Persona: Darkest Hour (Private Roleplay)

[Introverted Insanity]

Persona: Darkest Hour

What if I were to tell you that there was not merely 24 hours in a day? That there was a rift connecting this world and mirror world that only opens at midnight? This is what we call the 'Dark Hour', where everyone devoid of 'the gift' is transmogrified into coffins and the streets are strewn with blood. This realm is where the Shadows make their home, and humans have no power without the aid of their 'other selves'.

Unknown to normal people, who can only perceive 24 hours in the average day, a war is being waged between the shadows and those gifted enough to experience the Dark Hour and strong enough to fight back. These shadows wish to do us harm, preying on those humans who lack the ability to fight back and strengthening themselves by feeding on their negative thoughts. But those able to fight back courageously wield the power of Persona, beings created from ones ability to confront their darkness, and strike back against the shadows before they can consume us all.

This is the tale of two such Persona users, their destinies left to their own decisions. They must come to terms with their powers and determine the cause of the Dark Hour and stop it, before the clock strikes midnight for the final time. A race against time and a race against themselves, they must endure trying crucibles and emerge victorious, or face utter annihilation at the hands of the Shadows. Will they succeed? Or will they succumb to the pressure and allow their fear to consume them?

Memento Mori
'Remember You Are Mortal'

-Igor
Velvet Room

 

[Introverted Insanity]

Those who wield power seek to use it...

Thou art I and I am thou, from the sea of thy soul, I come forth...

I am thy power to clear the road ahead...

⌊Characters⌉

⌊ Kuroda, Takuto ⌉
⌊ Eighteen ⌉
⌊ Male ⌉
⌊ Arcana: The Emperor ⌉
⌊ Persona: Siegfried ⌉
⌊ Extra Curricular: Kendo Club ⌉

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

⌊ Okamino, Yuki ⌉
⌊ Eighteen ⌉
⌊ Female ⌉
⌊ Arcana: Death ⌉
⌊Persona: Aeron ⌉
⌊Extracuricular: Archery Club ⌉

 

[Akira.S]

Death. Guns. Death. Coffin. Death. Death. School. Death. Subway. Death. Death. Family. Death....Shadow, Mask and Sword....

"AHHHH!!!...s**t..." A hand came down on a black alarm clock, slamming the buzzer as it went off at 6:05am. "It was just another one of those crazy dreams..." the girl muttered to herself, sitting up in bed and moving her long brown hair from her eyes. Her hand, as it ran over her face was a bit wet. Noticing she was perspiring she put her head back down on her pillow and closed her eyes, "just..a bad dream.."

"ONE-SAN!"
"ONE-SAN!"

The girls door slammed open as two little girls about the age of four or five ran in with matching beige and red uniforms, jumping on the girl's bed.

"You're late!"
"You're late!"

They said one after another, one little girl had red hair and red eyes while the other had blue hair and blue eyes. They stood on the single bed and jumped up and down laughing, trying to get their older sister wake up.

"Bahhh....urusai! Miki! Miyu!" A voice muffled under the sheets throwing a pillow at the two as they caught it together and laughed, sitting down and hugging their sister one on each side.

"Wake up Yuki-onesan!"
"Yuki-onesan!"

Finally giving in the figure sat up and grabbed them both, pulling them into her lap and squeezing them tightly in a bear hug, "Hai hai....wagateru....I'm up." she said motioning them off as she stepped out of bed and headed off to the shower.

"We did it!"
"Yayay we did it!"

The twins exclaimed and ran out of their sisters room and down the stairs into the living room to mind their own business before school.

At about 7:24am, Yuki walked downstairs in her uniform, carrying her school bag while picking up her lunch before leaving. Her uniform consisted of a black skirt, white knee high socks, black shoes, a white inner blouse and a black blazer, with the school logo being a white feather on the corner of her left breast. She grabbed her boxsed lunch off the table while her sisters sat and ate happily, her mother in the kitchen and her father reading the paper with the twins.

"Yuki aren't you going to eat?" her mother asked peeping out of the kitchen with some toast. She looked like a kind and gentle mother, short brown hair and red eyes in a usual house wife's attire. Her father just sort of sat there and said nothing while he flipped through the morning paper in a usual business man type attire, white dress shirt, black dress pants and a tie. Her parents looked quite young to be her parents, almost in their early thirties. "Yuki!" her mother called again but she was already out of the hallway.

The girl didn't answer, instead she minded her own while she put her lunch in her bag and was heading to the door to put her shoes on. Right when she was about to leave her twin sisters ran in. Miki the one with blue hair held out an apple to her sister to eat on the way to school. "One-san tabete kudasai." she had the cutest and most innocent look on her face even her sister couldn't refuse. Grabbing the apple from her sister's hands she ruffled her hair and then Miyu's, "One-san ganbatte" Miyu said before Yuki began walking out the door and heading towards the train station which was no more than a ten minute walk away.

It was the first day of school and she didn't get much sleep, nothing to worry about, not like they would do much the first week anyway other than orientation stuff. Yuki had a calm sober look on her face while she stared out the train window that would take her to her school on an island, disconnected from her city.  

[Introverted Insanity]

A sound sleep that carried on, no dreams came that night as only the foreboding feeling of being watched seemed to reach his subconscious self. But no matter if there were truly eyes cast upon him or if it was merely a feeling brought on by his state of slumber couldn't be determined at this point. All he could do was sleep on, floating in an abyss of darkness with nary a sound or sight to alert him to anything beyond his immediate senses. This was how things usually were for Takuto at night, he didn't dream so much as he did just float in nothingness for hours and hours, only able to make out the silhouette of his own form and nothing more.

But just as every night that he floated in the darkness, he was awoken the same way. The alarming siren of his clock coming to him, reaching to yank him from his deepest levels of slumber, only first hitting him as a faint sound before it became louder and louder the closer he came to rousing from his slumber and joining the waking world. Finally, he opened his eyes only to seen his room as it was faintly lit by the sun as it shone through the cracks in his blinds and illuminated the small area with ease.

Takuto rose from his bed and rubbed his eyes, for a moment becoming deaf to his alarm, before finally shutting it off with an aggravated groan. Today was the first day of Takuto's final year of High School, finally, he'd survived and he only had to endure another horrific year at his school before it was finally over. This felt like a bit of a hallow victory considering he still had so long before he was free, but at the same time he was happy to know that this would be the year that he could relax aside from the thoughts of college entrance exams.

"Ohayou, Maya-chan. Daijoubu?"

These were the first words uttered from his lips as he looked down to see a small cat sitting at the foot of his bed as it let out a high-pitched mew of greeting. As he rose from his bed and headed to the shower, the cat merely followed after him, staying just outside the door for a moment as he bathed and returned to his room to fully dress. He was in no hurry at all, it would seem, as he was home alone today and he wasn't running late quite yet, so he contently buttoned his undershirt before throwing on a black blazer and heading downstairs with his case in hand.

Within the kitchen, he paid little attention to fetching his own food and merely reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a pear before making sure to open a can of cat food for Maya. The cat lazily stretched once it reached the bottom of the stairs before prancing into the kitchen to happily feed on its meal, it knew well enough to eat now and savor it because the portions were big enough to leave him full enough to survive the day until its master returned. Letting out a deep breath as he rose back to his full height, Takuto looked about the house with a blank expression across his face while reaching for his pear. "They must already be on their way to work...oh well, time to head out, I suppose."

He let out another miniature groan, he slipped on his shoes near the door before grabbing his keys and exiting without another word. Takuto seemed the type for few words, but he really simply had little use for words since he gave a slight air of superiority to others. But this wasn't the case, he simply had things on his mind the majority of the time...But his lack of interaction with other people didn't slow him down a bit, to say the least, it drove him to work harder in school. For his final year of school, he'd have to pull out all the stops so he could finally escape to college, so he headed to the train station in a half-sprint to catch the train and grab a seat instead of being forced to stand with little room to move.  

[Akira.S]

The train ride was always excrutiatingly painful, especially since it was always full of students from their high school and the elementary school which started later in the day in another part of the island. By the time the train made it's stop, Yuki was the last one to get off, following the mounds and crowds of people towards the school gate and the open garden up front.

Among the crowds she saw a familiar face, walking sheepishly behind most of groups of clicks talking about their summer break and how great and how crappy it was going to be back. Running her hand through her long brown hair she stepped lively through the sea of people before walking up behind the platinum blonde haired boy and hitting him over the head with her school bag, her apple in her free hand with a few bites in it.
"You know how sad you are walking all by your lonesome?" she asked following beside him, her bag hanging at her side as she bit into her apple.
'Isn't that what you were doing just a minute ago before you came over here' she could practically anticipate what he was going to say, being his only friend for like the past three years of their high school endeavour.

You could kinda say both of them were loners in their own special...little way. Yuki was popular enough but she chose not to be and hung out with him every day since orientation. After all, who'd look after him if she didn't? It was a give and take situation at most and it was one to savour during their last year of high school. It was every seniors, or almost every seniors dream to get up and leave behind the past except for the selected few who enjoyed the memories and the bonds that were made. After all it was the first day of orientation three years ago that changed both of their lives, at least their high school one forever.

"You....decide what college you're going to apply for yet?" Yuki diligently asked trying to avoid the topic but start a first day of school conversation at best.  

[Introverted Insanity]

As the train ground to a halt, the boy didn't seem to pay much attention, he merely rose to his feet and moved along at a pace that wouldn't get him shoved around. He hated crowds, so he did his best to wade through them without causing much commotion for himself, but it seemed someone else had plans for him as he felt a bag smack across the back of his head. Matting down his hair with one hand, he held his book case and pear in the same hand as he glanced down slightly to catch sight of the female who'd managed to find him amidst the crowd.

"Wasn't that what you, yourself were doing only a moment ago, Yuki-san?"

He retaliated to her early question as they continued to walk on as if this was the norm for them, which it was in fact. They had a very odd friendship to say the least, being the fact that Yuki was the only person Takuto bothered to even make a real effort at communicating with. It wasn't so much that he was making a move on her, so much as she wouldn't let him avoid her if he could, which was kinda fun for him to make joking attempts to escape her every now and again. But, that aside, he listened to her with a blank expression all the same as she spoke of what college he was thinking about attending as he went into deep thought for a moment.

"I don't really know...there are a few I have my eye on, but it's doubtful that I'll be able to make it into any of them with my mediocre record. I have averaged a high B, but my only extracurricular is Kendo and I don't have the time to expand beyond that."

He went off on one of his calm rants that would land him in another position of deep thought soon afterward. It was Takuto's habit to think before he spoke and then think afterward for good measure, while it would be a respectable trait for someone who had an eye on working a boring business, Takuto had more...artistic aspirations in literature that wouldn't be approved of if his parents were around long enough to know what he really wrote in his notebooks everyday.

"Anyway, what about you? You thought of any colleges yet or are you asking me which ones I'm going to so you can follow after me? Come on, don't be shy, you know you like me that much..."  

[Akira.S]

Rolling her eyes to his comment she hit his shoulder again, getting better at reading his mind and what he'd say to her ever so obvious comments. Nothing had really changed between them, they weren't even really good friends, just a couple of aquiantances, passing by every day using each other to get through the day faster. In other words just using each other for the others benefit. They'd never really gotten all that personal, just hung out at school, walked to school and back and had lunch together. In the outside world it was like they didn't even know each other, it was a sad and harsh reality the two faced.

"Beat me too it...." she muttered her comment so he wouldn't hear, taking another bite out of her breakfast apple while passing the school gate and entering the front lawn with the rest of the students.

Her thoughts on which college she wanted to go too were very bleak at the moment. She was a science major, her average wavering from a B to and A despite the fact she tried 110% on every assignment. The only thing really keeping her down to earth was archery club and babysitting her twin sisters if and when her parents went out. Still during the last year there wasn't much time to really expand especially with exams and college entrance exams to think about it was really all about the grades and the school now, not like it was in first or second year.

Yuki always thought he had 'smart' comments to say to her at almost every question she asked him, as if it were a game to him. She was astonished that he'd even think of the two of them spending another couple of years in school together.

"Please...I have better things to do with my time, have to make a life for myself and get out of here..."

'Wow that didn't come out right...' she thought while walking to the front of the school yard and checking the lists to see who was in which class and without a surprise there they were. "Kuroda, Takuto" and "Okamino, Yuki" somewhere down the list, class 3-B. Barely taking a second to double check she walked into the school to change her shoes and get to class, only because she wanted to get a good seat in the lefthand back corner.

Sitting alone while her other classmates began to flourish in, she noticed the wave of freshman students swimming into pool which would be their only source of entertainment which was watching them go by, getting lost and looking up to them as their senpais. Yuki wouldn't admit it to anyone but the last two weeks of summer vacation had been brutal since she hadn't been getting much sleep at night, was constantly having nightmares, and was also passing out during the evening and waking up in a different place other than her house. It was sort of scaring her but she'd never go to her parents, or her sisters they'd never understand and most of all....not him....he'd probably make fun of her or think she's crazy....he probably wouldn't even care to the matter. Their relationship was poor and not very personal but she had no one else to share it with...maybe it was the same with him? she'd never know, they never had one personal moment throughout the two years they'd known each other so far and she wasn't about to start something in their last year. Besides, he had already made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with her after this year so why change anything now?  

[Introverted Insanity]

Moving along, not far behind Yuki aside from when they went to change shoes as his locker was two aisles away. He worked his way up the stairs at his own pace until he made his way to the third floor, passing student after student as he heard his peers speaking various topics that ranged from the new year to colleges, all the way to completely unrelated topics. Entering the room, he watched as students already began to claim seats, leaving only a single seat open nearest the windows that he quickly seized. He wasn't directly in front of Yuki, as two desks separated them as he kept his eyes forward and drew his notebook from his backpack.

Soon enough, class was underway as their homeroom teacher entered the room with the usual swagger that came of being a bit drowsy still. Takuto shook his head slightly as he felt fully awake for some reason, but didn't pay much mind to it as he listened to the teacher begin the beginning of the year lecture and tell them that orientation would be starting soon. It was the usual bs that the teacher concocted about being respectful and polite and to not fall asleep on the principal's long, drawn out speeches or there'd be major consequences.

"Oh, will you just be done already...I'd rather be able to sleep in the auditorium than be stuck listening to this rambling."

He let out a distressed sigh while lowering his head slightly, he seemed completely unable to cope with the fact that the year was finally underway. But to a point, he simply hated being lectured because half the time it was information he already possessed and saw no reason to hear it again. Glancing out the window, he could see Yuki's reflection at an angle as he tilted his head a bit before focusing more on what was beyond the window rather than what was reflected. "Just a bit longer...endure....endure..."  

[Akira.S]

Instead of listening to another yearly lecture before the orientation started, Yuki spent the time staring out the window to the blue spring sky, aimlessly getting lost in the sea of blue. She thought about a lot of things that weren't really relevant to school, just mainly to her dreams and what had been happening to her lately. She thought that perphaps something was through with her or that she had some sort of developing disease that was causing her hallucinations. She stayed very still, almost looking like she was asleep with her eyes closed until the PA system came on and their Student Council President's voice came over the PA, instructing all the second and third year students to make their way to the gym.

Within the sea of students that errupted into the halls, clinging together to find their friends Yuki was able to slip away into the stairwell and hide there until the coast was clear, sneaking up to the roof and sitting by the roof door in the shade to perphaps catch some shut eye instead of being at another boring lecture where the principal would talk and the the student council president would talk....nothing really changed, nothing ever would so what was the point in wasting time through another year's boring lectures.

Leaning against that wall she closed her eyes to try and catch up on some sleep while the gentle spring breeze tickled her soft cheeks and flayed through her long brown hair as she sat on the rooftop alone with her thoughts. She dreamed about her dreams, about what she saw and a face or two some faces she couldn't really see, coffins, and something standing over her that was warm and yet felt so cold that it gave her chills and yet made her perspire again through fear and a bit of anxiety.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Raising from his seat, Takuto watched as students filed out and poured into the hallways, turning a pool of students into a rapid current. Holding his position at the doorway, he watched as the students flowed down the stairs like water down a drain before noticing a solitary figure head up towards the roof instead. Unsure of whom it could be, but finding the prospect of doing something different this year 'round, he found himself following suit quickly as he rushed up the stairs and opened the door to the roof as quietly as he could manage.

"Hm...so it was Yuki..." he commented a bit dryly, more of an analytical fashion than a non caring tone as he looked at her nap with a bit of trouble before shaking his head lightly. Moving over to one of the metal ventilation shafts, he sat atop it like a bench and looked up at the sky, since the year had begun, the AC nor heat had been turned on so the metal was cool enough to lie on without being frigid. Placing his hands behind his head, he lay there with a vacant expression that reflected nothing but pure vacancy of thought. For someone like Takuto to not think was something that would seem unheard of, but it was fairly common for him to suddenly shut down as he seemed to get a strange vibe from the direction of Yuki, but he easily shrugged it off.  

[Akira.S]

All of a sudden her breathing became rather heavy almost as if she was running. Her head wavered from side to side while she sat up against the stone wall. She could feel her heart throbbing in her chest and her blood began to boil.

Yuki ran from shadows in a dark tunnel, nothing to defend herself, the shadows felt cold as they circled around her, feeling as cold as death she crouched down to hide from them, until a shadow rose from her...and things became black. It was so quiet she could hear a pin drop in the darkness, but there also seemed to be warm light at the same time as a figure loomed above her with it's white masked face, extending it's arms towards her. In fear of this monster she paniced once again and extended her arms to push it away screaming. "NO!!!"

In reality, she jerked away from the wall, still breathing as heavily and still perspiring despite the fact it was a bit cool outside and in the shade. Realizing where she was she felt her heartbeat to make sure she was still alive and ran her hands through her long brown hair, turning to look around. As soon as she turned her head her eyes caught a dazed out glance of Takuto leaning against one of the ventilation shafts. "s**t...he saw me..." getting up quickly, despite the fact she was at risk of being caught by a teacher who was not at the gym, quickly exited the roof and ran down the stairs to the next floor down, washing her face at one of the hallway sinks. Wetting her hands and rubbing her eyes and hair she wondered how long he had been there. "God Yuki...why do you have to be so weird..." she stood at the sink, leaning over it with her hands on the edges of it, leaning over as if something were to happen. Her head was down and her eyes were closed, her ears wide open to listen to the sound of running water as she left the tap on.

She was embarassed but didn't really understand why. Maybe because it was Takuto or because no one had ever seen her have one of her freak out episodes that she was bright red or that was from the perspiration that had her cheeks and some strands of her hair sticking to her neck.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yuki's strange behavior easily and felt a bit worried for her condition as she seemed to break out in a sweat. But as he sat up to carefully observe her before deciding what the best course of action would be, she awoke and noted his stare only to react and flee down the stairs to his surprise. A concerned groan emitted from him as he rose to his feet and found himself following after her before he had another moment of thought, flinging the door open and skipping steps as he descended.

Arriving in the empty halls of the third floor, Takuto looked around slowly before noting the brown-haired girl leaning over a sink as he slowly approached her. It wasn't like this was a normal thing for them, they weren't really 'friends' per say, but she was the closest thing he had to one so he had to show his concern to some extent as he gently brought hand to rest on her shoulder for a second to get her attention. "Yuki-san...daijoubu? Are you alright, you seemed to have been having a nightmare...is everything okay?" he asked in an unusually concerned tone that even surprised him a bit as he looked to her, tilting his head a bit to look at her face as she leaned over the sink.  

[Akira.S]

Jumping to his touch, Yuki stood still, bent over the sink, reaching for the knob to turn off the running water while her head hung down still faced into the sink. It was the first time she'd ever heard him worry about her condition before, then again she wasn't the type to be hurt by something trivial as nightmares. Would he believe her? Would he think she was just kidding around? Neither of their actions were really normative. Slowly turning around, Yuki reached for his hand and gently brushed it off her shoulder which was the only real contact the two have ever had in the past two years of their high school career.

"I just haven't been sleeping that well these past few weeks, I think it's finally getting to me..." she put a hand on her forehead, wondering maybe if she was hallucinating or was having a fever of some kind.

It wasn't completely a lie but it wasn't the complete truth either. She didn't feel bad for what she was telling him and just decided to shrug it off - leave it for another time or...rather never. Maybe if they were closer she'd tell them but for now Yuki decided to one again remain distant from Takuto as they were just good aquaintances. Keeping her distance she held one of her arms shly and looked the other way, feeling some sort of awkward feeling between the two her face a little bit pink from the embarassment that someone had seen her having an episode...as she'd call it. At least she wasn't sleep walking or anything like she had been doing every so often.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Looking to her for a second, his expression shifted from its normal blank slate to a bit of concern visible in his eyes as he watched her check her own condition. While she seemed to shrug it off easily, he couldn't seem to let it go as quickly as she could and was determined to help her in some way if he could. His dark eyes looked straight towards her, as if trying to see through that barrier that had always been between them for all these years, never had it been a real issue until this very moment. So Takuto took it upon himself to make a step in a new direction, so far they'd been walking closely paralleled, with neither getting in the way of the others private life but this was too much.

"You're fatigued...perhaps...no, there's no room for argument, I'm walking you home today. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let you walk all the way home on your own and you collapse or something...so however today goes, I'll meet you at the front gates after school."

Shaking his head to stifle any remarks she could drum up to keep him from this conclusion, he rose a hand with a solemn expression across his face. He was dead serious this time, and it was obvious from the look he'd given her that he wasn't backing down from this decision he'd made, even though he'd done so without her consent. Yuki was the only person he really spoke to, so it could've just been the thought of something happening to land her hospitalized and leaving him to survive this place alone that frightened him. But whatever the case may be, he was set on not letting their acquaintanceship come in the way of helping her when she needed it outside of studying.