• Persona 3.5: Sidetracked

    By tsdZero
    Chapter 1: Fool

    Evening, Iwatodai Station

    2 Days

    Ah…Grand Tokyo, Japan. The Sights. The Sounds. The Air. It was all new to me. Sen Yamuna is my name. I never really liked it but it's what I got. Any ways, as my train pulled into Iwatodai Station I grabbed my things and walked out. I was listening to my MP3 player with my earphone's on full blast when I walked out of the train station. I was currently listening to "Memories of you" and then it changed into "Burn my Dread" while I was walking to my destination. I was even more amazed at the sheer size of the city I was planning to spend my last year of school in. Funny. I wondered what amazing adventures I would get to at my school. I even spotted a blue butterfly as I crossed the street to the one my Building was on.

    Late Night,?

    It was almost midnight. I checked my phone.

    "2030 March 29th, 11:59...Nice timing…" I found my Dorms as the clock struck twelve…and kept going. I opened the dorms and was greeted by a shower of light. There I saw a long, brown haired teen with a book in his hand. Looked about my age.

    "Huh? Oh you must me the transfer student! Hi! My name's Chiento. But everyone calls me Judge. Probably cause I Judge people to much. Anyways…welcome to the dorms of Gekkokan High! It'll be only for a few days but you'll be here next year right? That'd be very messed up if you drop out only a few days in the year! Then what kind of person would you be huh!" He laughed a bit at this.

    I kinda made a face. No wonder they called him Judge.

    I pulled off my Earphones and shook his awaiting hand.

    "Nice to meet you. My name's-"

    "Oh I know your name. I just wanted to see if you were kind enough to tell it to me. Nice to meet you Yamuna-san."

    I made another face. Yep….way too much.

    "So…is everyone else sleeping?"

    "Actually…right now either they left back home to unpack or they're going to graduate so they left to their new homes. Either way it's just you and me here! Well…that and my Homeroom teacher Ms.-"

    "Well…what do we have here? What is my policy about staying up after midnight Kamokoto-san?" A woman with shoulder length hair of an olive green was at the stairs. Even with the worried tone she seemed very relaxed and easy about the situation.

    "Sorry Sensei. I was just reading my book. But it's a good thing I was or else no one would greet Yamuna-san here!" Judge said, gesturing to me.

    The woman seemed even more relaxed at the explanation. If that was even possible.

    "Well he is older than you by a year Kamokoto-kun. You should address him by his proper name you know." She walked forward and smiled, bowing as she did so.

    "Hello Yamuna-Kun. I am Fuuka Yamagishi. It's been scheduled that I'll be your homeroom teacher for your senior year. Please feel right at home in the dorms. And you don't have to call me Sensei. Senpai will do just fine."

    She said with a sweet smile. I had returned the bow she gave me when I noticed something around her hip. A gun holster. And in it was a shiny chrome gun. It looked polished. I couldn't help staring at it. What was a nice, innocent looking and acting women like her doing with an armed and dangerous weapon!

    Sensei noticed my gaze.

    "Ah this. This is just for my self protection. I don't really use it, or need it any more, but…let's just say it's a very dear item to me. Now…if we're done with the introductions, could you both please go to your rooms. Kamokoto-kun, he'll be in "That" room. Don't stay up too late. I'll know if you do.~" She said with a smile as she walked up the winding stairs.

    Judge-san sighed.

    "Yea…she always does. I don't know how either. She just always does. She must have hidden camera's in our rooms or something…"

    He motioned for me to follow him. I made a mental note of the sign in sheet near the door and the bathrooms at the main floor. Hay. You Never know when something is forgotten or needed to be done. As a took a step on the stairs I felt like someone was watching me. A name popped into my head. "Juno…." I said without realizing.

    "What was that?"

    I shook my head.

    After he showed me my room. ("It's easy to remember cause it at the end of the hall! You got to be lucky to get this room!" wink

    I walked in and unpacked my stuff. After that I looked outside. It was almost a full moon.

    Oh…I forgot to mention something. I hear voices. Don't get the wrong idea! I'm very much a sane person! It's just sometimes I hear things. Sometimes it's a sound, like a growl or a roar. And sometimes it's names. Some I recognize like Lucifer, Samael and Mythos. But most of the time I don't. Like Messiah, Pazuzu, Cerberus and now Juno. And it happens the most during full moons. But every time it's a full moon it's only two names.

    Two names I can never get out of my head.

    Two names that will haunt my life forever.

    Two names that determined my fate as soon as I heard them.

    One was Nyx.

    The other was Minato Arisato.

    Morning, Dorms

    2 days

    I awoke next morning. It was the 30th of march. I found my uniform in my closet….and a red arm band in the top shelf as well. It had very faded letters on it…but I could still make out S.E.E.S. The small print, which no doubt described the acronym, were lost to time. It was weird…Like I had seen it somewhere before.

    As my Clock hit seven I noticed I was going to be late for my first day at school.

    "Crap!" I grabbed my brown book satchel and ran out the door, hoping to make the next train to Gekkokan high…

    I didn't make it. The train ran late and I ended up 10 minuets down the road myself. As I walked through the glass doors of my new school it was empty, save for the school shop lady. She seemed to be arguing with a math teacher. At least…I hope it was the math teacher or the protractors in his hands would just be plain weird…he probably used it to measure his ridiculous afro…

    I shook my head of these thoughts and ran to my class. 2-F

    As I ran in the whole class cheered.

    "That's amazing sensei!"

    "Right again Sensei!"

    "He's a little cute don't you think?"

    "How are you always right sensei!"

    I was confused. I looked towards Fuuka-Sensei.

    "Did something happen Sensei?"

    Fuuka smiled and talked with her regular, relaxed voice.

    "No. I just guessed it was you about to come into the classroom. I'm always right when it comes to that. Now class…"

    She turned to the class.

    "This is Sen Yamuna-san. He's a new transfer student coming here.

    And as we all know about the year about to end, please-"

    The overhead sprang to life as a harsh female voice boomed over it.

    "Yamuna, Sen! Please report to the Principal's office! I repeat, report to my office, immediately! That is all."

    Darn…one day in and I'm already in hot water.

    Fuuka looked like she was high. Seriously. There was no other way to describe it.

    "Well…you better get going. I'll introduce you to the class while you're gone. You better hurry. You don't want her waiting. Kirijo-Senpai doesn't like to wait long."

    I nodded and left my stuff at the middle open desk and power walked to the principal's office…

    Morning, Principal's office

    As I was about the walk in a saw a woman with long brown hair and a heart choker walk out. Another name popped into my head as she said…

    "Hello" to me as she walked out. The name was Isis. I nodded towards her in respect and tried to clear my head.

    I opened the door to the office slowly, half hoping that was the principal who just walked out and she was faking everything.

    "Come in Yamuna-san."

    Crap….can't get everything you want.

    I walked in and all I could see were my files on the desk and the red headed woman looking down at them. With the figure of a model but the glare of a philosopher, even my head filled with idea's to "Take a crack" at a relationship, like countless other did no doubt. Then reality set in and I sat down…noticing she had the same type of gun Sensei had on the table. It was engraved with the same letters I found on the armband. S.E.E.S. It too looked polished and deadly.

    "Well…what do you say for yourself?"

    "Sorry Sexy…I MEAN SENSEI!" Oh crap! Did I just say that! My life is over! I'm dead! Make my tombstone right now and find me a burial plot!

    The red head just laughed.

    "As much as I get that, flattery won't excuse a tardy on your recorded first day of school." She said with a smile that looked on the verge of a laugh.

    "Sorry…sensei." I said, monitoring my words very carefully…and then I heard it.

    Another voice in my head.

    "Artemisia…" I said without warning.

    The principal's smile faded.

    "Ex-excuse me?" She said with a stutter.

    I shook my head.

    "Sorry sensei…I say things without warning sometimes…" I said quickly. Trying to hide my embarrassing secret. It seemed even more embarrassing while I was in front of her.

    "No it's okay. Please tell me. What did you say…it sounded like…Artemisia was it?" She asked with an inquisitive look.

    I solemnly nodded.

    "And where did that name come from?" She asked.

    I shook my head.

    "I don't know. Names just pop into my head at random times." I explained.

    "Elaborate please." She said. It sounded like a command. Jeez…she still looked nice when she said it though…

    "Well…it happened last night too. After I met Yamagishi-Sensei I heard a voice say Juno."

    "Really? Interesting." She actually looked interested. She was a first.

    "Well…and this woman who walked out of your office, after I met her the name Isis came to mind." I said some more. She was the first person who actually looked honestly interested. I couldn't stop talking!

    "Wow. That's very interesting."

    "Yea. There's a couple that repeat a lot though. But only during full moons."

    "And what would they be?" She asked, even more intrigued by the way she shifted her weight towards me. It gave me a view men all around the world would kill for. I tried my hardest not to stare.

    "Nyx and Minato Arisato." As soon as the names escaped my lips, she immediately did a double take. She seemed worried and afraid more than intrigued anymore.

    "And…do you know what they mean?"

    "No ma'am. They're just random things to me."

    "Then that is all. If you hear anymore names please write them down and talk to me immediately okay?" She wrote down something on a piece of paper.

    "Here's my number. Call me if anything…out of the ordinary happens. Okay?"

    I nodded.

    After that she told me to leave the room. I did so, wondering what set her off to give me that reaction?

    Lunchtime, Rooftop

    As I finished my bento box lunch I looked at the clear mid-day sky. I was sitting next to a memorial with Japanese Kanji on it. It had many flowers on it, wilted as they may be, and many other trinkets. My guess was someone must've died on that bench. It sucked that I could understand the Language, but not be able to read it. I may have been able to see whose memorial it was. Oh well…I guess it's just him and me today.

    "You're in my spot." A girl's voice spoke.

    I turned to see the long raven haired girl looking at me with a semi-blank expression. The other part of it was annoyance.

    "Please move. This is my spot." She said again. She placed her hands on her hips. She looked menacing. I moved to the other side of the bench.

    "Sorry…"

    She didn't answer. She took out her lunch and started on the white rice. I looked at her eat. Funny. She stilled looked menacing.

    "Why are you still here?"

    "Sorry…I'm new here." I explained.

    She looked at me, still a blank expression.

    "What does that have to do with anything?"

    "Yamuna-senpai!" A heard Judge's voice call. He was walking towards us from the rooftop door. He wasn't carrying a lunch or a bento box so my guess was he finished it already.

    "I wondered where you were. Oh…hay Tabitha-Senpai."

    "You again? Why do you always bother me?" She asked, with an even more annoyed look upon her face than before. I was glad not to be the only one who made her do that.

    "You two…know each other?" I asked.

    Judge nodded as he sat down on the floor. "Yea. We've been friends since freshman year. Well…till she decided to go all gothic last year. Then I proposed that we only hang out during after school hours. Then she got

    Ma-" Before he was done she gave him a menacing glare.

    "Are you kidding! I was pissed! You were gonna abandon me all because of what I looked like!"

    "It wasn't just the looks! You acted different too! And I said we could hang out after school!" He explained.

    Tabitha just stared at him. Judge shook like a tree blowing in the wind. Even a grown man would've shuddered like Judge did.

    "You didn't want to be seen with me! I was your friend for three years and you were gonna let me go like an injured pet!"

    In my mind I could see I had two choices. Judge's side had a point in which, her looks could present the wrong idea. She was wearing the skirt of the school uniform and the shirt of the school uniform but the ribbon she wore was a tainted black. There were also two skull pin ups in her hair. Both were in her frontal left side of her head. That coupled with see through white stockings and black war boots completed the look of a woman who was going to run you over first and ask questions later. Judge had a point.

    But on Tabitha's side, she had an even bigger point. You don't just leave a friend hanging because of their looks. Even if they act differently, they're still your friend. I had to go with Tabitha.

    "I don't think it was fair to Tabitha-chan that you left her in the dark like that."

    Tabitha smiled at me. "See! Even Yamuna-san agrees with me."

    I was going to nod…when I felt very sleepy all of a sudden. I couldn't hold my eyes open. I couldn't hold my body up! My vision blurred and the last thing I remember conscious was that I was falling and they called my name.

    "Sen!"

    "Yamuna-San!"

    "Sen….."

    Evening,?

    2 days

    I awoke to a room of a bluish hue. The floor was the same color. As were the walls and the table cloth of the table in front of me. A man with the longest nose I've ever seen was in front of me.

    "My most special guest! Welcome to the Velvet room! My name is Igor." He said with a sweeping arm gesture.

    I looked around once more.

    "This is the weirdest dream I've ever had." I told myself.

    The long nosed man in a tux laughed. "Believe me. This isn't only a dream great one. This realm is in the middle of dream and reality. And only those that have signed a contract may enter here. Or…that would be the case for my normal guests. Sometimes I have special guests like you, great one, that can come and go as they please. "

    I was confused. "This…is a dream right?"

    "As of this moment. Yes. But there will be a time where we will expect you to come of your own accord. Excuse my assistants, oh great one, for they cannot accompany me during these troubling times. They are investigating a very important matter as of years ago."

    "Um…why do you keep calling me that?" I asked. Igor just smiled.

    "Forgive me, great one. I have forgotten the circumstances in which you come here. I shall give you two things before you leave here. You are about to embark on a great journey. Take this to for safe keeping."

    A Bluish-purple key floated down from the ceiling and just stayed in front of me. I took it in my hand and placed it in my pants pocket. It was warm to the touch.

    "I assure you…We shall see each other again."