Author's Note: Hello everyone!

First off, I want to thank everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed the story so far, or is keeping an eye on it, because it really does mean a whole lot to me. On that note, I also want to say I'm glad people have liked it so far and are looking forward to more, and I hope I'm able to keep everyone interested and enjoying it as the story goes on. As I said, I'll keep my eyes on the reviews and take any advice, ideas or criticisms to heart, so if you have opinions, lemme hear'em! I'm really just glad I can write about a game I love and share it with other people, so if there's anything I can do to make it better or entertain you guys more, I'm always interested.

Secondly, since no-one's said I need to change anything yet, I went ahead and took a chunk of the story I've already edited and decided I'd upload it earlier than planned! Unfortunately it's smaller than the last chapter, but that's because I'm in the middle of editing the next part and it's not entirely ready, but I still wanted to put out something for people to read over while I get it ready. I'm hoping the change in pace will make up for the shorter length. I also wanted to make this differ from the in-game version a bit, so I decided to toss something small onto the end. It's not much, but I just wanted to keep things a little more interesting - as a little hint, take the chapter's name into account.

Lastly, I'll try not to throw too many of these Author's Notes at the beginning of every chapter. I just feel compelled to say Hi to you guys all the time, but I get that if you're reading this in one big go, it kinda interrupts the flow of it, so I'll try and keep these a bit more sparse, or at the least shorter. Then again, I suppose you guys can tell me what you'd prefer if it bothers you, so I guess just let me know and I'll take it on board.

My awkward ramblings aside, let's actually get to the story.

Yu looked around the room he was borrowing from Dojima. He had left him the usual things; wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a desk with stationery and a metal shelf rack, and a TV. He approached the TV, stared at the blank screen. He pushed the power button, and to his surprise, the TV actually turned on. Already this place was different from his room at home.

He turned the TV off, and sighed as he glanced the unpacked contents of his bag around the room, like his music player, Study CDs and study books. In the corner of the room was a futon Dojima had prepared for him. Yu looked at the clock, and saw it was 11 O'Clock. At home, he would be expected to study a little more, but... well, Dojima said he could do what he wanted, and it wasn't like one night of skipped studying would hurt...

A little sheepishly, he got changed and climbed into the futon. Immediately after, he found himself listening for the usual footsteps of his father coming to check on him. But nothing came. More tension left his body as he settled down. Already I can tell this year's gonna be different. I just wonder how different...
When he remembered school started tomorrow, he rolled onto his side, and before long he was asleep.

The black veil of sleep melted away, and he was looking up. As consciousness came back to him, he realised he was on his back. He got to his knees, looked around... and had no idea where he was. There was a thick fog covering everything in front of him, and looking at the floor told him he was standing on something made of red squares. Following what he could see of the ground, he could make out that there was a single path cleared through the fog. He didn't feel right about it, but with no other options he moved forward.

After walking a fair distance and seeing nothing, a voice rang out from somewhere.

"Do you seek the truth...?" It asked.

He jumped and spun around. There was no-one here that he could see. The voice was pretty loud, so it had to be close, but he would have seen something if it was that close. Nothing felt right about any of this, but something carried him forward anyway. Another while later, the voice spoke up again.

"If it's the truth you desire, come and find me..."

"Who's there?!" He shouted out of instinct, but no answer came. This time, the voice had definitely come from up ahead. He didn't like this at all. Nothing the voice was asking him made sense. There were butterflies in his stomach and his heart was pounding. He came upon a black and red wall blocking the path, humming slightly. He reached out and tapped the center, causing the wall to merge and collapse within itself. On the other side of this 'door', the fog was even heavier than it had been outside. Despite this, he could make out a figure in the fog. It began speaking in the voice that he had heard outside.

"So... You are the one pursuing me..."

He didn't know when it had happened, but there was now a katana in his hands. He gasped and stumbled back, but he couldn't drop it. It was as if this sword was a part of him. He looked forward, and from what little he could make out the figure seemed to be moving slightly. He raised the sword in front of him with his left hand and supported the blade with his right hand, bracing himself, expecting an attack. He had no idea why, but this felt surprisingly natural...

"Hmhmhm... Try all you like..."

The figure seemed amused at him defending himself, but made no movement. No attempt to do anything. He opened his eyes to see it standing exactly where it had been. The whispers he'd heard at the gas station came back, but vanished as quickly as they came. Suddenly he had an idea. He acted on this new impulse and did the next best thing he could think of - he rushed the figure and swung his katana into it. He felt the katana connect with something, applied a little extra pressure, and felt the blade tear through something in response. He fell forward a little and turned around to face the figure, only to see it remain where it was, as it was.

"Hmmm... It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog... That is very interesting information indeed..."

What the hell is this thing...?

There was a new sensation now. The whispers became a buzzing in his head, and a pressure in his gut, followed by pins and needles in his right arm. He looked up to see a small card float down from above. His arm, moving on its own, extended forward. The card floated down into his palm, where it gently began to spin. He crushed the card in his hand and it exploded like glass, before something else exploded in the back of his mind and a dark, slender figure appeared above him. It moved slightly, and lightning came crashing down on the figure in the fog. Other than momentarily shrinking, it didn't seem to react to it at all, instead continuing its train of thought.

"But... You will not catch me so easily... If what you seek is "truth," then your search will be even harder..."

The figure pulsated red, and then even thicker fog drifted out from it. In panic, Yu swung out wildly at the approaching fog, only to throw himself off-balance and land on his ass. He saw the figure in front of him and swung his katana through it, and in response it fell apart and dissipated. Despite that, from somewhere he couldn't see, the figure spoke again.

"Everyone sees what they want to... And the fog only deepens..."

From where he just slashed what must have been a copy of the figure, more fog came pouring in. He crawled away from it, thinking desperately of something - anything - he could do. Meanwhile, the figure droned on in that monotonous tone. It didn't seem to be interested in him particularly, but more his presence here.

"...Will we meet again...? At a place other than here... Hmhm... I look forward to it..."

Yu suddenly realized his vision was fading. His muscles went numb, and he grew colder. As he lay on the ground, the figure drifted slowly into view, seemingly staring right at him.

"Do be careful." it said, a threatening tone creeping into it's words. As it began cackling, a vision flashed in his mind - 7 people, the faces of whom he couldn't see or make out, being dragged down into darkness. A heart-rending fear and panic overcame him, but he could do nothing but watch. Then it came - the scream. The scream of a girl. The scream of someone close to him - someone very close to him.

With that, everything faded to black.