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randochris · 8 years ago

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Persona 4 Bonds of Reality Prologue

“Dammit, what’s taking so long?!”

Yosuke Hanamura flopped onto his futon, staring daggers into the clock that hung on his bedroom wall. The time read 10:14 a.m. but for Yosuke, every minute that passed was complete agony. He had been awake since six in the morning, counting down each minute that passed.

“Aww, turn your frown upside down, Yosuke! I know Sensei is just dying to get here as soon as he can!”

The would-be picker upper happened to be Teddie, out of his bear suit. Teddie slept longer than Yosuke but his blonde hair was already perfectly styled and he was trying on different winter-friendly outfits to wear to meet “Sensei.” The chill of December could be felt even with the heater going on in Yosuke’s room.

Yosuke himself was still in the sweatpants he wore to bed but had changed into a long-sleeved tee with the emblem of Yasogami High School on the right chest. Yosuke didn’t really dress properly until it was time for him to leave the house for school or hanging out with his friends.

“Do you think Sensei is going to bring anybody along with him? He said he had a surprise for all of us. Ooh! Maybe it’s some of the beauties of the city!” Teddie swooned at the mental images running through his mind of countless girls, each more bustier than the last.

“Dude, I doubt he’s bringing girls along with him. There would be a bloodbath all over Inaba, courtesy of a certain idol,” Yosuke mumbled, feeling his body shiver.

“Aww, but they don’t have to be girls who are into Sensei! Maybe he’s bringing us some hot dates to melt all this snow!”

Would they really? Yosuke rested his head on his arms, memories of failed attempts to pick up girls bombarding him rapidly, ending with the most heartbreaking sound he ever heard in his life. A sound that would never fade…

“My motorcycle…”

Before Yosuke started to openly weep about how, even with the repairs, his scooter was never the same, the muffled chirps of a cell phone came from his pocket. He answered the phone in a low mumble without checking who was calling.

“Hello? Wassup?”

The responding voice was very loud and frenzied, belonging to a certain girl.

“Yosuke, Yu’s train got stopped! There was a snowstorm out where he was and the train can’t go any further!” Chie Satonaka sounded like she was almost out of breath like she had been running.

Yosuke sat up, his body now tense. “What?! Is he okay?”

“He said he’s fine but…but…I can’t stand around doing nothing! I’m meeting everybody at the train station right now to see if-!”

Teddie suddenly elbowed Yosuke’s ribs to butt into the phone call, cutting off Chie.

“Did something happen to Sensei?” Teddie panicked, his voice already breaking.

Chie explained the situation again. Once she was done, Teddie grabbed Yosuke by the arm and hoisted him to his feet.

“Come on, Yosuke! Sensei needs us!” Teddie heroically declared, zipping up the jacket he now put on and ending the call.

“G-Gimme a sec, you dummy, I need to get dressed!”

Damn it! I hope he’s okay! Yosuke’s mind was racing with thoughts on anything he could possibly do to help his friend, the one he calls his “partner.” The snow on the road was way too slippery for his scooter so he and Teddie hurried on foot, trying to keep from sliding and falling. It didn’t take too long before the two reached Yasoinaba Station, where most of the gang were waiting.

Everyone were all together, talking to one another in hurried voices. Rise looked visibly worried with Naoto trying to calm her down. Yukiko was trying to summon her Persona, even as Chie kept insisting that it wasn’t like the events in May. Kanji was distracted, playing with his black hair until he noticed Yosuke and Teddie approaching.

“Hey! What took you guys so long?!” Kanji said.

“Yosuke was reading his dirty magazines before you called, Chie. I was beary disappointed in him,” Teddie scolded.

“What?! I wasn’t doing anything! I’ve been waiting for Yu all morning!” Yosuke snapped.

“I just want to look good for Sensei! You weren’t dressed, Yosuke!”

“N-No, I didn’t mean YOU, I meant…” Yosuke sighed and grimaced, choosing to stay mum for his own sake.

Naoto muttered under her own breath, “I’m surprised it’s not until now that Senpai’s name caused an exchange like that.”

Rise, still flustered, pouted with her cheeks puffed outward. “I can’t believe that now, of all times, before Christmas, Senpai’s stuck out in the middle of nowhere!”

Yosuke folded his arms and looked at the others. “Have any of you heard again from him since you called me, Chie?”

Chie shook her head, digging her hands into her coat pockets. “All that he said is that the train isn’t going to be back for a while.”

Yosuke closed his eyes and sighed to himself. He wondered if Yu had already contacted Ryotaro Dojima or Nanako. Or if he wasn’t able to…

“Naoto, you have Dojima-san’s number, right? Have you contacted him?” Yosuke asked.

The detective nodded. “Dojima-san has already been notified of the situation.”

“Yosuke, I’m sure Yu-kun is fine. Just imagine that he’s right behind you,” Yukiko chirped, almost looking unfazed by their leader’s predicament.

Yosuke raised a brow at Yukiko, confused. She sometimes says odd things but Yu’s “right behind him?”

That’s when Yosuke felt a sudden rush of cold.

THUMP!!

A huge snowball hit Yosuke on the back of his head, the snow falling inside his jacket and shirt, making him shake from the water running down his body.

“Wh-Who the hell-?!” Yosuke began, turning on his foot angrily. But Yosuke’s anger didn’t last long. He was greeted by the warm smile of Yu Narukami, holding another snowball in his hand.

“Hey there, Yosuke. You look surprised to see me so early,” Yu joked.

Yosuke glanced at the rest of his friends, who all burst out in laughter, even Teddie.

“What? Why are you all laughing?” Yosuke said, scratching the back of his head to try and get some of the loose snow out.

“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning, Yosuke-senpai! Did you have your phone turned off?” said Rise.

“Wait, you were calling me? I didn’t get any phone calls! …Wait…”

Yosuke dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Immediately, he noticed what was wrong. He wasn’t holding his orange-colored cell phone, rather, a small white one made for children.

“Teddie, did you take my phone to play your mobile games again?!” Yosuke seethed, taking his phone back.

“I can’t manage the crops in Teddieland on my phone, Yosuke! My phone isn’t as fast as yours…”

Ignoring Teddie, Yosuke turned back to Yu. “So, when did you get here?”

Yu joined everybody else, fixing his bowl-shaped hair. “About two hours ago. There really is a snowstorm going on out in the country so I took an earlier train just to be safe. It was the last one that would go before they began the delay.”

Rise wasted no time wrapping herself around Yu’s arm, rubbing her cheek on his bicep. “And not a moment too soon! The wait was un-BEAR-able!”

The pun only drew a laugh from Teddie and Yukiko while the others groaned quietly, though Yu only smiled for his own sake.

“I think it’s about time we let a certain someone know Big Bro’s home for the holidays,” Yosuke said, his usual smile returning to his face.

The group all headed off to Dojima’s house, catching up with Yu on what he had been doing in the city. The sound of snow crunching underneath their footsteps was the perfect ambience. For Yu, it felt good to be back in Inaba again. As he went through the downtown area with his friends, he noticed there was something different about it this time around. There were more decorations stretching across the street sidewalks, everything shining around the town. The local vendors were still selling their handmade goods, the most popular stand selling scarves, gloves, and knitted hats. Kanji had a huge grin on his face as they walked past…

As everyone approached the Dojima household, there were two figures out front, busy building a snowman. Ryotaro Dojima, now sporting a slightly thick beard, was adding black rocks to form the snowman’s smile while Nanako made sure the stick arms would stay up. Upon a closer look, the snowman’s head was styled to resemble Yu, complete with hardened eyes and bowl-cut.

“Wow, I didn’t know another me was staying here,” Yu chuckled. Nanako’s head turned in an instant, eyes widened in complete joy.

“BIG BRO!” Nanako hurried over and jumped to Yu, hugging him tightly. He petted her hair, still as long as it was the last time he was there. She had even grown a little bit taller too.

Dojima gave a hearty laugh. “It’s about time you got here. She’s been non-stop all day, keeping an eye out for you.” Dojima gave Yu a firm pat on the shoulder. “Everything been all right back in the city? School going fine?”

Yu nodded and added, “Top of my class, as always, Dojima-san. Though I’ve had some intense study sessions just before the break.”

Yosuke grimaced. “Ugh, if it wasn’t for the new laptop, I swear…”

Dojima’s brows furrowed. “’New laptop?’”

“Oh, yeah. Junes has been getting a lot more sales in our electronics, thanks to all of the Hashiba laptops that are out now. I managed to save enough to get a decent model. It’s easier to help Yu study,” Yosuke explained.

With what seemed like an understanding nod, Dojima added, “Right, because those…instant message chatroom something or other. I haven’t had much use for a computer outside of work.”

Naoto couldn’t help but suppress a laugh, though no one seemed to notice.

“How about you, Nanako? How’s school?” asked Yu.

“It’s been a bit tough but I’m working hard!” Nanako cheerfully pumped her fists. “Dad’s been helping me study all the time!”

Dojima scratched the back of his head, smirking. “Usually after a few cups of coffee.”

Everyone now laughed together and headed inside. Everything was still the same as Yu remembered from before. Hot chocolate was already prepared, with bags of marshmallows on the kitchen table. Yu and Nanako sat next to one another at the kotatsu, with Yu’s friends scattered about the living room, watching television while Kanji and Teddie were arguing how many marshmallows are acceptable.

Naoto was off to the side, talking with Dojima.

“…Yeah, right now he’s just been reading in his cell. He made some kind of personal challenge to read as much books as possible before his trial date,” muttered Dojima.

“As long as it keeps him occupied.” Naoto’s eyes looked downward for a moment.

The hours quickly passed into the early moments of night before Dojima received a phone call. There was an emergency at a home at the other side of Inaba, where vandals were throwing rocks at someone’s windows and scattered after the police appeared.

“Now, remember what we discussed, Nanako. Stick close to Yu, okay?” Dojima hurried to get his coat on.

“Mmhmm. Stay with Big Bro!” Nanako gave her father an encouraging smile. Dojima nodded and promptly left.

The TV channel was changed to the premiere of a Christmas themed special, a few minutes away from starting.

“I can’t believe it, my first true acting gig!” Rise was gushing with excitement, kicking her legs.

“So, uh, what the heck is this supposed to be about anyway?” Kanji sipped at his hot chocolate, Rise already looking annoyed at him.

“It’s a beautiful romantic story where a young girl, alone on Christmas, gets to spend it with the man of her dreams! It’s not a hard story to understand!”

Kanji frowned. “I can get THAT. You just never told us because it was supposed to be a big secret. Besides, I prefer stuff like Rudolph.”

Chie looked over at Rise from the other side of the couch. “How much creative input did you have with this movie?”

Rise shrugged. “Not that much as far as the story goes. Why?”

“I’m just preparing myself for ‘Rise Kujikawa Presents: Christmas With Senpai.’”

“What’s wrong with that? Wouldn’t you try to model the perfect boyfriend after Yu-Senpai?”

The heavy silence that came over the living room just then was something Yu had never experienced before. It was no secret Rise was into him but Chie usually had a comment afterwards. The girls all looked at each other, back to Yu, and then back to each other.

Naoto was the first to speak up, in her usual calm tone. “I think it’s a bit unfair to use Senpai as the highest standard possible to a significant other, as well as that person having to be ‘perfect.’ While we would like a perfect relationship, especially when it comes to romance, that’s just not possible. And…to be honest, perfection leads to stasis within the relationship.”

Yukiko nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. Every day when I’m with Chie, it either feels like a new adventure or a learning experience. Even if it’s something mundane. Although…” Yukiko rested her chin on her hand, closing her eyes, lost in thought.

Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie looked visibly confused, mostly from the fact that this was a conversation actually happening. Yu’s face was actually a little bit red.

Chie leaned over to Yukiko. “So, wait, are you saying everything about me, good and bad, makes every day fun…?” She said in a hushed whisper.

“Big Bro’s really nice so I can understand why you’d want boys to be like him, Rise-chan,” interjected Nanako, still having her big smile.

Rise fiddled with a strand of her hair. “It’s other things too but…you are right.” She turned to Yu. “I’m sorry, Senpai. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like this.”

“It’s no problem at all, Rise, really.” Yu waved his hand dismissively, though his expression told a different story. His eyes quickly glanced at Nanako.

Teddie was the first of the guys to finally speak up. “No need to be so modest, Sensei!”

Kanji folded his arms, with a teasing smirk. “Unless you already found a girlfriend and didn’t tell any of us.”

Yosuke shook his head, quickly cutting off Kanji to prevent the topic from stemming off into something undesirable… “Nah, Yu’s not the kind of guy to hide stuff like that.” Though none of the girls didn’t look put off by the idea.

“I really care about Senpai, but I want him to follow his heart,” said Rise softly.

“Ack!!” Chie suddenly yelled out loud, startling everyone. “THE SPECIAL’S ALREADY STARTED!”

Everyone looked at the TV, which thankfully was only in the opening credits. The special was following Rise’s character around the snowy city streets of Tokyo, admiring the decorations much like Yu did earlier. The golden lights shined in her eyes and everything around her was grand.

But suddenly, the broadcast went to static. No weather warning or anything indicating a technical error appeared on screen. Yu pressed buttons on the TV remote but no other channels appeared. Out of instinct, he checked the time and it was nowhere close to midnight…

Suddenly, a very faint image started to appear, silhouettes walking around. Crackling voices could be barely made out but none of them said anything coherent.

“…stop them…interfering with…shape…the world…” said a cold voice.

“Big Bro, this isn’t the special, is it…?” Nanako asked, though she looked like she already knew the answer.

The lights in the Dojima residence went out, while the glow of the TV screen became brighter. The living room started to shake with a faint wind pushing towards the TV, pushing the kotatsu.

“E-Everyone! Outside!” Yu yelled, helping Nanako up and hurrying towards the front door. However, the front door suddenly flew away from the pair. Looking around for anything to hold onto as the wind started to pick up speed, Yu clasped onto the edge of the kitchen sink, Nanako wrapping her arms around his chest.

“What the hell’s going on?!” Yosuke grabbed the other side of the sink, Chie hanging off his shoulders. Yukiko then jumped onto Chie, while Kanji held onto the fully stocked refrigerator with his long arms. Naoto and Rise hung off both his biceps and Teddie clutched onto Kanji’s hips, almost making him fall over.

“T-TED, THAT TICKLES!!” Kanji tried not to laugh, keeping his grip on the refrigerator.

The wind started to violently knock things over and pick everybody up from off the ground, pulling them towards the television. Something about the wind made it feel like the small TV was going to accommodate everyone if this was heading where Yu believed it was. Everyone still held on with all their might, but the refrigerator door opened, violently jerking Kanji to one side. Desperate, he grabbed Yu’s legs by the ankles.

“S-SORRY, SENPAI!” Kanji bellowed.

“D-DON’T LET GO, KANJI-KUN!” Naoto yelled.

Right besides Yu, Yosuke yelped. His side of the sink deteriorated away and found himself hurling towards the TV. Chie and Yukiko screamed in fear, digging their fingers into his shoulder blades. Just like a knee-jerk response, Yosuke managed to grab Teddie by the back of his jacket, though it was too loose to keep steady.

With a loud yell, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko flung towards the television, disappearing into the light. Nanako cried out in fear, while Kanji’s fingers were slipping.

“S-SENPAI, I CAN’T HOLD ON!” Kanji’s fingers brushed against Yu’s feet and now he, Naoto, Teddie, and Rise found themselves pulled into the light.

“Big Bro! I don’t want to die!!” Nanako held on as much as she could. But everything near Yu’s hands had disappeared as well. All he could do now was hold Nanako close to him.

“Whatever happens Nanako…I’ll protect you!!”

Everything around Yu’s eyes was enveloped in light.

He felt weightless. He could feel Nanako’s face still pressed against his chest.

This was not the sensation of death. It was similar as to when Yu and his friends entered the TV world.

But wherever Yu and Nanako were going, along with the rest of their friends, there was no guessing in what awaited them.

Yu was blinded by a very bright light before everything around him turned a vibrant blue. He realized he was once again within the Velvet Room. His heart was at ease as he sat across the inhabitants of the Velvet Room, or at least two of them. The bizarre looking old man with a very long nose known as Igor and his assistant Margaret, whose elegance continued to radiate as strongly as ever, gazed straight at Yu.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…as I am sure you remember,” said Igor, in the same tone and rhythm as Yu had heard before.

“It is a pleasure to see you once again.” Margaret bowed her head.

“As an esteemed guest, you are always welcome here. It has been quite some time since your last visit. The strength of your bonds were tested heavily, and you were able to display unwavering determination at preserving them. You are most likely wondering what brings you here once again.” Igor maintained his usual smile, with his hands crossed together.

“Your destiny extends far greater than the boundaries that your world possesses. That also includes the threats that may come upon your world. The wind that whisked you and your comrades away from your world was not of anything you have come to know in your previous quests. A strong power, elsewhere, has become drawn to you. You will soon be entering a new reality that is both closely similar and radically different to what you’re used to. What you do once you arrive is entirely up to you. Your choices from hereon will determine what comes of the multiple planes of existence that you may or may not have thought about.” Margaret finished her explanation with a small chuckle. “It will be interesting, to say the very least. While the new world you will arrive in is not closely tied to the Velvet Room, you will be able to return, if you require assistance.”

Yu, who had not been able to feel any words forming in his throat, could only watch as Igor and Margaret become enveloped in the same light, once again…

So, I’m trying to get back into writing once again. Forewarning, this story will feature my OCs. Not OCs specifically built for Persona so I’m not going to be destroying any ships. But this is just to help motivate me to do something. Please give me feedback and share if you like it!

#Persona 4 #fanfiction #Persona 4 Bonds of Reality

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