heard footsteps thundering toward her room from Shou's and soon, her younger brother burst through the door, looking wild eyed and panicking.


"You were there...you saw that didn't you? You heard what Elizabeth said right?"


Rika nodded back at him. She wanted to wrap him in a hug and say that it'll be all right when she saw him visbly panic even more after she confirmed it. It was clear that what happened was not a dream, not if Shou and seven others had the same one she did.


"What's wrong?"


"It's just...it's just that I saw a few of my classmates in there too. I'm worried, sis, I'm worried that they might actually be in trouble."


Rika got off her bed, walked over to him and smacked him upside the head.


"Well, then stop worrying. This is going to sound crazy, but get dressed, we're going after your classmates. I do not know what we are up against, but I think it'll be safer with more of us. Do you know where they live?"


"Uhh, I think one of them lives nearby, the other two are kinda closer to school than we are."


"Alright then, get dressed already!"


Her younger brother nodded and bolted out of her room. Rika slipped off her shorts and put on the pair of jeans hanging in her closet, then put a hoodie over her shirt and finally wore a pair of slip on sneakers. She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of kitchen knives and a relatively clean frying pan. She planned to wait for her brother in the living but it seemed like he was already waiting for her. Rika handed him the frying pan to which he responded with a look of confusion.


"It's not like we have any other things we can use as weapons in this house. Now whose place are we going to?"


"A hostel a few blocks down the road, she's uhh.."


"SHE?! IS THAT WHY YOU WERE LATE?! YOU WERE OUT WITH A GIRL AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO TELL ME?!"


"It's not like that, sis. A-anyway, we'll go to hostel first, since it is CLOSER. We could go to the Kawaguchi residence afterward...L-let's go!"


Rika would let it go, just this once, but she would also expect answers when this craziness stabilizes a bit. Shou was already walking out the door and she followed him out into the deserted street.

 

[Procculus]

Saturday – After School


“Alright, that’s it for the information reviewing today. Thanks for all your hard work, minions.” Azuki clasped her hands in front of her and bowed to the clubroom that had previously housed only her and the third year. There was a collective sound of chair legs grinding across the floor as the collective stood in their seats and bowed in response. “Now, for the homework. As you know, a transfer student has been recently assigned to our school. However, we-, pardon, I have no information about this new student at all, so I would ask all of you to be on the lookout of any related information with regards to our new friend. On a side note, there’s the thing about the muuuuuuurdeeerrs.” Azuki turned on her heel and wrote a single word on the blackboard in precise, cursive handwriting. Once done, she turned back to the attendees of the meeting and tapped the edge of the blackboard with the chalk. “Strega. Our current information is…Strega-ringly little with regards to this nefarious organization. Heh heh. Get it? Staggeringly? Strega-ringly?” Upon the dead silence that met her Azuki Mayomita original, she cleared her throat in an attempt to disperse the atmosphere. “In any case, while I know this is probably out of our league as is, I want all of you to be most alert when it comes to these cases. If possible, I would want as much information about them passed on to me as possible, including data about the victims and the autopsy reports, if you can. Are you all clear about this?”


There was a resounding vocalisation of affirmation from the club members, and Azuki nodded. “Alright, go on home, I’ll stick around to clean up. See you next week.” Azuki turned her back on them, and set about clearing the blackboard of the various theories and rumors that the members had put up. The door slid open behind her, and the students filed out in their various groups, chatting amongst themselves about the new-found information that they had gathered in school. While they were the ones digging up the various rumors, it was almost entirely the club’s fault that the rumors spread like wildfire, since a lot of the students couldn’t learn to keep their mouths shut even if their lives depended on it. Well, it wasn’t as if she knew how to keep the information to herself either, so she really had no place to criticise. She paused in her erasing when it came to the word that she had written most recently. “Strega”. What a queer little group. What were their motivations and their reasoning? What drove them forwards in his little quest of theirs? She shook her head and drew the eraser over the words, smearing the white chalk across the blackboard’s surface, and wiping away the word. The blackboard cleared, the stationery returned to the drawers, and the wastepaper basket emptied, Azuki slung the book bag over her shoulder. She slid the classroom door open, digging around her bag for her journal. Shutting the door behind her, she began to pen her thoughts about the organization as she walked down the empty hallways, bathed in the crimson light of the sunset. The rest of the day ended without much interesting events. She walked home alone as always, bought some of Aiya’s noodles for takeaway alone, ate at home alone, and watched some TV alone. The news was still rerunning the same information about Strega from the day before and this morning. No new updates, it seemed. Maybe they were taking a break? She chuckled to herself at the thought of a threatening terrorist organisation taking a vacation at the Bahamas, discarded the takeaway box, and went to sleep


Sunday – Morning/Afternoon


Azuki wandered around the town for the afternoon and ate lunch at Aiya’s again after calling in sick for her job at the local library. She loitered around the local precinct, but no further information with regards to Strega came to light. After spending almost the whole day at the precinct, and almost getting arrested for loitering without intent, she made her way back home. Alone.


Sunday – Evening


Azuki forgot to buy Aiya’s. Hence, she was made to make instant noodles for dinner and ate it while watching TV. There were no developments on the Strega case. Tanaka’s Amazing Commodities was on, though. The infectiously cheery tune played throughout the show. Azuki, somewhat enchanted by the tune, hummed along with it as President Tanaka displayed his new offers. Of course, being Tanaka’s Amazing Commodities, the products were almost immediately sold out. It looked fun and easy making all that cash from selling cheap knock-off products. Maybe she should try being a saleslady in the near future…


After the weather forecast, Azuki went to sleep.


Monday – After School


No one came to the clubroom that day. Unsurprising. Some of the students joined sports clubs, and most of them convened on Mondays. Azuki closed up shop early, locking up the clubroom. She spent the rest of her afternoon in the library, reading up on the history of Daitomi and finishing up her homework. Keeping up her reputation as one of the top ten students of the school wasn’t exactly hard work for her, but it didn’t do well to sit around and let her brain rot away with disuse. Besides, there really wasn’t anything much to do at home. She had no family to worry about her, no siblings to take care of or be taken care of by. Solitude was useful in some ways. Sure, it might get a little lonely, but at least it didn’t mean crippling responsibilities and the problems that came with having a family. Azuki stayed at school until the library closed. By that time, the night sky had settled in to stay, and the streets were lit up by the cold light of the street lamps, hanging over those who crossed under it. She rolled her shoulders and made sure her bag’s strap sat comfortably on her shoulder. As per normal, she made her usual visit to Aiya’s, where she stayed in for dinner. An empty apartment wasn’t exactly the most welcoming of places, and the bustle of Aiya’s was a welcome stark contrast to the plain house she had. Besides, the people there were most interesting in their conversations. As she sat by the counter slurping up her noodles, she kept her ears open and her eyes at their corners, watching her fellow patrons.


Monday- Evening


After a hot, steaming bowl of noodles, she, with nowhere else to go but to the uninviting arms of her apartment, returned home. The news wasn’t showing anything new today, as always. The police were being stubbornly useless for some reason, and she was getting slightly agitated by them. Alas, what could she do? She wasn’t part of the force. Even if she was, she’d probably be sucked into their idiocy and ended up doing nothing as well. She shut off the TV and laid out her futon. Another day passed, and another one will come. The same cycle over and over again. Life was such a pain. She laid down on the futon, staring up at the white ceiling, the paint flaking off here and there. Time to fall into the darkness again, and wake up to another repeat of the week before. More riddles, more rumors, more talking, more studying. She closed her eyes.


Then she opened them. The four walls overcast by darkness and illuminated only by the nearby street lamp were gone. Instead, it seemed as if her apartment had been stolen from right under her, and above her. It seemed, too, that some smart guy had also stolen gravity from her, leaving her suspended in what seemed to be in the middle of space. Stars dotted around her, encircling her entirely, reminding her of that one trip to the domed conservatory that one could see the stars around them in, except that one trip had a floor, and a chair to be seated in. There was no such luck here. Perhaps they were running low on funding to build a floor, Azuki mused. She tried to name the various constellations that surrounded her, but failed at providing the correct appellations for most of them. It would seem that some of them are foreign. The heart of the matter, however, wasn’t the stars and that they weren’t supposed to be visible from Earth. The heart of the matter was from what seemed to be an elevator attendant standing in front of her. On the wallpaper of stars, Azuki could make out other shapes that were supposed to be human. In any case, the elevator attendant began to address them and her, apologizing with regards to how some lounge wasn’t finished with construction yet, and something about wheels of fates.


Well, it won’t do well to leave me LOUNGE-ing about here. It’s WHEEL-y getting a bit boring. She wanted to say, but nothing came out of her mouth. It was if she was trying to speak with her mouth full of water. No sound emitted from her, even as she moved her lips, and honestly, that was probably for the best of everyone gathered. As she struggled to let her pun be heard, the elevator attendant approached her and brushed her hand across her chest. Azuki heard something akin to glass shattering. Before she could wonder what it was, though, the elevator attendant started speaking again, speaking of masks manifesting sooner, and gathering here on a weekly basis. Though Azuki admitted, this was more fun than sticking around in school, did they really have to wait until night time, though? That sucked. Azuki opened her mouth again to make another comment, but a snap of Elizabeth’s finger caused her to blink.


She found herself back on her futon. She sat up, casting a look at her surroundings. It was back to her own room, back to reality. She brushed her rust-coloured locks away from her face and stood up. What the hell just happened? She was sure she saw the faces of those gathered at that place, even if she was probably half-asleep. One of them was…that band member, and the other was the drama club member. She couldn’t properly remember the rest, but she was sure there were more. If she wasn’t mistaken, Elizabeth mentioned that there were nine of them. Azuki wondered if it was real, the dream, that is, and wandered over to her window, which had the blinds drawn over them. Of course it was. She never remembered any dream past five seconds; she still remembered every last minute detail for this one. Hence, by deductive process, this was supposedly real, or an extremely vivid dream. She rubbed her temples and grasped at the curtains, drawing them apart. When she looked up and out of her room, the red light that danced through the glass dazzled her. In the sky, suspended by some invisible string, hung a crimson red eye, watching over Daitomi. Azuki took a step back out of pure surprise.


“Wh…” her lips dried up at that instant, and her own eyes went wide, “what the heck…” The streetlamps had lost their light, and the only source of light was from the eerie gree sky that hung above them and the crimson moon, appearing larger than it should be. She scrambled for her phone, making to call someone…anyone from her club. No such luck. Her cell was dead. That can’t be. She had left it charging. What was going on? There was no time to be sitting around wondering what was going on. She had to move on. What that elevator attendant said, the nine of them. If she was right, there were eight other persons around in Daitomi, hopefully, that was seeing this scene. She threw on a windbreaker over her pink flowery t-shirt, and slipped her feet into her shoes. Azuki Mayomita wasn’t one to bear with proper pyjamas, and often wore trackpants and any other top to sleep. It made for a quicker way to go to bed, instead of wondering what one should wear, and was less hassle. She scrambled to unlatch the door to her apartment and stepped over the threshold. The first thing she noticed was the dead silence that hung in the air. There were no noises at all. While this was supposed to be natural in the night, there was something…strange that hung in the air. Usually, there were sounds of the occasional rumbling of engines as a car made its way past, or the sound of an arguing couple, a baby crying somewhere. However, there was nothing. The second thing she noticed, was what appeared to be a black coffin in front of the door of her neighbour’s house. Previously, when she had just made her way home, the husband of the family had been sitting there, a bottle of booze in one hand, slumped over and weakly pawing at the door to be let in. In his place now, stood a rather strange looking coffin that emanated a red aura. She stepped past it warily, as if expecting it to burst open at any time. When nothing happened, she swiftly made her way down the stairs.


Still gripping her cell in her hands, she jammed her fingers furiously on the keys, as if violent force would make it work. “Damn it, work! Why isn’t anything working? What on earth is going on?” She scowled and her grip tightened on her phone. She supposed now it was a good time as any to investigate the surroundings. Everywhere she walked, black coffins could be seen. A car or two were seen, but they looked to be suspended in some static motion, and on their seats, a coffin. She shuddered to think of where her deductions brought her. There was something unnatural about this whole event. There were eight others. If two of them were from her school, there was a high possibility that there were more that were similarly following this pattern. Azuki stuffed her useless cellphone into her pocket and continued walking.