Persona: Invoke

[Elikacheese]

Amori slowly opened her eyes, as her mind started up. She just recently woke up, and the fever was still going on, still feeling the ill part of her body. Her temperature was very high, as she started have this warm feeling in her head, as she fully opened her eyes. Seeing that she wouldn't be able to go back to school, she brushed her teeth, made breakfast, and started to eat. She looked outside briefly, and wondered how well was her bird, doing, but decided it was doing okay, because it knew how to very well feed itself, and was able to fend for itself. See that her parents were off to work again, she went back to sleep, as she doze off, and finally slept.

 

[PercyJacks]

<p>


Kotone yawned. Her eyes were still half-closed, her pupils on the open game in front of her.


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"<em>Oh…I took a short nap…what time is it now?</em>" Her gaze hovered over to the corner of her laptop. "<em>Oh…7:45…I see…</em>"


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She was then struck with a sudden realization. "<em>It was 1:03 ten minutes ago! I'm late!</em>" She closed her computer screen and rushed to perform morning tasks such as brushing hair and teeth, change into her school uniform, go downstairs, and grab the first thing edible she saw on the eating table before rushing out the door. She ate the piece of food while sprinting along the dirt path. "<em>Flavorless…</em>" she thought. "<em>Is this what I think it is?</em>" Taking a bite out of the object and examining the rest, she realized that she had picked up toast. "<em>What is this, an clichéd anime or something?</em>" Thankfully she arrived at school on time without anything weird going on.


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"<em>I hope nothing bad will happen as to make the plot of my life interesting…</em>"


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[Vii]

The sunlight was unnerving on her eyelids, refusing to allow her to drift off no further into sleep. The distant sound of an alarm going off in her room was no help either, a buzzing, constant sound that would not leave her be. It was time. She had to get up, start a new day… Yes, she needed to… Slowly, Chigusa rose her head, eyes still half-lidden, her vision blurry, her senses still lost in a sense of numbness. With a yawn, she stood up, rubbing her eyes as she headed to her room and turned off her alarm clock. It was ineluctably, out of impulse. She had fell asleep during her studying it seemed. But somehow, something felt…different. Not outright wrong, just…uncanny…?
​

Her suspicion was but confirmed by the presence of a key on her hand. It was as if it burned against her skin, driving her focus to it. She stared at the object in her possession, twinkling in the light of the sun that bathed the living room. With its intricate design and color, it was as if she could not draw her gaze from it. And then, it came to her. A dream. A dream she could not block, a dream she could not forget. It overwhelmed her, resulting in her gasping in shock, her body assaulted by a jolt. The smile of the old man, the colors of the room, the three cards… Vivid, so, so vivid. Slamming her hand against the wall, she reassembled her thoughts, trying to make sense of any of this. Igor’s words resonated within her, as a means to give her something to go by. A fateful encounter, two other ‘chosen ones’, …
​

It felt so real, as surreal as it all was. What was supposed to do now? What did it all mean? Her mind was immersed with question after question. As a means to regain some sense of assurance, she stepped into the bathroom, preparing herself for a new school day. Examining her reflection in the mirror, she noticed sleep wrinkles across her skin, most likely from her choice of ‘bed’. Her hair was messy, in a raw disorder that depictured quite naturally the term ‘bed head’. But even so… “It’s still me…” She found herself muttering this to no one in particular as she stared at the girl before her. All was the same, all was the same.
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Taking a shower and taking care of her hair and face, Chigusa chose to drive her focus to her preparations before school started, as a means to distract herself from the dream. But the key was still there, even if she tried so much as to take her eyes away from it. In the end, she could not leave it be just like this. A silly thought to have perhaps… But somehow, just having it close to her made her feel safe, secure. After finding an unused cord she kept around, she allowed the object to be placed around her neck, keeping it with her. She took a bite out of some toast and drank some coffee milk for breakfast, stuffed her belongings onto her bag and she was out the door.
​

“Good morning, Chigusa dear.” “Ah, good morning!” She greeted her tenant, a nice old lady that would offer her some leftovers every now and then, as well as greet her every time she saw her. If only she allowed pets in the building… “Oh, a new necklace?” “…Oh, um, yeah! Isn’t it pretty?” “Very much so, yes.” It did not look so out of place as she had feared for a moment, thankfully. “Well, I have to go. Have a good day!” “Be careful, dear!”
​

 

[Ishi123]

Minato stepped up onto the roof of the school. It was lunchtime. He had arrived at school early that morning, and sat through his class's lecture, passing the time with his own thoughts. He had brought the key with him, in his left pocket. He patted the spot where it was every now and again, just to make sure it was still there, though he had a feeling that if he lost it, it would find its way back to him anyway.


Minato walked over to his usual spot and sat down, taking out his bento but setting it down next to him without opening it, sighing heavily. He reaches into his pocket and fishes out the key, staring at it in the proper sunlight. Somehow, it seemed to glow with its faint blue light, even in broad daylight. He didn't know what to think of the situation... he was supposed to meet two others, apparently with the same fate as him... what was that fate? Part of him didn't even want to know. He really didn't want anything to do with any of this. The old man, Igor, told him that his choices in the coming days would be of great importance... Minato felt like his fate hinged on circumstances he couldn't possibly understand, and it bothered him greatly. He sighed heavily and put the key back into his pocket, reaching over to his bento and opening it up, starting to eat his meal, slower than usual, still lost in thought.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack sat himself down on the same bench he sat at yesterday, near the entrance of the school. He takes out his bento, but when he opens it, he realizes that it's empty. He lets out a whine, realizing he forgot to pack a lunch.


"Ah, crud...ugh..."


Zack shoves his bento back into his bag and stands up. He proceeds to walk back into the school building, walk up the stairs, and makes it to the roof. He looks around, seeing Minato, but pays no attention to him. Zack sits on a bench that was near the stairs, feeling his stomach grumble.


"Man, how did I forget to pack a lunch?"

 

[PyroHunter16]

Instead of packing a lunch, Tsuna had decided to buy a lunch for once. He didn't have any time to prepare his lunch yesterday anyway, since his nap had become full-on sleeping and then the dream with Igor happened. While he waited in line to buy his food, he took out the key which he had placed on his keyring and stared at it. If I get the chance to see that Igor guy again, he better be prepared to answer a whole lot of questions... He thought to himself before putting the key away, ordering his meal, and paying for said meal.


Once he had gotten his lunch, he went up to the roof, sat down at his usual spot, and ate in silence. When he took a bite of his meal, he remembered exactly why he always made food for himself.


This is... disappointing..." Tsuna said after taking a bite of his sandwich, which didn't look like a normal sandwich. "What is this supposed to even be...?"


He looked at his meal ticket, and saw it was a chicken sandwich of some kind. "Lovely... Note to self, always pack a lunch..."

 

[PercyJacks]

<p>


As usual, Kotone ate with her friends in the cafeteria during lunch period. Today's bento was not much different than the day before, with the only difference being the lack of a note from her mother.


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"<em>Nothing unusual has happened today yet…</em>" Kotone thought to herself. "<em>Why would anything unusual happen today anyway? All I did was pick up a game yesterday and eat just toast for breakfast today…so why do I feel like something should happen…</em>"


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Kotone unconsciously ate quicker than usual as her puzzled mind was overthinking the situation. "<em>Maybe if I go somewhere, an event will trigger…</em>" She packed up her bento and said, "<strong>I forgot that I needed something, so I'll go on ahead, okay?</strong>"


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Her friends, slightly confused, let her go while they finished their own lunches. Kotone headed up the stairs and thought, "<em>So if something unusual were to really happen…anime states that it would happen on…</em>" Kotone looked at the final staircase to the top. "<em>The roof.</em>" She climbed the stairs and almost opened the roof door before noticing that there were people already there and hiding on reflex.


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"<em>These people might be delinquents or weirdos…but nothing's going to happen if I just stay here!</em>"


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She mustered up some temporary courage and opened the rooftop door. Nothing happened, much to her disappointment for waste of effort.


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[Vii]

Making her way upstairs, key dangling around her neck, Chigusa yet again found herself part of the group that spent lunchtime at the rooftop. It was not as if she was avoiding her group of friends, she wouldn't call it so. But after the butterfly, the dream...something told her it had to do with her presence here. It was that one discrepancy on her routine, was it not? Perhaps it could shed some light on the matter, give her some sense of closure. Perhaps find those I share my fate with... Clutching her lunch box, with a simple yet fairly well-cooked meal she had done prior to her studying session, the first-year found an empty seat and started to dig in. She recognized a few faces, such as the 'artist' of yesterday. Seemed like him and another boy, a foreign given his looks (?), had forgotten to pack something for today. Mind your own business, Chigusa. She scolded herself before stuffing her mouth with rice. It had nothing to do with her. After finishing her lunch, she was left with a water bottle she had bought on her way to her 'new spot' and a pudding from the convenience store. Her thoughts once again found themselves drawn to what had happened the night before, as well as to the key plain in sight on her chest. What could it lead to? A door? The size seemed to match... Or perhaps it was simply metaphorical?...
​

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack noticed Tsuna, Kotone, and Chigusa, but tried not to stare at them. Zack had a habit of glancing at people, especially at those he deemed interesting purely on their looks, but it wasn't something he was proud of. As tempting as it was, he didn't want to be seen as a creep, and so he would always try to occupy his mind with a random thought. Eventually, his brain manages to preoccupy Zack's mind with a thought, causing him to look at the ground with his hands on his cheeks.


"Finish that assignment tonight...find something to eat after school...get past the 57th level of..."


Zack fidgets a bit as he thinks, a normal habit for him but still a little weird to see for anyone else.

 

[Ishi123]

The bell to return to class rang, and Minato finished his lunch just in time. Standing up, he headed to the stairway, noticing a first year girl nearby, also heading for the stairs. Minato glanced down to the necklace she was wearing... it was a key. A blue key of intricate design... Minato stopped dead in his tracks, the girl passing by, not paying notice to him as she filed into the doorway and headed inside. Minato stayed up on the roof, even as the rest of the people on the roof headed back inside to class. It... couldn't be, could it? Already, he found one of the others with a key? Of course, wearing the key so openly must have been intentional on her part, in order to find the other two who have keys. Nobody but those two would understand what that key was... it was pretty perfect.


But... Minato wasn't about to approach her on the subject, even though he knew he could, very easily so. He was instead hesitant about what he really should do... he still had doubts about all this, and still didn't want to be a part of any of it, as much as he felt he'd be dragged into it somehow sooner or later. Minato sighed heavily, shaking his head and heading inside to class.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack hears the bell and immediately gets up. He secures his school bag around his shoulder before hearing his stomach growl again, audibly. He makes a face of discomfort before rubbing his stomach.


"There, there...the day's almost done...we'll live..."


Zack quickly walks to class, his stomach still growling.

 

[Vii]

As soon as the sound of the bell rang in her ears, Chigusa promptly quit spacing out, gathering her empty lunch box and shoving her water bottle inside her bag. She exited the roof in a brisk pace, decisively hoping to avoid getting "ambushed" prior to the entrance of her classroom... But something was off. She could not pinpoint the exact moment it happened. But she felt...something. Could this change of scenery, the presence of the key in full display had triggered something, anything linked to the dream? Could it? Or was she just caught in paranoia? Well, the day was not over. Perhaps this was just a sign... I'm not sure if I'm being positive or just plain foolish at this point. For now, she would focus on her next class.
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[PyroHunter16]

Tsuna left the roof the moment the bell rang, having thrown away his trash upon finishing his meal. Ugh, that was terrible... I have to remember to make tomorrow's lunch when I get home... Tsuna thought to himself. He walked by a girl wearing a necklace with a hint of blue on it, and he seemed to recognize that shade of blue. Considering the possibilities, Tsuna ruled that she must've been either coincidentally wearing a pendent that same shade of blue, or she was one of the other two who had keys and all that. Then he remembered the bell had rang.


"Crap... I gotta get to class!" Tsuna blurted out as he ran to his next class to avoid being late. He made it, but his quickened pace only gave him more time before the bell rang. Okay, made it too soon. Still good for me. Time for that manga! He thought to himself as he sat down, grabbed his pencil, eraser, and sketchbook, and began working once more.


The story had moved on to tell the story of a hooded thief breaking into a mansion, before swapping masks as his outfit changed colors and an elemental aura appeared around him. (No, this is not foreshadowing, it happened to pop up in my head an hour ago.)

 

[PercyJacks]

<p>


Kotone lingered on the rooftop for a minute or so just to make sure nothing big was going to occur. The sound of the bell signaling the end of lunch period rang, and she was forced to give up her search.


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"<em>Just a normal school day, then…</em>" Kotone thought as she headed towards her classroom.


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She sat down in her chair when she arrived at her classroom and waited for the teacher to come in, making idle small talk with nearby classmates as usual. Kotone still couldn't shake off that feeling however, and it bothered her.


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[Ishi123]

Minato sat through class idly and at the end of the day headed home. At night, though, he decided to go for a walk to clear his head. He couldn't stop thinking about that girl... he knew she had a key, he knew she had visited the Velvet Room along with him. It bothered him... he didn't know what his next step should be. He walked through the shopping district, the cold night air chilling him a bit, but helping to calm his mind. Nobody was outside tonight, and it was completely silent, save for his own footsteps.

 

[Vii]

The end of classes was met, perhaps for the first time up until now, with a crushing disappointment by the likes of Chigusa. Nothing. No one. Positivism had kept her going but aside from moments she deemed insignificant to her investigation, it had amount to her retracing her steps back to square one, it seemed. Dragging her feet, she made her way out of the school building, once again avoiding running into her group of friends. She would not want to ruin the mood with her incessant sighing and her frowning... Taking her usual route by the shopping district, she found the empty, cold atmosphere soothing for once, as it had no defect on her sore mood. Something seemed...off, however. But what could it be...?
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[Ishi123]

Minato was keeping his head to the ground, his hands in his pockets, his left hand playing with the key in his left pocket. He was so distracted and lost in thought, he didn't notice the girl in front of him when he reached the front of Tatsuhime Shrine. He accidentally bumped into her.


"Agh...!" Minato recoiled and stepped back a few paces to regain his balance, his hands flying out of his pockets, the key going with it, soaring into the air and skittering onto the pavement just as he kept himself from falling. He shook his head and looked to the girl he had accidentally ran into... it was the same one from before... she was still wearing the key. In the darkness, he could ironically see it even more clearly, its faint glow more prominent against the soft moonlight. He looked around, noticing he had dropped his key, and found it lying on the curb of the sidewalk.

 

[Vii]

The sight of the Tatsuhime Shrine drove Chigusa to sigh, realizing how close she was to home. It seemed her search for answers really was all for nothing as of today, huh? The reassurance of said result was enough to have her groan to no one in particular. So what? No one was there to give her weird looks so she was free to be as ridiculous as she wished!
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Or so she thought. The impact of her body against the boy's pushed her to the ground, the fall leaving her numb with pain for a moment there. "Sorry..." She muttered to him, as she began to assemble any of her belongings scattered on the sidewalk. Among them was, to her utmost shock...a key. And not just any key. An exchange of looks between it and her own around her neck confirmed it so. A smile, bright, ecstatic, adorned her face as she hurriedly handed it over to her senior, recognizing the familiar face and uniform of Yasogami. "...Yours, I take it?" She tilted her head knowingly. She had found one of them at last.
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[Ishi123]

Minato didn't answer her, quickly snatching the key up from the ground and pocketing it. He shifted a bit uncomfortably, not knowing what to say.

 

[Vii]

Hmm, a somewhat weak answer. Rather, not much of answer to begin with. But the ownership of the key was enough for her. "...Well, I don't blame you, see? After all, even I'm at loss of what to do now..." Finding someone of those who 'shared the same destiny as her' was the extent of her objective until now. Ugh, how vexing. Chigusa stood up, dusting off her skirt, before turning her gaze to face her senior yet again. "Ah, names! I guess we could start from there..." She paused, trying to cut in the awkward atmosphere. "I'm Nanami, Chigusa Nanami."
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[Ishi123]

Minato kept his cold demeanor, despite the situation in front of him. He didn't like introductions, but he felt that he couldn't get away with just dismissing her.


"Minato." He said plainly, placing his hand back in his pocket.

 

[Vii]

"Minato, Minato..." She murmured the name to herself, as if to carve it into her mind. He did not seem eager to continue this conversation, given how reluctant he was to even so much as to open his mouth. A difficult person to interact with... Well, no one ever said this would be easy! She had her own quirks as well, after all... Nodding to herself, Chigusa realized she had been caught on her own pace again. Clapping her hands as if to dismiss her moment of distraction, she parted her lips again. "Well, I guess there's no need to go over what brought us here." You would probably just get bored anyway. "Though, that man...Igor...he said there was one more person, right? Did you...?" She trailed off, hoping he would catch on.
​

 

[Ishi123]

"No... I don't know who the third is..." Minato said, a bit sharply, his reluctance to even be involved in this clear in his voice.


Minato sighed lightly, eager to get out of the conversation and head back home... however, he felt something in the air at that moment... the atmosphere suddenly shifted noticeably for him, though he couldn't explain with words why.

 

[Vii]

Well, worth a try. Of course, it wouldn't be as easy as that... "...You don't want to talk, I get it. I'll leave you be, it's getting late anyway." Chigusa could not help but babble, overtaken by nervousness at how little discretion Minato had at expressing his reluctance at talking to her. "But look, if we're really caught in this whole 'destiny' thing--" Her more last approach was cut short by a shift, something that brought chills down her back. What could it be...? She parted her lips to speak but no sound came.
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[Ishi123]

Minato looked towards the shrine, and backed up a bit at the sight in front of him. A creature of some kind... started shuffling its way from within the shrine... Minato was frozen there, fixated on the thing... it seemed to consist of multiple arms, more than he could count, mounted on a small frail looking body that bore a mask of some kind, though there seemed to be no face behind it.


When the thing noticed the two, it paused, staring at them, its eyeless mask seeming to pierce through them with its gaze.