Persona: Breaking Barriers

A Persona fanfiction by Cadoz

Chapter 1: Flight

"Hey, cut it out Norah!" eight year old Jason Streicho yelled to his younger sister, Norah. She sat next to him in the back seat of the navy blue Streicho family Honda Civic, wearing blue overalls over her white shirt and shorts. At this moment, she was giggling and poking at her older brother Jason's shoulder. Her hair was tied up in a small, brown ponytail by a hot pink rubber band. She was attempting to emulate her mother, Jocelyn, who was currently sitting in the passenger seat at the front of the car reading a novel. Jason looked at Norah distastefully. He loved his sister, true, but her five year old antics wore down his patience quickly. Now she tugged at his yellow shirt with one hand and at his orange swimming trunks with the other.

"Jason, play with me!" she demanded, now losing her temper a bit. The Florida heat being absorbed into the car was putting everyone a little on edge. Today was the designated day for the Streicho family's weekly trip to the beach, something they each looked forward to in their own way. For Michael, the father, this weekly trip was an opportunity to spend some much needed family time. As the editor for the local newspaper, he didn't get a lot of time with his wife and children. Jocelyn, on the other hand, enjoyed a greatly needed respite from being a full time stay-at-home mother. She loved being able to sit under an umbrella and read the day away, leaving her two angels, whom she cared for very much, in the charge of her husband. The children, obviously, had different motivations for going to the beach.

Norah loved playing in the sand. Whenever she had an opportunity to be outside, she took it. She was a princess, after all, and the outdoors was her kingdom. As for her brother, he loved swimming. His mother would lovingly call him a fish, much to his chagrin. Any chance he had, Jason would jump into water. It was strangely freeing for him. Deep down, he hoped that someday he could be a professional swimmer for the Olympic team.

"OK you two, settle down. We'll have time to play at the beach. Let your brother be, Norah." Michael turned his head and used his stern voice. Norah decided it wasn't worth getting in trouble and went back to her Barbies. Jason grinned at his father, who returned his smile before looking back at the road. Michael and Jason were spitting images of each other. Both of them had the same deep, dark brown hair that constantly hung over their eyes. Their eyes, however, were different. Jason had his mother's jade-colored eyes, a point of pride for her.

Overall, Jason was happy. He had a loving family, good friends and a nice house, which was everything he ever wanted. His life was perfect. Norah looked at him now.

"Promise we'll play at the beach?" she asked, sticking out her lower lip. Norah loved spending time with her brother. Jason nodded, put his hand on top of her head and smiled.

"Of course, Nor-" he began, but stopped mid sentence as he looked out of his sister's passenger window and saw the silver Suburban truck in the lane next to them swerve in their direction. Norah looked at him now, and just before the car collided with theirs, she spoke.

"Why didn't you save me, Jason?"

Seventeen year old Jason Streicho woke up screaming on his bed. He sat upright now, sweat droplets falling from his bangs-covered forehead down onto his bare chest. His fists were clenched and his knuckles were white. He breathed heavily for a minute, then looked over towards his nightstand. There sat his digital clock. The emerald numbers illuminated his small room, showing precisely four A.M. It was time to get up, especially if he was going to catch his flight.

Jason flung off the blankets from his king sized bed. His legs were covered in sweat. He stared at them for a moment, then shimmied his black boxers off. Jason proceeded to put his right arm under his knees and slid himself to the right, so that he now sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at the object sitting in front of his nightstand, adjacent to his bed, waiting for him. It was time to put on his metaphorical shackles. He grasped the right armrest of his manual wheelchair and boosted himself into the seat.

As he proceeded to roll for his shower, which was several feet away, the words of his doctor rang in his head.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. The nerve damage is irreversible. He won't walk again. Everything else will be normal, thankfully, but his legs won't ever be usable." eight year old Jason Streicho had heard his doctor say to his grandparents from the hospital hallway. At this moment, he lay in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling blankly. It had been two weeks since he had lost everything. Since the crash. Jason felt empty. They had all said the same thing to him over and over again. "Everything's going to be alright." they said. They were wrong. Nothing was alright and nothing ever would be. He hated the world in this moment. Hated the doctors, hated his grandparents, hated the drunk man who took his family and now his legs from him.

"It's not fair…" he thought to himself as tears began to slide down his cheeks. Everything he had loved was gone. He had been a good kid, got good grades, was nice to all his friends and classmates. Fate didn't care. Jason was sobbing now, his wails echoing throughout the room. His grandparents ran into the room. They stared at the boy, who was now shaking. His grandmother came over and hugged him tightly, softly stroking his head. Jason's grandfather came over now and sat on the bed next to him, patting him on the back. No words were said, but they weren't needed. They knew his pain, for they had lost a son, a daughter-in-law and one of their grandchildren. Jason was not alone, even if he didn't fully comprehend it at this moment.

He lived with his grandparents in their one floor home for the next nine years. They loved him and cared for him the best they could, but, as was common with the people Jason loved, they were taken from him. His grandmother lost her life to cancer, while his grandfather died several years later by what Jason decided was a broken heart. That was two weeks ago. Jason had been staying in his home by himself, trying his best to be independent. However, today was the day that he was going to fly to Japan.

His aunt, Julie, and his mother's older brother, Stephen, were designated to take care of him. They taught English at Shiren High, a Japanese public high school located in Hoshiko City, which is in the southern part of the country. Jason had met them once before, at the family funeral. From what he could remember, they were quiet people. His aunt had a rather mousey face, with shoulder-length brown hair and dull brown eyes. He recalled, oddly enough, that she had exceptional posture, and always stood and sat straight. His uncle was on the other end of the spectrum. Stephen had untidy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, was constantly slouching, and was very carefree. Or, at least, as carefree as you could be at a funeral.

Jason was now out of the shower, struggling to pull on his black cargo pants. Overall, his morning routine took an hour unassisted. The shower took thirty minutes when adding the roughly five minutes it took to procure towels and wrap them around the chair. Once he was done with the shower and getting himself to and from the toilet (which took all of his considerable upper-body strength), he got dressed. First, he would lift his legs from under the knees and set them on a stool in his room. From there, Jason would pull on his socks, black skate shoes, and pants. Today, the pants were giving him trouble. He sat there, yanking at the cargo pouches and grunting.

"God damn it…" Jason muttered to himself, his frustration starting to set in. It was this kind of thing that frustrated him the most. The helplessness invaded every aspect of his being. He bit his lip, now set on getting this done. Jason exhaled, then gave it another try, now sighing in relief as the obsidian colored cargo pants slid over his boxers. He proceeded to set his shoe-covered feet onto his footrest and smiled. It was a small victory, sure, but it made all the difference.

Jason pulled on his long-sleeved grey shirt and put on his signature navy blue beanie hat next. The hat was given to him by his grandparents when he turned thirteen. He had been complaining that all of his friends had baseball caps and flat-billed hats, which the popular kids preferred, and that he had nothing. Jason's grandfather, though, loved individuality. He wanted his grandson to feel special, to give him something to accentuate his uniqueness. Jason's grandmother felt the same way. In secret, she made the hat for him, which almost certainly pained her arthritic wrists. Jason recognized this, and treasured the beanie as a labor of love. As he pulled it on, now, his dark brown bangs just managed to peek out, dangling just above his eyes. He proceeded to grab his belongings. These included a black flip-screen cell phone, his blue backpack and his black suitcase, which contained his laptop, iPod, and several other belongings. Jason slung the backpack across the back of his chair and proceeded to pocket his phone and set the suitcase on his lap. He looked around his room for one last moment, wheeling himself in a circle. Jason paused as he saw something on his nightstand. It was a framed picture of his family, with him in the center, sitting in a chair in his old home's kitchen. Norah was there, sitting on his lap, smiling from ear to ear. His parents stood behind them, his mother's head on his father's shoulder. The grandparents were there too, standing on either side of their precious grandchildren.

Tears stung at Jason's eyes. He rolled over to the wooden nightstand and gingerly grasped the picture. Jason proceeded to put it in his backpack, wipe away his tears, and leave the house behind. In his grandparents' will, the house was given to him. He vowed to himself that, one day, he would return. As he rolled outside the home onto his driveway and towards the waiting handicap-accessible bus, he stared over his left shoulder at the beautiful orange sunrise. The boy sighed, thinking of the grueling flight ahead of him and, what he figured would be several dull, uneventful years overseas. Luckily, he was almost fluent in Japanese, thanks to tutoring from his mother at a very young age. He groaned out loud and rolled onto the bus ramp, which then began to elevate. Jason Streicho had no idea what an amazing adventure destiny had in store for him.

Once at the airport, he proceeded through security and the terminal, all the while avoiding the stares of the crowd of people around him. When he prepared to enter the plane, he sat and furrowed his eyebrows. He had never gone on a flight before, and he realized he had no idea what came next. As he was about to roll back to the front desk, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Sir, I can give some assistance if you would like." a dark skinned employee asked. He was wearing an airport uniform, which consisted of a red vest and black pants. Jason swallowed his pride and nodded. The man signaled for another employee to come give him a hand. Both of them proceeded to lift him up out of his chair, and brought him on board, sitting him in his designated seat in first class. Before they left, they informed him that all of his luggage would be taken care of, including his chair, which would be stored in the storage section also. They handed him his backpack and left.

Jason sat in the chair and yawned. Before he knew it, the plane was in the air, soaring amongst the clouds. He stared out the window and absent-mindedly sipped his glass of Coke that a stewardess had provided, the ice cubes touching his lips. As he set the glass down, he felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him. With the sixteen hour flight ahead of him, Jason Streicho decided to close his eyes and rest. The blackness closed in.

Jason was dreaming, of that he was certain. At the moment, he sat in his wheelchair inside of what appeared to be a blue movie theater. The screen in front of him was blank. Suddenly, blue curtains swept over the screen. Jason wheeled around, searching for the source of a chuckle he had just heard. The soft blue velvet seats were all empty, save for two figures sitting in the center of the room. On the left sat a strange, balding gentlemen with an oddly elongated nose. He was hunched over and wore a black suit with white gloves. His appearance was slightly unsettling to Jason. On the right was a tall woman who had a long, flowing blue dress. She had short cut blue hair, and giggled when she made eye contact with him. The man with the elongated nose began to clap.

"Welcome, my friend, to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor, and this is my assistant, Janet. What might we call you?" he asked once he finished clapping his gloved white hands. Jason stared, his mouth slightly agape. He licked his lips.

"This is one weird dream… I'm Jason Streicho. Why… am I here, Igor?" he asked, rolling toward their seats. Igor produced a deck of cards from his jacket pocket and grinned.

"You are partially correct – this is a dream, yet one where you are conscious. The Velvet Room exists between dream and reality. It is a place for you to come for guidance and… services. We are here to provide assistance on the journey you are about to embark on. However, before we can give assistance, we must tell you your fortune. Let's look at the cards, shall we?" Igor asked, tossing several blue cards in the air and leaving them to hover in front of him. Then, he touched two of them, revealing them to Jason.

"The upright Tower card shows me the immediate future. The reversed Sun card reveals to me… Oh my… It appears as though you are going to enter into a great struggle with great stakes… you will be depended upon. A cataclysmic event will occur, and it will be up to you, Mr. Streicho, and your inner strength to avert what I can only explain as… the end." Igor informed him. Jason sat, his teeth grinding, his eyes revealing confusion. Suddenly, Igor tossed an object to Jason. He caught it, and stared at a blue key.

"The end? I don't understand… Also, what's with the key?" Jason asked, holding the key up.

"This key will allow you to return here at any time. It is for guests only." the man told him, shifting in his seat. Janet smiled and began to wave goodbye.

"We will see you shortly, Jason! Do take care." she said, her voice coated in honey. Blackness once again began to cloud his vision. Suddenly, he felt himself being shaken.

"Sir?"

End of Chapter 1