Disclaimer: Not mine! I wish it was, but seriously it's not mine!
Persona 4 FES
Prologue
Rebirth of Izanagi
April 12th was the day he first came to school. It was the day Chie, Yukiko, and myself had all met him and the day he started changing our lives. If he hadn't come then we'd be lost, doomed to keep those inner thoughts that haunted us to the very core forever. We are all now gathered at the Amagi Inn holding a party celebrating the day he came to town...the day Souji Seta came and changed our lives.
It was the men's turn to use the hot springs of the inn. I remained silent staring at the ceiling while Kanji and Teddie chatted up a storm. I knew it was unlike me to be silent like this but my mind was else where. Souji, he had changed my life in ways I couldn't even begin to describe. I guess you could say I felt he deserved more than just a party in his honor. I don't know what the two of them were going on about, but at the same time I really didn't care. Often times they'd just be spatting random things back and forth, like flavors of ice cream and stuff. Occasionally they'd get to the topic of girls in which usually resulted in me, since Souji was no longer here to lecture them, telling them about how Teddie is starting to sound like a pervert and how Kanji should just date Naoto-kun already. I often felt Teddie has gotten worse since my partner left. I just let them go on and remained silent, since they seemed to be having lots of fun. There was too much on my mind to say something. It was getting late and I could feel fatigue taking over. I got up and out of the hot spring, with Kanji and Teddie watching me, as if their eyes were just glued to me.
"Yosuke-senpai, you're never this quiet," Kanji pointed out to me. Why couldn't he be this observant when we needed him to be? It didn't bother me in the least. Just standing there having the two of them watch me was making me even more tired. I hadn't been sleeping well lately, but I guess that's because I was still used to staying up till midnight to watch the Midnight Channel. I guess my body was just not used to going to bed earlier. "You do look absolutely bushed though, you goin' to bed?"
I simply nodded my head, "Yeah, sleep has been eluding me the last week. I'm gonna head off to bed...but don't let me ruin your guys' fun." I said that with a forced smile. I didn't want the others to worry about me. Did I miss Souji or something? I wasn't the only one who had missed him, they all did too. Was I being selfish? I was getting too tired to think about these things. I headed back for our room.
Once I got back I changed out of the bath towel that covered me and back into the robes that the inn provided. I always liked wearing it, it was silky and comfortable as hell to. It beat regular clothes by a long shot. As soon as I was comfortable I checked the time on my phone it was still pretty early but I was too tired to think anymore. My body felt so heavy I thought I was just going to pass out where I stood. For once I actually wanted to go to bed, and I was pretty sure if Teddie and Kanji came running in here being as loud as possible couldn't wake me. No longer torturing myself I lied down on my mattress and curled into the blanket. Within moments I was out like a light.
In what felt like just moments I was awake again. I looked around to see that Teddie and Kanji had still not gone to bed. Two things crossed my mind seeing how they weren't there, either I wasn't asleep that long or they were with the girls. Another guess I had would be Teddie spreading some sort of rumor among the group probably saying there's something wrong with me or something since I went to bed so early. But just to be sure I wasn't only asleep for fifteen minutes or something I checked the time on my phone again. Sure enough I'd already been asleep for almost three hours. It was almost midnight. I tried going back to sleep but something in the back of my head kept nagging at me to stay awake just a little longer. Seeing how there was a TV in the room I concluded what my consciousness was trying to tell me. I got up for a moment and looked at the TV. I checked my phone one last time, it was three minutes until midnight. I flipped it close, the longer I looked at it the slower time moved. I tossed it onto the table far away from me in attempt from stopping me from looking at it again.
I stared at the TV and just kept staring. I was pretty sure that more than three minutes had gone by and nothing. I just found myself looking at my reflection in the TV, but again just to be sure I rushed over to the other side of the table where my phone was to look at the time again. When I flipped it open I noticed it was off. I thought the battery had some juice left in it to last me through the night and school the next day but I guessed wrong. I searched through my backpack for my phone charger, and it was just my luck that I had forgotten to bring it. Since it was apparent that the Midnight Channel wasn't going to appear I figured it was time to go back to sleep. Going back to my mattress I lied back down to go back to sleep. Like last time I just stared at the ceiling until my eyes could no longer stay open and before I knew it I was right back to sleep.
My eyes snapped back open by a loud crash. I snapped out of bed and onto my feet just as quickly. My worry was the first thing to get to me and I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the kunai that I always keep on handy. Why do I keep these in my backpack? More for sentimental value more than anything. If fighting was going to be done it was also best to change into to something a little more suitable for battle. I quickly changed into my red pants and white shirt with the red bird decorated on the front. I decided against the jacket for there was no time. I slipped on my shoes, just in case the fight got taken outside.
Just as I was about to open the door to get down stairs I found myself looking at a very panicked Rise. Now I knew something was wrong, and my heart was starting to beat even faster. She was trying to say something but she was too much in a panic to make out any real words. "Rise-san calm down and give me the details one by one," I told her calmly. If Souji were in this situation he'd remain calm and ask the same. One would say he was starting to rub off on me but there was no time to stop and think about that either.
Rise took a moment to catch her breath and speak calmly to me. "Down stairs, senpai," she started. "Adachi has broken out of prison. He's trying to kill the others. I tried calling the cops running up here but my phone looks to be dead." Her too? Now I know this is no coincidence. I had pieced together everything that had happened so far. First there was no Midnight Channel, and then my phone died. Now, Adachi was down stairs trying to kill my friends when he was supposed to be in prison. How did he break out? I wasn't going to stop for the detail and let Rise guide me to our friends. As I ran I had my kunai gripped tightly and already I could hear Susano-O's voice calling to me.
"Thou art I, and I am thou."
It was those words that caused me to pick up my pace running past Rise. I didn't think about that, could I even use my persona outside the TV? I never tried because I figured it wouldn't work, but I'd never thought that I'd run int a situation that required me to finally try. As we passed by a window I had noticed something was off. I stopped to observe what was going in the sky. The moon was green! Did this have something to do with Adachi breaking out of prison? I certainly hope not. I started running again back at full speed. My only hopes that I wouldn't be too late.
As we got closer I heard the sound of a scream. It sounded like a scream of pain, and Chie to be more specific. I picked up the pace even more and hurried into the lobby at this point not caring weather or not Rise was close behind. When I arrived I felt my heart skip a beat. Adachi really was here and was trying to kill my friends. I looked around, Kanji was already unconscious and it looks like Chie, Naoto, and Yukiko were also down for the count. It makes me relieved that Rise was able to get away. I saw that Teddie was the next to stand up but was quickly knocked to the ground. I figured he was pretty weak with out the bear suit.
"Yosuke-senpai!" I heard Naoto call out to me. I ran over to her past Adachi to help her and to hear what she had to say. "Be careful he can use his persona." I didn't give a response, but only a nod.
I was finally able to piece together everything. The green moon, and for the fact Adachi could use his persona meant only one thing. That's how he broke out of prison with the power of his persona. But if that were true wouldn't the cops be all over this place right about now? Or, did the green moon have something to do with the fact that their phones didn't work? I stepped up to Adachi with my kunai gripped even tighter. Him smiling down at me with that sadistic smile only made me break out in a cold sweat. I wasn't going to let him do to me like he did my friends.
Just like if I were in the TV world battling shadows I stared at my enemy. I concentrated to get the card to appear but it was my crappy luck that Susano-O was not hearing my call. Before I knew it I was hit by Adachi's persona instead, an evil version of my partner's persona, Izanagi. The blow was massive enough to send me flying backwards into a wall. I was only lucky that that blow didn't cause me to break a bone. It was then I had noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I saw something strange and stared at it for only a brief moment. The short inspection of it made me conclude that it...it was a coffin! Just what was going on?
"You gonna fight me or what?" I could hear Adachi getting closer. "Come on Yosuke, what happened to that earlier enthusiasm you had earlier? Don't tell me it's all gone already and I was just starting to have fun." He picked me up by my shirt collar and again gave me that sadistic smile. I honestly thought I was going to die. But there was a voice there...telling me not to give up. It was telling me to stand up to this clown and show him what I was made of. It sounded as if Souji was standing right next to me cheering me on. I wasn't going to disappoint him or my friends.
"Per...so...na." That word slowly came out of my mouth. Just when I thought all hope was lost I saw my beacon of hope. Susano-O finally heeded my call and summoned up a wind spell that would separate myself from Adachi. "Go! Susano-O!" I shouted watching him make his attack on Adachi by kicking his massive blade at him.
But even with my persona's help Adachi still refused to go down. My eyes grew wide at this fact. What was up with him? Could nothing take him down? Was he really going to kill us all right here? Again my heart started beating fast. He walked over to me and kicked my right in my gut while I was down from his last assault. He laughed and kicked me again even harder this time for good measure. I felt my body roll towards the wall, but when I looked it was actually the front desk. I tried to get up but my body was starting to reach it's limit. This is my punishment for the lack of sleep. If I wasn't so tired I wouldn't be taking Adachi's shit right now and would be beating his face in instead.
I was backed up against the front desk trying to use it to stand but my legs were failing me at this moment. I could feel everything crumbling around me. The tears were starting to stream down my face, I couldn't believe I was about to die. I wanted to apologize to my friends. I wanted to apologize for trying to act like Souji and failing. As I watched I was remembering why he was originally made leader. He had that talent be calm and collective in any situation and always had the right thing to say at the right moment. Unfortunately for me...I didn't have that talent and now here were me and my friends at Adachi's mercy about to die. You couldn't blame me for trying right? At least I was going to die with some of the people I cared about most. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst. I felt as if time was slowing down and then I could only hear the sound of my heart racing.
Suddenly, I heard nothing and felt nothing. Did Adachi make it that quick? I was afraid to open my eyes. I was afraid to find out I was dead. I couldn't hear Susano-O's voice. In fact this was the same feeling I had when Izanami had the ground swallow me whole when I was trying to save Souji's life. Nothingness, but at the same time...it was different. I felt a tapping at the back of my head. As if it was telling me everything was going to be alright. I opened my eyes and found myself some where else.
I looked around to see that it was the back of a limo sitting on one end. Everything was an eire shade of blue, even the seats. At the other end there were two others. The first was a man with a long nose and a woman dressed like a flight attendant with a book in her lap sitting at his side. How did I get here? I was just with my friends and we were all at the wrong end of Adachi's wrath. Was I dead? Did he really kill me and this is where I ended up? I looked out the window. It was obvious that we were moving but was that fog out side? I was really confused to where I was.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," spoke up the man with the long nose. Okay, that was one question answered but that doesn't quite explain how I got here. For the longest time there was an awkward silence between myself and the two others. I wasn't quite sure what to say. I was still trying to figure out weather I was dead or not. "This place exists between dream and reality. As for what brought you here," he paused for a moment to show me what looked like to be a fortune telling. "I was looking at the future and I see a great crisis ahead of you, similar to my last guest," he paused again as if he was now expecting me to ask a bunch of questions right now but I was listening to what he had to say. More and more I didn't think I was dead. "You also seem to have a strong connection to my last guest and perhaps that has what summoned you here."
"But I was just with my friends!" I shouted. I wanted to get back to them. If I wasn't dead then there was a strong chance that they weren't either. I looked around for an exit to see how quickly I could get out of here and back into the real world.
"You're friends are safe for now. You are merely asleep in that world." said the man with the long nose. There's an answer that finally made sense. It was nice to know I wasn't dead but it seems I was unconscious. "Now as I was saying." I watched the man with the long nose wave his hand and suddenly something that looked to be a contract sitting in front of him. "This contract says that you are responsible for everything that happens in your future. If you sign it you may return to your friends." He wasn't leaving me much of a choice at this moment, but also I didn't really care. I just wanted to get back to them, I wanted to save them. I took no hesitation in signing the contract.
"Yosuke Hanamura"
"Excellent," said the man with the long nose. "You will meet again very soon."
Before I could thank the man I felt my body grow heavy again. There was that same feeling that I had like when I had first gotten there. I was glad to know I wasn't dead and neither were my friends. But that contract...could I really save my friends just by signing a simple contract. I can't help but think maybe that man with the long nose was right. Maybe he had more answers for me. I wish I could apologize for being so rude to him at first. The more I tried to think about what just happened, I could hear my friends calling out to me. More and more the sounds of reality came back. Like before I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was back in the real world. Everyone was still were they were before I blacked out. Almost as if time had slowed down or even stopped. But now I was back and ready to go another round with Adachi.
Slowly I got up using the desk to help me. But this time legs didn't feel so weak and my body not so heavy. I shot a glare at Adachi, who had just taken his attentions away from my friends and then to me. He knew I was ready to take him on again.
"You're annoying," he said walking up to me. His body started shaking again, like it did the last time he had summoned his persona. My heart raced again but this time it wasn't because of fear or anxiety, but more determination. I wasn't going to let him summon his persona first, I was going to finish this here and now.
Gripping both my kunai, I summoned up the card that would bring out my other partner, Susano-O. With a smirk I broke it and watched my persona come forward. It was flying at Adachi when I watched it hit what best described an invisible barrier. But as it flew through this barrier I noticed his form was changing. It was a form that I can speak for all of us when I say we were all glad to see. When it was done going though the barrier he was no longer Susano-O. He had a white mask and headband as well as a long black coat and a long blade. I heard his voice speak to me.
"Thou art I, and I am thou. I have emerged from the sea of thy soul. I am Izanagi the blade of truth."
I wasn't in shock, I knew that'd come later. I just stared at Adachi with the same smirk on my face as I watched Izanagi knock him on his ass with his long blade. When he disappeared I watched the card of him float down into my hand. It looked just like my last one only this time instead of Susano-O's picture and the number one at the bottom, it was now Izanagi with the number zero at the bottom. Was this the power that the man with the long nose gave me? Did I sign the contract to pick up where Souji had left off? Now that I had this card I started to wonder...did I just gain the same power as him? I remember watching him in battle, he did not always have the same persona like the rest of us. He always had a persona ready to fit any situation. I was a bit confused but at the same time glad that my friends were safe.
I walked over to Adachi, turning to my friends. "Lets find something to restrain this guy." I told them. I looked at all my friends to see that they were all in shock of what just happened. I didn't realize it but I was starting to sound like a certain someone else. I looked back at my hand one more time to see the card disappear and the lights switch back on. Rise looked down at her phone to see that it was back on as well. I don't know what happened but t was over for now.
"I'll try the cops again," said Rise. She dialed the number while I watched Chie and Kanji tie him up with a rope Yukiko brought. I looked back to where I had seen the coffin only to find a panicking woman wondering what had just happened. I didn't blame her she was in a coffin while all of this was going on. I had already come to one conclusion though, it seemed that during that mysterious time when the moon turned green only those who could summon personas could actually be awake. At least that's what I thought. I wondered if this was why the Midnight Channel didn't show up either.
We waited while the cops arrived to take Adachi away. They too were a little dumbfounded as to how Adachi broke out. Of course I think if I was to tell Dojima-san everything he'd look at me like I was crazy. If that woman was in a coffin during that time did that mean that other people were in coffins too? I was too tired to think and looking at my friends and the state they were in they were tired as well. I didn't say anything further. When I tired to walk back up to my room I paused for a moment. Fatigue had caught up to me again.
Right there in the middle of the room I had collapsed. I felt my consciousness fade away from me, and the least thing I heard were my friends calling my name.
This is my first Persona fanfic so please bear with me. ~Ike Blade of Honor