Chapitre 2: Welcome Inaba
(normal pov)
Haru and Yu continued Talking about their circumstances about going to Inaba for their high school year for around thirty minutes.
Haru learned that because Yu's family works overseas, he has to travel a lot but is settling down for a year with his uncle and cousin. Haru explained the exchange program he signed up for and why he was chosen. Yu was surprised that Haru was the top student coming into high school and was just sent away to a new school.
Haru also found this strange because why would a school give away their best student to some school in the middle of nowhere?
After a while, they both decided to do their own thing. Yu decided to sleep, and Haru chose to listen to some music because of the 2-hour nap he had just had. He mainly was trying to figure out what could happen in his time in Inaba and where the personas come into play. Will it be just like the fifth, and he will have to attack people's inner selves to make them confess to a crime, or is it just fighting shadows, which he is OK with?
After an hour of keeping himself occupied by watching the landscape go by, Haru and an awakened Yu draw their attention to the speaker, stating the next station where Haru and Yu will need to get off for their next train.
They both agreed that it would be best not to split up and sit next to each other. Fortunately, two seats faced each other, so they both got seats. Thankful, it seemed like the train station was mostly empty.
They both have a long ride that would last about six hours and one or two stops that would not include them. Haru decided to sleep for the first few hours while Yu chose to look out and watch the scenery fly by. After a while, Haru eventually wakes up to see Yu falling asleep. Haru started to get annoyed with this stupid long train ride, not to notice the strange glowing blue butterfly hovering down the alleyway and landing on Yu's head.
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(unknown place)
In a dark void with no stars, a white misty fog starts to fill in the vast emptiness that threatens to consume all. The fog will continue to thicken to where no one can see through it, leaving anyone living in such a place looking at a dark landscape with nothing but a thick white fog surrounding everything.
However, the unexpected happens when two bright lights emerge in the space. The bright light continues to get brighter and brighter until an outline of the approaching object forms into a rectangular-like box. Upon further investigation, it appears to be a black car, and not just any car; instead a limousine. The limousine continues to drive forward, with no potholes for the tire to bump into. The illuminating red tail light on the end continues to beam brightly into the fog. Inside this limo, a young boy wakes up inside such a vehicle; this young boy seems to be Yu Narukami. To the right of the boy, there is a beautiful lady with silver curvy hair and a stunning blue dress.
On the other hand, the stranger in front of him creeped him out the most. He had a long nose that seemed to deny the very essence of gravity and a receding hairline. His eyes on the other thing seem significant, and he has not gotten any sleep recently. Without warning, the older man in front of him started to speak with his eyes closed.
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(Yu pov)
After falling asleep inside the train, I ended up in the black of a limousine with nothing but bright flashes of white outside of the window. This didn't bother me at all, mostly because I can infer that this is something of a dream for me.
As I turned my head, I noticed the lady sitting in front of me give a small smile but then directed her attention to the third occupant in this car—an old man who looked equally as crazy as his age. No one said anything for a few minutes, letting the strange but lovely music play on the ground, which made me uneasy in such a situation.
''Ah... it seems that we have a guest with an intriguing destiny...*chuckle*'' the old man starts to comment about me to who I can assume is the lady sitting next to him, but to my surprise, he looks directly at me.
''My name is Igor..... I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Ah yes, you might be wondering where we currently are, yes?'' yes, I am currently wondering where we are, and why does this feel like I am not in a dream anymore?
''This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a ''contract'' may enter.'' good to know, but why am I here?
''it may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. now then... why don't you introduce yourself.'' I don't understand what is happening, but I don't see a way out.
''Yu Narukami,'' I responded, 'not knowing the future that would shape me into who I am in the future.'
''hm...I see. Now let's take a look into your future, shall we?'' after asking me that question and not waiting for a reply, he lowers his hand, and a white light appears on top of the table in front of him with a pile of cards is shown below where his hand hovers.
''do you believe in fortune telling?'' he asks while growing his already wide smile. He then waves his hand from left to right, and the cards below him spread out into a 3-1-1-3 formation.
''each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different...*chuckle* Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?'' I have only seen fortune-telling on television, and something tells me that the top card in the middle was not supposed to be there. Without addressing Yu's concerns, Igor then proceeds to flip the top far right from Yu's perspective, and it appears to be a building that is being dissected by what Yu can only assume to be a lightning bolt from the top floor and people falling.
''hm... the Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent.'' so the position can also determine the outcome, huh? Not even sparing Yu another glan, Igor then waves his hand again.
''the card indicating the future beyond this is....'' Yu then is presented with another card that he can see in the upright position; moreover, it is the picture of a crescent moon.
''the moon in the upright position. this card represent ''hesitation'' and ''mystery''...very interesting indeed. it seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you.'' Can I really believe what is being told to me? All of this certainly does seem like a dream, and I'm probably asleep right now.
''Now, onto the final card...hmm... to have one more card than seven. I suppose that fate has an enthralling journey for you just like.'' I thought it was weird. I was glad to know that my suspicion wasn't off.. he then proceeded to flip the only card to the top of the middle. It appeared to reverse what the other cards had been doing, but it was a card with four symbols in four squares equally cut up on the card.
''ohh, the temperance card in the reversed position. This will mean a ''lack of balance.''... it appears that in the near future, the balance that fate controls will be shifted to another side. This could be a boon or a burden to you depending on if fate wished to restore the disturbed order.'' What? Something more out of the ordinary is going to happen. First, this guy has never seen this position of cards, and something will bring chaos.
''in the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point In your destiny.. if the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.''
''my duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen.'' he then proceeded to wave his hand around and not finish the fortune, and all disappeared.
''ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you.'' he then turns his head towards the quiet lady listening to this intriguing conversation.
''This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself." the lady then turns her head towards me and begins to speak.
''My name is Margret. I am here to accompany you through your journey.'' after finishing her short introduction, Igor turns his head and starts to finish his explanation.
"We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell..." Igor finishes his speech, and Yu's vision starts to fade into black.
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(normal pov)
Haru notices that Yu woke up in a jolt and begins to look around until he spots haruma and starts to calm somewhat, murmuring ''must have been a dream, huh?" Yu gets a message on his phone and then puts it back down after reading it.
The speaker then announces that the next stop is Yasoinaba station. Yu and Haruma look at each other and nod to one another. They start to get up, grab the luggage that they have on them, and get ready for departure. Haru asks Yu how he will be getting to Inaba from the station, and he relays that his uncle will be picking him up. Haru hums at his response because of the explanation that Yu gave about his background. Yu then looks at his junior and asks if he will have someone pick him up, and Haru looks over at him and shakes his head.
Yu looks surprised and offers to ask his uncle if he can drive him to Inaba; Haru thanks him for the offer but refuses his kind gesture in favor of getting a good run from all the sitting he has done since six in the morning. Yu can understand where Haru is coming from, especially if he is on the train longer than himself.
As the two of them exit the train, they explore the unknown station and try to find the door to the entry of the building. Eventually, they both end up getting out of the building. Immediately, someone is hollering, which Haru can assume is for Yu because of his ride.
''Hey over here!'' someone whom Haru can look at and a lightly tanned man with short black hair and scruffy facial hair. He is wearing a black button-down shirt with a bright red tie and black pants and shoes. He appears to be smoking outside because of the no-smoking sign that Haru noticed in the station, which would explain why he wasn't inside. However, he was not alone; there stains behind him was a young girl whom Haru can guess can be around 5-8 years old. She appears to have two brown twin-tails as her hairstyle and a little sundress that she is wearing.
''Well, looks like this is where we see each other off,'' Haru says to Yu, who throws his bag over his shoulder and goes for a handshake. Yu notices this and shakes his hand while his family members start to walk up.
''Well, see you at school, senpai,'' Haru says while walking away.
Yu's uncle starts to chat with him, and Haru starts to hear their voice fade away. He starts to run to Inaba and hopefully get there before night. After running down the street for a while, he notices a white vehicle coming down and slows down next to him, and Haru starts to slow down from his little run. He sees the window of the passenger side lower down, and he's the same uncle he saw at the station for Yu Narukami.
''hey kid, you need a lift,'' he states towards Haru, not liking the idea that no one would be at the station for a kid and make him walk to the town; in addition, from what he can see on his uniform, the Roman number one indication he is just a freshman.
''I'm OK with running, sir. Yu asked me the same thing earlier, and I also declined.'' Haru says to the old man, who, in turn, raises an eyebrow.
''OK, kid, call the authorities if anything happens,'' he says while rolling up his window. Haru agrees with him, and the car drives off. Haru decides to get there earlier and starts to run for the city.
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(inside the car)
''Hey, Yu, what's the deal with that kid? Never seen him before around here,'' Dojima asks his nephew. Yu starts to explain what Haruma told him on the train. His uncle was surprised that Haru was the kid that the school was fussing over, getting a really smart kid from a school in the big city. He had heard that the news station wanted an interview about how he is settling here and other things.
''Well, if he is so smart, why didn't he agree to take a lift to Inaba?'' Dojima asked home, not understanding the mindset of such a promising young individual.
''he said that he wanted to run after being on a train since six in the morning,'' Yu replies. In turn, his uncle makes a surprised expression and starts to laugh.
''ha, I, too, would want to stretch my legs after sitting around as well. Hmm, he ran pretty far from where we were. He should get to town about one hour and thirty minutes from here.'' Yu's uncle said, trying to predict how long it would take Haru to get to town
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45 minutes later
(normal pov)
After a while of running, Haru feels refreshed after that little run. As he suspected, this body was exactly like the previous one that he had. He only developed a slight sweat that could be easily wiped off. He didn't bring any drinks with him, and as he entered the city of Inaba, he noticed a gas station. Haru decided to get a drink from there and headed towards the station; after walking near it, he heard a shout from the pump boy sitting near the gas pump in a uniform.
''hey, you look new here.'' the worker said toward Haru. In turn, haru agrees and says that he is here because of an exchange student program.
''ah, you that hot shot that got selected to be sent here, huh? Well, if you are good as that school says, you will find it easy here.''
''yes, I hope that I will be able to pass through this, but I hope I might find it a little challenging,'' Haru told him, not knowing that he was wondering when he could fight shadows and who exactly he was talking to.
''well, you might find it interesting. I don't know if I am the first to say, but welcome to Inaba." The pump boy then extends their hand for a sake, which Haru does the same.
After their handshake, Haru enters the store to use the restroom and get a great. However, before he closes the door to the restroom, he gets hit with a massive migraine. (I genuinely don't know what gender this avatar is.)
This one is different than the last headache that he got when he woke up in this body, and it feels more like a fishing net has caught his Brain and is slowly constricting it. After a few minutes, he can put his thoughts together and finish in the bathroom to get a coffee.
He then proceeds to walk down through Inaba towards the address that he found. After walking for a few minutes, he finds what he was looking for.
It was a white building that looked similar to the other buildings around this neighborhood. A single man stood outside in a suit. Haru walked toward the man, and the man asked for his name. Haru then gave his name and information that proved it was him. The man took it and then nodded.
He then told haruma all of the apartment's features, including everything the school told him, but the bedroom was on the second floor.
Haru raised an eyebrow at this but thought the building might not be in the most fantastic condition. The man finished his review and had Haru sign some documents, left him a key to the building, and then proceeded to walk away.
Haru looked at the building up closer and noticed that it looked better up close than he would have thought. Again, he reminded himself that looks can be deceiving. He then opened up the door, and what he saw surprised him.
'It looks normal. Scratch that it looks great,' Haru thought to himself. There was an expansive living room that had a sizeable square-like pattern under the table, and the squares were a different color. The kitchen area is in a small area to the left, but everything looks great new, even the stove, oven, fridge, sink, and even a microwave. The cabinets looked great, and there was even a little pantry part. He then looked at the table, and there was a decently wide table with a small bench to the side where a wide-screen TV was.
Haru knows because before he went down here, those TVs were extremely expensive, and this is just being given to a random high school student.
Haru, at this point, went to look at the bathroom on the bottom floor, which had a single toilet and a sink. This confused Haru because they said there would be a bathtub with a shower head. He then looked more and found a room that he could only assume to be the laundry room with a dryer and a washing machine with a large water heater right next to it. This told Haru that there were more than likely two restrooms. He then went up the stairs and found the correct restroom with the bathtub and shower head. Next, he went to the bedroom, where he saw an empty room with a queen-sized bed with a wooden bed frame that was not elevated and on the floor. There was a long nightstand against the wall next to the bed. There was a desk in the other corner. a small table in the middle of the open space with a carpet on it, and finally, a small closet.
Haru was even more sure that something was up; there was no way he would get such a lovely apartment for a year in the middle of nowhere and get monthly checks for supplies.
"something is up, and I know this isn't that damn clown guy emailing me because he has not sent me anything recently. Someone else is controlling things. Is it the antagonist person that Yu is supposed to face, and if it is, why do they set me up with something this nice that they should have? No, it can't be. I need to figure out who owns this apartment.''
'Well, I more than likely have to put a rain check on that because of all the crap I have to do and then find out what rote I have to take to school on my run this morning.' Haruma decided that he needed to unload the things he had delivered and then make something for dinner, which he needed to get food for. Haru was thankful that it was only around 6ish, and if he went right now, he might get everything done by tonight.
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(???)
In a black car, you see the same man who gave the keys to Haruma take out a cell phone, type a number on it, and put it up to his ear. He then waits for the receiver to pick up the phone, and after a few rings, he hears a click notifying him that the receiver has indeed answered his call.
'' Boss, one Haruma Amamiya has received what you ordered for him.'' the man said in the most respectful way he could possibly know to the person on the other side.
The person on the phone had asked general questions about the apartment that they had given to the transfer student. They even asked more about the student, their description, and their behavior, and from what they heard from the man, the person on the other side of the phone was pleased.
''understood and... one quick question: how did he have his hair positioned?'' the person on the other phone asked. The man paused and thought about the appearance of the young man he had just met.
''he had his hair black and not fixed but messy,'' he replied
''Ah, he didn't have it before then... never mind, you can return. Thank you for your service.'' the voice told the man before ending the call. The man in question was wondering why a teen of all things had caught his boss's attention. He could only wish that man luck wherever his future had for him.
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hey sorry for the wait. I wanted this to be longer, but I didn't want to change the title; however, I was told that you might not like the 10k words. What do you guys want? Multiple chapters that will take me less time to type and focus more on details or long chapters that depend on how much I get through the rerun I am doing in P4G.
Also, am I doing a decent job of portraying Yu? I know that I have an understanding of the personalities of the investigation team, and I want Haru to kind of help out in significant ways but also cause bullshit on the side.
I am not saying who is on the phone; I gave some clues but not saying.
Thank you for your thoughts, and have a good day.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone