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Persona: Imagining Project Ch. 7

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Boys' Dorm – Room 216

April 29 - 9:30 PM

(OST: Home)

After classes ended, Kai and Kazuya headed back to their dorm room for some much-needed relaxation after the craziness they've been through. Kai was on his bed with his nose deep in a book, while Kazuya was at his desk, playing a video game on his laptop.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" Kai asked, his eyes still glued to the book in his hands.

Kazuya shrugged. "It's alright, dude. I usually cram after playing this and it keep my grades stable. There's no problem."

Kai scoffed. "You really believe that?"

"Hey, I've managed to keep my grades out of the red, so I'm cool with it."

"Uh-huh." Kai put the book the book down and walked over to the desk that Kazuya was currently occupying. "What exactly are you playing there?"

Kazuya's eyes lit up as he turned to Kai. "It's an amazing game, dude. You get to play as cute girls that are based off of a harmful substance and battle against other girls. I gotta tell you, it's freakin' awesome!"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "And what would be the name of this game, anyway?"

"Toxic Substance Girls: Poisoned Warfare."

Kai couldn't help but blink in confusion. "Wow, that's… that's quite a name. What genre is it?"

"TPS. That's short for third person shooter," Kazuya explained.

"I know what TPS stands for, dude."

Kai walked back to his bed and laid down on it. After a while, Kazuya paused his game and turned around with a serious expression.

"Look, we should talk," he said.

"Talk? About what?" Kai asked.

"You know, what went down in that old building, with the mirror, those goons and that… thing you summoned."

"I am not a thing," Shai muttered within Kai's mind.

"Shai's not a thing," Kai defended. "He's my… what was it again? Persona? Yeah, that's it. He's my Persona."

Kazuya sighed. "Fine, your Persona. We should probably keep it a secret between the three of us."

Kai nodded. "Well, duh. I doubt anyone will believe that we went through a mirror and walked into a gunfight. That's the kind of thing that'll land anyone in a mental institution."

Kazuya chuckled. "That's true. I just hope that we don't have to get involved in anything crazy from here on out."

Hearing that made Kai frown a little. Kazuya's words seemed to have made his blood run cold. Deep down, he had a feeling that what he, Kazuya and Asuka went through was but only a prelude for something bigger than all three of them put together.


Unknown Location

April 29 - ?

In a dark room with very little light, two men were having a conversation. One of them sat on a chair, tapping his finger on his left temple. The other was dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a motorcross helmet to cover his face. From the sounds of things, one man expressed his disappointment towards the other man for some reason.

"So… you have failed in your task," the first man sighed.

"…That is correct, Puppet Master," the second man replied.

"What was the reason for this?"

"Well... Some kid stepped in and screwed everything up."

The information piqued the first man's intrerest. "A kid, you say?"

The second nodded. "Yes, sir."

"How was a child able to interrupt the operation?"

"Well… He…"

The first scowled. "Speak, man. I can't understand you with all that stuttering."

"...He used a Persona, sir."

The man was very interested. "…Really, now?"

"That's correct, sir. The others noticed it, as well as a few lackeys from Oracle."

The man rubbed his face in frustration. "Tch… so Oracle knows about this too, huh? This could be problematic."

"What do you suggest that we do next, sir?"

"Keep an eye on that child and guard any mirrors you come across. Also, if our operatives from the other side come in with new information, be damn sure that it gets circulated back to me."

"Of course, sir."

"Good. You may leave now." 


Kirimaru University – Front Entrance

April 30 – 8:10 AM

(OST: Get On Down)

Kai was standing near the entrance to Kirimaru, staring intently at his phone. He was on his way to his morning class when he heard his phone buzzing. He looked at it and saw that someone sent him a text telling him to stand near the entrance, but for some reason, neither the name nor the number of the sender was revealed. This was the reason why Kai looked as if he was attempting to set his phone on fire just by staring at it.

"You know, if you keep glaring at that thing, it might explode," a voice called out. Kai turned to his left to see Kazuya and Asuka standing right next to him. Kazuya had his usual sly grin while Asuka looked like someone spat in her coffee.

"Well, forgive me that I want to look over this text I got with no sender name," Kai snarked. "But enough about me. What are you two doing here?"

"Same reason as you," Asuka answered, pulling out her phone with Kazuya following suit. They both had the same text message saying to stand near the front of Kirimaru, but with no sender name or number.

"Honestly speaking, this can't be a coincidence," Kazuya spoke with a serious expression. "After what we've been through, of course someone is going to want to talk to us about it. The only question remaining is who this joker is and why they want to talk all of a sudden."

"That's two questions, moron," Asuka hissed.

"Don't get technical with me, exile," Kazuya shot back.

"Will you two please give it a rest?" Kai groaned. "We've got bigger fish to fry in case you haven't noticed."

"What, like getting that music bimbo away from Kazuya?" Asuka deadpanned. "I think that should be our top priority right now."

"We'll get to that matter at a later date, Asuka. But what I'm refering to is whoever sent us these texts."

"I have a feeling we're going to get the answer to that question soon enough," Kazuya said.

"What makes you think that, man?" Kai asked.

"You see that imtimidating-looking woman next to the red car over there?" Kazuya directed Kai and Asuka's attention to the parking lot where said car and said woman were at. "I got a gut feeling she's the one who sent us the text messages."

Asuka looked skeptical. "Are you seriously relying on your gut right now?"

"I think we should just go for it," Kai said, surprising her.

Asuka groaned. "What are you going to do when we meet her, ask if she's the one who sent us those messages?"

Kai and Kazuya looked at Asuka, then at each other, shrugged, and walked towards the parking lot.

"If you've got any better ideas, please let us know," they said in unison.

Asuka couldn't help but facepalm. "Typical men. No sense of tact or subtly whatsoever."


Wakamono District - Shopping Center

8:33 AM

Narumi brought Kai and his friends to the shopping center of Wakamono to talk about yesterday's events. Kai understood the reason for her request, but Kazuya remained impartial about it and Asuka showed signs of both hesitation and suspicion. They all sat at a table next to a coffee shop where everyone ordered drinks.

"Before we get started, I would like to apologize if I got in the way of anything important you planned to do," Narumi said.

Kai waved dismissively. "Don't worry, Narumi-san. It's not like had anything important planned."

"We had classes, pendejo," Asuka growled. Kai was taken aback from the foreign curse and turned to Kazuya for some confirmation.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you," he said. "The Princess exiled herself to Spain a while ago. Part of some big-ass art project or something. I don't know much about it and I don't really care."

Asuka glared at him. "Shut your mouth, puto."

Now it was Kazuya's turn to be taken off guard. "Puto? How am I a puto?" He turned to Kai. "What's a puto?"

Kai shrugged, drinking out of his cup before speaking. "Hell if I know, dude."

"Anyway," Narumi interrupted, getting back on topic. "I have called you here because there is something important I need to tell you."

"Was it so important that you're making us all late for class?" Asuka grumbled while crossing her arms.

Narumi shot a glare at her. "What, you in a hurry or something?"

Asuka scoffed. "No, I just like to be punctual is all."

Narumi sighed. "Listen closely, all you. I shouldn't have to be the one telling you this, but you're in danger. You all went through the mirror, saw things you shouldn't have seem in the first place and…" she pointed a manicured finger at Kai. "Your friend here can summon a Persona. There is no way they are going to leave you alone after that."

The trio couldn't believe what they heard. Somehow, their actions have led to them to being targeted by two unsavory groups, both with unknown intentions. And only God knows what would happen if either group were to capture them.

"I have a question," Kai said, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Who are these two groups you spoke of?"

"What, you've never heard of them?" Kazuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, seeing how I just arrived here… no, I haven't."

"Then I'll tell you the story," Narumi said. Kai slightly leaned towards the detective so he could get every detail of what she was about to say to him.

(OST: Omen)

"Naniwa may look like a peaceful city to you kid, and quite frankly, I don't blame you for thinking that. But here's what you don't know: 10 years ago, Naniwa was still peaceful. That is, until the event happened."

"What event?" Kai asked.

"For some reason, a pile of shards started appearing in secluded parts of the city. Anyone who came in contact with these shards started to hallucinate, saying that they see different objects being warped and distorted. At first, it was no big deal, but the number of people hallucinating began to grow. Scientists from all parts of the country couldn't figure out how shards caused people to see distortions, no matter how much research they put into the things. But then, just when all seemed hopeless, there was a breakthrough. By some crazy miracle, one scientist was able to find out where all those shards came from."

Kai was very interested. "Where did they come from?"

"A mirror," Narumi answered. "And this was not just your run of the mill, mirror. This was a mirror that allowed a person to cross over to another world."

"Just like the one we went in to escape those masked goons," Kazuya gasped.

Narumi nodded. "Exactly. That type of mirror led to a world that appeared to be similar to ours, but with one major difference: it was completely abandoned and certain objects were distorted."

"Like the lightpost we saw in the trainyard?" Asuka asked.

"That's right," Narumi replied. "So far, there has been no scientific explaination as to how or why these objects became distorted in the mirror world. The scientist tried to study them further, but all of their efforts were cut short."

"Cut short? Why is that?" Kai asked.

Narumi turned away while gritting her teeth in annoyance. "Because a certain group wouldn't allow them to."

Kazuya's eyes widened. "Certain group? You don't mean-"

"No, it wasn't the Kirijo Group," Narumi interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "There hasn't been anyone affiliated with those jokers since… well, since I was in middle school."

"Well, if it wasn't Kirijo, then who was it?"

"Oracle Solutions."

Kai nearly spit out his drink when he heard the name.

"Something wrong, dude?" Kazuya asked.

"Oracle Solutions? Are you sure it's them?" Kai asked, staring intently in Narumi's eyes.

Narumi sighed. "I'm afraid so, kid. They were doing research on the mirrors too, only it was completely top-secret. And they didn't like the fact that other scientists planned to show their findings to the government."

"So they stole the research and kept it under lock and key ever since?" Kazuya asked, gripping his cup.

"Yep. They've been keeping their work under the public eye and since then, no one's been the wiser… until things got worse."

Asuka paled. "Worse? How did it get worse?"

"You know those scientists who originally worked on the mirrors before Oracle pulled their plug?"

The three nodded.

"Well, turns out those scientists had connections. Underground connections."

Kai's eyes widened. "What do you mean by underground?"

"Nothing too serious. Just a bunch of violent radicals with more ammunition than brain cells."

"Exactly how violent radicals qualify as 'nothing too serious'?" Kazuya deadpanned.

"They don't attack people, for one," Narumi said. "Plus, the only things they hit are government buildings that have sensitive information that they believe should be 'spread towards the people' or some crap like that."

"So they're one of those radicals who think the government is hoarding information," Kai said. "Who are these guys anyway?"

Narumi took a sip out of her cup before speaking "You might've heard me mutter the name while I was at the precinct, but I'll repeat it for you."

"The Wireless Puppets," Kazuya intervened. "A group of maniacs that enjoy busting into places loaded with sensitive informtion and distributing it to the people, not caring what kind of aftermath it will bring."

Narumi cast an annoyed glance at Kazuya. "I was going to say that, you little snot."

Kazuya shrugged. "Hey, first come, first serve."

"I don't have the complete facts, but I'm going to take a stab here," Kai said. "Oracle is hoarding mountainloads of information and these Wireless Puppets are willing to steal it no matter how many skulls they need to crack. Did I get it right?"

"Well, you don't have the full details, but at least you got the gist of it," Narumi replied. "And that brings me to my main topic."

"Exactly what is your main topic?" Asuka asked.

Narumi took a deep breath. "I need you three to go back into the mirror."

Well, looks like things are getting tense. The history of Naniwa is revealed (sort of) and Narumi suggests that Kai, Kazuya and Asuka head back into the mirror. But for what reason? And how does Kai know about Oracle Solutions? All will be revealed in due time.
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