Looking Mirror/Ignorance Isn't Bliss/Lost Children/--Persona AU

[Teesie]

Chocolate orbs just stared at the silver haired teen, not a word escaping his mouth. After a moment, Ruune turned to leave; although that was when the elder twin decided to comment on the new found information. "If what you are saying is completely true, then....that would be rather bad I suppose. I suggest that you find out what happened. It's the least you could do." Scrolling past the smaller teen and exiting the bathroom.*

 

XxxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxxX

 

Arish jogged to the the building that he was in search for, for the last thirty minutes. His lover was once again in his house sick. The dark haired teen knew that there must be a serious problem, and he was tired of being declined access. Whenever the teen called Erin to see if it was ok to visit, the brunette would always tell him that "Now isn't the time." There was no way that he was taking that answer any longer.*

 

With a knock, the coal eyes male waited for an answer. He needed to find out what was happening.

[cheshireArtist]

Ruune let out a soft sigh, watching his twin leave. Isaan was stubborn, it would just take some time...and for his brother the tiny teen would wait forever. The younger went to continue what he originally walked into the bathroom for, thoughts of how he'd go about solving this mystery...Isaan was right, it was the least he could do.

 

ooOOooOOoo

 

Maria gave Isaan a small sneer as he walked out of the bathroom, but otherwise restrained herself. The girl refused to wast anymore of her precious time and energy on such a waist of space.

 

"Maria...," A soft voice whispered in her ear, causing her to jump, and momentarily become wide eyed.

 

"Do you always have to be so angry? Do you not have any restraint? What would Rosa think? What would Daddy think? Didn't he always tell you to do two things in life? What were those thing, Maria?"

 

"Shut the fuck up!" She snarled out, wiping around only to find no one there, a extremely confused expression over taking her face. What the fuck was that?

 

ooOOooOOoo

 

Erin was curled up on the couch, blanket wrapped tightly around him as he stared somewhat blankly at the TV. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his mother as she worked diligently in the near by kitchen preparing dinner, and his only living step brother-the other had died due to sickness before getting to Tetrabeth- disturb her and complain while hanging around the kitchen. Luckily, his stepfather had decided to go out and get drunk again...maybe he could block his door before he gets home this time.

 

The brunette had convinced his mother to let him stay home sick again, it would take today and the weekend for the...bruises, on his neck to fade completely; he had always healed fast. Curling more in on himself, he shuttered, squeezing his dulled green eyes shut tightly as he felt the tears build. No...he wouldn't cry...it'd worry his mother...he didn't want her knowing what was going on...it'd crush her.

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, scaring the daylights out of Erin and causing him to jump, and pull the blanket over his head. He didn't want anyone seeing the complete and total mess he was in; the bruises on his neck, the rope burns on his wrists and ankles, the bite marks, and the large bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He was truly an ugly, horrible mess...disgusting.

 

"I'll get it," Anne said softly, putting down the knife she was using to chop the vegetables. She walked over to the door and opened it. She was a little surprised to see Arish, she had expected him to come by and see her son much sooner, considering how loving they were with each other. The dark red headed haired woman had no idea Erin was, in fact, keep the other away.

 

"Hello, Arish," She greeted with a soft smile, "Come on in, I'm sure Erin will be happy to see you...he's been really down lately."

Erin's eyes went wide, and he whimpered slightly, pulling the blanket more over himself, hiding his face completely from view.

[Teesie]

Arish gave a soft smile to the woman. The teen didn't really know the woman much, but he did at least know that she was a sweetheart whenever he did meet her. "It's nice to see you Mrs. White." Bowing slightly as he stepped inside the house.

 

"I hope he's happy to see me as well. Um, he's been kinda acting weird lately and he's sorta the reason why I hadn't come so soon. I wanted to give him space but....I'm too stubborn and I love him so I can't." Smiling hugely, maybe enough to split his face.

 

"Love? Is this love Arish? After all....your lover is a filthy liar." At that the dark eyes closed, a deep breath being inhaled before he once again shook it off.

 

Walkinging past the woman and into the living room, Arish spotted Erin lying on the couch. With a relieved sigh, the dark haired teen approached the other. "Erin, are you ok? How do you feel?"

[cheshireArtist]

"I hope he's happy to see me as well. Um, he's been kinda acting weird lately and he's sorta the reason why I hadn't come so soon. I wanted to give him space but....I'm too stubborn and I love him so I can't."

 

"He has been acting a little bit odd...," Anne muttered under her breath, but shook her head and sighed...Erin was ever the odd one. As she started to go back to the kitchen she called over her shoulder, "Do you want to stay for dinner, dear?"

 

"Erin, are you ok? How do you feel?"

 

Erin gulped and glanced up at his boyfriend nervously, avoiding eye contact and pulling the blanket tighter around himself. He couldn't let Arish know either...it'd hurt him too much, and the brunette couldn't stand hurting the love of his life in any way, shape or form.

 

" 'm fine...justa bad cold...I'll be back on Monday...," The green eyed teen mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by the blanket.

[Teesie]

Arish gave his lover a strange look, rolling his eyes as he took a hold of the pillow. "Well the least you could do is properly speak with me. At least let me hold you. I ditched school for you babe." This would all be a waste of his time if he was to leave at the bark of his boyfriends purposal. "Erin, I won't leave." Hands crossing over his chest as he awaited the brunette's movements.

[cheshireArtist]

"I don't wanna get you sick, though," The brunette muttered meekly, so unlike him. He chewed his lip, staring at a point just past his boyfriend's head...he couldn't do this anymore! He loved Arish way too much to allow the dark haired teen to remain with filth any longer...Arish could do so much better than him. Erin was dirty, tainted, and Arish was an angel in comparison...his angel...it was time that Erin stopped holding him back.

 

Moving to sit up, blanket still wrapped firmly around him, though a little bit of his face was able to be viewed, but the damage was still hidden. There was now enough room for his boyfriend to sit next to him. "I...I need to talk to you, Arish...," He said softly, dulled green eyes staring anywhere but Arish. This was going to wreck both of them...but at least it'd be better for the coal eyed teen in the long run.

[Teesie]

Arish sneered at the other, not liking the fact that his love was hiding from him. To have the love of his life cower away was something the dark haired teen wasn't use to. Erin was hiding something deep and the elder teen wanted to find out, and quickly. "What the hell is going on? I want to know babe and I want to know now!" Taking a seat as he glared to the other. This was ridiculous and Arish wasn't finding it very funny.

 

"Yeah, we really do need to talk. Erin, what is going on?"

 

[cheshireArtist]

Erin flinched at the other's yelling, and glare, and ducked his head. This was going to be hard...and neither of them were going to like it...but, it was for Arish. "Arish...I think we should see other people," He muttered, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. The brunette couldn't give Arish what he deserved...this was for the best, or that was at least what the once fiery teen tried to convince himself. He was damaged goods...who'd want damaged goods?

 

"It's no you...it's just...I-," Erin said quickly, mouthing going dry...he wanted to tell Arish, he wanted to tell him so bad...but he just couldn't do it, so he said, "...I have somethings I need to figure out." The brunette squeezed green eyes closed, not wanting to see what happened next.

 

"Freak...no good filth you are...weak...he deserves so much better," A little voice seemed to whisper in his ear, and he couldn't help but agree with every word said; he was drowning...drowning...and sinking deeper into he had no idea what...but he was doing nothing to stop it.

[Teesie]

Of course the sentence that rolled off the brunette's tongue was something that Arish never thought he would hear. To see other people was one fear that the dark haired teen wished he wouldn't have to endure; especially as of lately. To think Erin was cheating on him, or had another crush was on adamant thought that continued to flow around in his head. The elder male should have seen this coming. It was the most bothersome thought anyhow.

 

"What? See....see other people? Why?" Face twisted with hurt, coal orbs staring to the other. "Are you saying we should break up? Babe...babe please. I can give you space just please don't leave me." The teen's behavior, if seen by another, would come off as pathetic and desperate; albeit their opinions wouldn't matter. His love for Erin ran deep. Deeper than his feelings for anyone else, even his father.

 

"Is it because you have someone else? Huh? You love someone else!" The sorrow was beginning to turn into that of anger. It wasn't a surprise. Arish had never been good at controlling his emotions. It was never something that was taught to him.

 

[cheshireArtist]

"Are you saying we should break up? Babe...babe please. I can give you space just please don't leave me."

 

"Don't...don't make this harder than it has to be, Arish," The brunette replied softly, biting deeply into his lip. This was way hard than he thought...he could feel his heart breaking. He wanted to give into Arish, he wanted to so bad...but he kept hearing him. He just kept reliving it, and he didn't want to drag his...ex-boyfriend into things that didn't concern him.

 

"It's for the best," He muttered, though it sounded like he was saying it more to himself than to the other teen.

 

"Is it because you have someone else? Huh? You love someone else!"

 

"No...," He didn't love anyone else, he only loved Arish, but this was the way it had to be...for the other's future happiness, "I...I just can't be with you anymore..." There was an unspoken 'I'm sorry' but Erin couldn't bring himself to actually say it. He hoped he didn't offend or hurt the dark haired teen too bad, though, deep down, he was sure he did.

[Teesie]

Arish's face scrunched up, shaking his head at his now ex-lover. With a heavy exhale, the dark haired teen pursed his lips before stepping away and to the door. "I see. So apparently I did something wrong. Something not even I know about. Or...or you just find it funny to play with people's emotions. Leaving me for no reason. Wow, nice Erin." Turning to quickly exit the house with a sneer. The occasion surely didn't go how he wanted it to. Arish's vision was much different. Something along the line of forgiveness and making up with one another. Well, that was absolutely wrong.

 

Stepping outside the home, the coal orbs darted to the sky as thoughts warmed his head. "What a lost, huh? Your boyfriend has definitely found someone better. Like that's hard anyways. Your pathetic. You could never give him what he needs. Erin had to search elsewhere to find something he likes, yet alone wanted. How does that make you feel?"

 

Arish just closed his eyes and sighed. That was right? Why would the love of his life still want him? He was still in highschool, had no job, and he wasn't the brightest student in school. "Your right. Why would he want me. I am useless. I am a problem. Maybe Erin deserves better and I understand that I shouldn't be upset. I should be happy for him. Happy that he could find someone better."

 

With that confession, Arish had unknowingly accepted his persona. One that was at a crossroad of hate and love. One that was at a crossroad if acceptance or denial. One that needed evidence. It was now obvious that from here forward, he'd have to better himself if he ever wanted to have his brunette lover back, and he would get him back.

[cheshireArtist]

Erin watched Arish leave, and, only when the door closed the brunette allowed tears to start staining his cheeks. It was for the best, he just had to keep thinking that it was for the best, and everything would be all right.

 

---TIME SKIP---(One and a Half Months Later)

 

Ruune walked along the desolate side walk; it was late, well, late for Tetrabeth at least. The bulb that kept the down lit had gone out about an hour ago, and all the small teen had to rely on to light his way were the dim lamp posts. Normally, Astaat would have picked him up from school, which he had stay after for on the account of a school project between him and Maria, but she had an emergency at work. Maria had offered to bring him home, but Ruu declined the offer since he knew that his house wasn't that far from the school, so he could easily walk it. He kind of wished he'd taken the offer, since the town was really creepy at night.

 

Thinking of Maria brought his mind back to the mystery of the Social Link; an enigma that he just couldn't figure out. He wished he could find a way back to the Velvet Room. He had been looking high and low for an other way in for over a month, and hasn't had anymore of those weird dreams lately. All he knew about the Social Link thus far was that it was kind of a way for him to track his relationship status with different people, since the "rank" of the relationship kept appearing in an odd notebook he had awoken to find on his desk one morning. It had a picture of the person, the Arcana they represent, the progress, or rank, of said relationship, and a small description of the person. It was weird and it made him feel creepy, but it held the same strange feeling as the Velvet Room and the Velvet Key, so he hung onto it anyways. He was never letting another soul see it, though, since he did not want to be labeled everyone's creepy stalker.

 

The rank of his current social link with Maria was almost at a three. Maria was his best friend in this place, so the two of them had been hanging out a lot. He had learned a bit about her home life; she lived with her two elderly grandparent in an split house on the edge of town, and had a sister named Rosa on the outside. It was hard to get mail in and out of Tetrabeth, so she was unable to write her. An other thing he learned that made him draw some similarities between the two of them was that they were both the younger out of their respective set of twins. The silver haired teen wouldn't have guessed that by how Maria acted most of the time. She had also told him that she was in an accident once...well, it was more of a slip while they were watching the new on her grandparent's TV earlier this week. The tiny teen could see she was uncomfortable about it, so he'd let her tell him on her own time.

 

He had one other Social Link...one that worried him a bit; Erin.

 

---Flash Back---

 

Ruune frowned, looking over at Erin as he sat alone again. He felt bad for the brunette, despite how he broke up with Arish out of the blue like he did. He just did not look too good today. Erin had changed drastically from when the younger twin had first met him; he wasn't loud anymore, and was pretty darn quiet, and looked, well, he just looked really troubled. Arish had been acting weird too after the break up, and was actually talking to Isaan more often, which was kind of weird in itself, since Ruune always got the impression that the two of them hated each other's guts.

 

Sighing, the young teen stood up from his table, grabbing his tray, and took the sort walk to the other side of the cafeteria; he couldn't stand it any longer, Erin was reminding him way too much of himself back in his other school. No one came around to help Ruune, so it was the least he could do to help the first friend he had made in the school.

 

EMPATHY LEVEL: 2

EMPATHY UP!

EMPATHY LEVEL: 3

Ruune sat down across from brunette, who looked a little startled by his presence. "What are you doing here, Ruune...aren't you going to sit with Maria and Ari...Arish," The dull green eyed teen asked softly, looking down at the younger boy.

 

"It's fine...you looked lonely, and I can't stand seeing people like that, so I decided to sit with you," The silver haired teen replied with a soft smile.

 

"Why?" Was the blunt question that flew from the other's mouth.

 

"You're my friend, of coarse," Was Ruu's simple reply.

 

Dull green eyes went wide for a second an a small, but sincere smile spread across Erin's face for the first time in weeks, "Thanks, Ruu...I really appreciate it..."

 

A crack filled Ruune's ears for the second time and a card appeared between the two.

 

'Thou art I....And I am thou...

 

Thou hast established a new bond....

 

It hides the truth.

 

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hangman Arcana...'

 

---Flash Back End---

 

It mostly concerned him because of the fact the the Hangman represent quite a few negative things, and the fact the he saw bruises on his friend several time. He hoped nothing horrible was happening to Erin.

 

Shaking his head slightly Ruune decided to take a quick short cut through an alleyway, a move that he wouldn't normally take, but something about Tetrabeth at night made him want to get off the streets, and quickly.

[Teesie]

Arish glanced over to the elderly librarian giving a small smile to the woman before once again directing his attention to Isaan. The two, after accepting their personas, had become much closer. The relationship did not develop from that alone, no. It was more likely because the two had to work as a team. Hule, after figuring about both their struggles, had given information about a persona user's ability as well as their job.

 

_Flashback_

 

"So I see that you, Isaan, has accepted your persona. You have learned that accepting yourself is the most powerful thing that you were able to do. If you continue this, your persona will become stronger. Your knowledge will be fed and you won't be so delusional any longer."

 

"The only thing I can remember about accepting this stupid persona...was that it made me weak. Weak, vulnerable, and a fucking joke. How am I suppose to learn how to control this thing if I can't control myself?"

 

"I do know that you can't have that kind of attitude. Now, it would be better if you were to have some sort of partner, correct?"

 

Isaan said nothing, deciding to just roll his eyes and glance away from the other. Hule was such an annoying man at times, but the white haired teen had learned to deal with him. He, ever since accepting his other half, had gotten in contact with the flamboyant man and been communicating every since. "I honestly don't know, and I really don't care. Hm."

 

"Regardless of that....I have for you a buddy. Someone to help you through the fighting. You have been superb on your own, but having more help can't hurt. Arish, you may now join us."

 

Of course at hearing the name the youngest of the group wasn't thrilled; albeit he didn't make a scene either. "It's a pleasure to be working with you....Isaan." A teasing tone dripping from the coal eyed male's voice. One that made the porcelain skinned teen sneer. He so hated this guy.

 

"Now allow me to inform you both on the true powers of your mysterious ability."

 

_Flashback End_

 

"Well I'll catch you later Isaan. I'll be on my way to classes. Seeya?" Arish asked, standing as he reached for his books to leave. The teen in question only gave a nod, sighing afterwards as he laid his head onto the table.

 

[cheshireArtist]

Ruune shivered, was it him or did the air just get colder? The small teen pulled his sweatshirt tighter around himself, glancing around the alleyway, trying to ignore the feeling of foreboding surrounding the area. He needed to get home, and quickly. He broke into a light jog as he traveled down the alley, light from the streetlights becoming dimmer and dimmer, and everything becoming bathed in a blanket of shadow.

 

The silver haired teen emerged from the alleyway only to be confused. Looking around, he didn't recognize any of his surroundings. The buildings seemed warped by the shadows, and when ever Ruune breathed he could see his own breath. The entire area seemed to give off it's own eerie glow, and it made a cold chill down his spine. It didn't sit well with Ruu at all.

 

"Wh-where am I?" He stuttered under his breath, looking around with wide, green eyes.

 

Suddenly there was a splatting, kind of gurgling sound behind him, causing him to to jump, and whip around.

A figure stumbled from the seemingly endless shadows, thick black ooze dripping to the concrete ground as it shambled forward. It's shape was just barely humanoid, in place of a face, it wore a nearly featureless, pale blue mask.

 

Ruune stared at the creature, feeling his chest start to tighten, and his breath pick up. He needed to get out of here, and fast! Fear starting to permeate his mind, the young teen began to run in the opposite direction, the thing letting out a growl and taking off after him.

[Teesie]

Isaan stood from the table speedily, dashing from the room. He needed to speak to Hule quickly. Something wasn't right, and he wasn't speaking of the shadows he felt around him. With a speedy walk, the white haired teen set off to the correctional center. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was one that he had never felt before. Maybe it had something to do with his persona, or else he was just causing it himself. All in all, Hule would know what was wrong. It was utterly strange that the red head, flamboyant man had now seen more emotions from Isaan than anyone else. It was, to Isaan, the man's fault for what was occurring anyhow.

 

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX

 

Arish held his head, stumbling slightly with a staggering step. What the hell was happening to him? With a groan, Arish glanced ahead of him and slightly frowned. How did a shadow make its way into the school? He would have to perish the enemy quickly; especially before anyone was harmed, yet alone aware of such a strange creature. "Something isn't right. Hule explained that these things wouldn't be able to pass in from the barrier of Tetrabeth. There is definitely something going on."

 

[cheshireArtist]

The young teen breathes became labored as he sprinted away from the creature, utterly lost. Oh God, where was he? Everything looked the same! Running blindly, Ruune drew himself into a corner. Back against a wall, he watched as the growling, gurgling creature shambled towards him. He was going to die, he was totally going to die! They were never going to find his body and-

 

'Don't give up now...fight...fight and live to see day!' A voice rung in the younger twin's ears, eerily reminding him of his own, 'This is your life...you're not a child anymore...you can save yourself!'

 

Between the him and the creature a card appeared in front of him, shinning in a fierce blue light.

It was of a figure carrying a sack on a stick over his shoulder, being followed by a small dog, a zero printed below it; The Fool. The silver haired boy, seemingly mystified by the card, and complied by an unknown force, reached out and boldly crushed the card in his hand. A circle of blue, wild light burst out around him, and one word spilled from his lips, "Persona."

 

A figure rose from him and from the light. It floated in front of Ruune, glowing softly, bringing light to the shadows.

It's skin was a dark gray with hinged, puppet-like limbs that looked thin and frail. It had snowy white hair, and nearly it's entire face was covered by the hair. Small wings stuck out from it's back, and it's chest and groin were covered by a dusty blue armor, the same color as it's joints. The most shocking feature was the hole that went down from it's chest to it's stomach, and revealed a glowing blue heart held up by blue wire. Despite it's frail, waif-like appearance it seemed to radiate a hidden strength.

 

"Thou art I....And I am thou...

 

From the Sea of thy soul I cometh...

 

I am Fallen...

 

I shed the chains of society and walk my own path..."

 

Ruune stared at Fallen in shock, confused about how it even came to be The creature hisses and lunged at the at Ruune, the boy raising his arms to defend himself, but Fallen hit it back with a blast of Ice. With that, the battle began.

[Teesie]

A growl caught the white haired teen's attention, causing him to stop in his adventure to the correctional center. A sound of cracking ice engrossed Isaan. Chocolate orbs darting to the alley beside him, the persona user cautiously stepped toward the sounds. This could be a mistake, due to the vibe he was getting, or just an his imagination. "I've had it wit' my fuckin' imagination. Ev'rythin' hasn't been sucha' dream so far." Isaan complained, remembering that he once thought the same of his persona.

 

Finally getting through the darkness, the teen stopped with his mouth agape, slightly. This shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to him. Of course his little brother would inherit such powers as he had. Although, why hadn't Hule informed both he and Arish that his twin was also that of a persona user. "Ruune, wat' tha' hell is goin' on 'ere. I sup'ose you kno' of your persona as well." A smirk taking over his features. "So how hard wus' it to accept your otha' half? Although the bigger picture is in front of us. How in the hell could these things get inside Tetrabeth? Hule said they couldn't."

 

[cheshireArtist]

Ruune looked at his brother, pale green eyes wide, "Wh-what are you even talking about? Who's Hule? What's a Per-persona?" He called out, pure confusion written on his face. He attention was once again snagged as the creature attacked Fallen again, and the tainted angel grunted and knocked it back with another blast of ice. That wasn't enough to defeat it though, it just got back to it's feat, snarling. Then it did something that scared the boy even further; more of the creatures appeared and slowly the began to join together. A very large, sludge-like creature with a mask on it's face, knees, and shoulders, and large, curved blade jutting out of it's back.

 

Fallen stood steady, ready to cast another, what Ruu thought was called, Bufu, but then a pain began to rip through the small teen, causing his knees to give out and hands to go flying to hold his head. Fallen jerked roughly, and pitch black wings ripped though the persona's back, tarring him open and apart. The new persona was different than Fallen, harder to control and more painful. It's current form was covered by a thick, black cloak, and all one could see of it were large, black wings. It all happened so fast, with the new persona attacking the new creature, ripping and taring, and just destroying the thing. And just as soon as it appeared it disappeared, leaving Fallen back in it's place again. Unknowingly, the silver haired boy just shown a unique talent among persona users, the ability to be about more than one; He was a Wildcard.

[Teesie]

The white haired teen stood immobilized by the scenery. Ruune definitely had some power there, despite that, it wasn't what captured his attention. Firstly, his and Ruune's persona looked much alike; albeit since that two was twins that wasn't a surprise; but the fallen angel had mutated into another form. Something that neither his or Arish's persona had done since training with Hule. There was something strange about the situation and Isaan wanted to know what?

 

Chocolate orbs darted around, once again focusing his attention to the silver haired boy. "Wat' tha' hell do ya' mean "what's a persona?"' Shaking his head in dismissal, Isaan took the thin wrist into his grasp and pulled the smaller male with him on his continuing walk to the correctional center. " We are goin' ta' speak ta' Hule togeth'r. I don' wanna hear any complainin' Ruune. Do ya' 'ear me? " Throwing the small, pale teen a death glare

[cheshireArtist]

Ruune was barely able to stand straight as his twin pulled him up and started dragging the smaller teen after him. Isaan's words were muffled and Ruu still didn't know who Hule was, or what just happened, or exactly what a persona was. He stumbled behind the other, head pounding like a beating drum in a steady thump, thump, thump. He flinched weakly underneath the glare, though his vision was beginning to gain black spots, and blur slightly. Pale green eyes fluttered as each step he took got more and more sluggish, and the throbbing pain from his head stated to spread throughout his body. Then his vision went black, and his body crumbled.

 

Pale green eyes blinked open, and he was there again...he was in the Velvet Room. Sitting up shakily, the silver haired boy locked eyes with Igor...he had many questions for him.

[Teesie]

Isaan stumbled as his brother's dead weight began to pull him down. Exhaling slightly, the white haired teen placed the other over his shoulder and began once again to the correctional center. Usually he would have taken the other to a nurse of somewhat, but Hule was always excellent at bandaging he and Arish whenever one of the two was harmed, so he concluded that the man would know how to tend to his twin brother. Even though Isaan wasn't fond of the thin male having a persona, he had to take the kid in for inspection. Hule had informed that he recruit all those with the power as his in order to defeat a demonic being that was causing the depletion of the earth.

 

The task wouldn't be easy to complete, but who was to say that they couldn't win the battle. Of course Hule described the crazy thoughts of other persona users dying , therefore failing the mission at hand; he also explained that neither worked together or was aware of the other. How such a man as Hule knew about the past puzzled Isaan; although due to all the slightly muscular twin been through, he was willing to believe anything.

 

[cheshireArtist]

"Ah, welcome back young Ruune, it has been a long time since we've last seen each other,"Igor greeted with a slight smile, as Ruu just stared at him, trying to get over the shock of what had just happened.

 

"What's a persona? What was that...that...thing, that attacked me?" The tiny teen blurted out, pale green eyes huge with confusion, "What's going on?!"

 

Igor gestured for the boy to settle down and took a breath, "To answer your first question, a persona, per-say, is a reflection of you, a piece of yourself, your very soul brought out to defend against adversaries such as the ones you faced today. Though, unlike most persona users, who only have one, you hold the ability of zero, the ability to create and draw multiple personas from the sea of your consciousness. Not many have that power anymore, which makes you special."

 

Ruune adsorbed the information, exhaling softly, squeezing his clasped hands slightly. "What about-"

 

Igor held up and hand and said, "Some things are best explained by your new allies, whom you will meet once you awaken again. Now...I am sure you have a few other questions, hmm?"

 

Blushing in embarrassment, the tiny teen turned he gaze down to his lap, "What are social links...I've been confused by that for a while."

 

"I shall explain," Came the soft voice of Gwendolyn, "A social links are the bond formed between you and other people. These bonds will increase your power when creating new personas, for example," She held up the Strength Arcana, "Your bond with Maria is at two, almost three, currently, and if you were to create a persona of the Strength Arcana that persona would gain a power boost. While if you were to make a persona of the...let's say Hierophant Arcana," The card suddenly changed into the Hierophant Arcana, "You would get no power boost...in fact, may I see your book?" Ruune nodded and handed the book to the blond woman, and she flipped to a certain page, and handed it back to the boy. It was a page he hadn't seen before...it held his twin's picture, which surprised him.

 

"You see where the rankings are for how far your bond had come?" Ruu nodded, noticing the was something weird about it...instead of three red bars there was a black bar, and his brother's card was flipped upside down. "You and Isaan had all ready established a bond a long time ago, being brothers, and while it still remains it is reversed, which would affect you negatively when trying to create a persona of the Hierophant Arcana," Ruune opened up his mouth to say something, but the attendant held up her hand, "And yes, it can be fixed, but it will be difficult."

 

The silver haired teen nodded glumly, and sighed, staring at the black bars...he wanted to make things right with his twin.

 

"Now...are there any more questions before we send you back to reality?"Igor asked, looking down at Ruu. The small teen shook his head, slipping the small book back into his pocket. The strange man nodded, and Ruune blacked out again, not sure how much time will have passed out in the waking world.

[Teesie]

Arish growled at Isaan, the white haired teen really knew how to work his nerves. "I swear that you can be so stubborn at times. How long with it take you to understand that you can't always do these tasks alone? They are difficult, yet alone dangerous. I can- no...you know what. Fine....continue to act as if you're invisible. I don't care. I'll defend what I can and you defend what you can." Sluggishly standing from the couch to straighten his clothing.

 

Hule gave a disappointed glance, eyes rolling from being annoyed. "This isn't going to work. How is the two of you ever going to defeat a powerful enemy if you both act this way? Have you two not been listening to me? That was the other persona users fault. They never went in search for others. They were too stubborn to assist help, thinking that they were powerful enough to take on anything. Well it's not true. You both will work together like I trained you to. You'll just have to deal with one another,' Glancing to Ruune before once again speaking. "and your new partner Ruune."

[cheshireArtist]

"...not true....work together...trained you...You'll...have....deal...one another.....new partner Ruune."

 

Ruune woke back up to a unfamiliar voice talking, to, what seemed to be at least, Arish. The young teen felt a rush a confusion his him, along with a rush a pain. His head still hurt greatly, but the level of pain had seemed to decrease at least; that was a relief. Though, when he opened his eyes for a moment, the bright lights made the throbbing worse, and made the tiny teen groan in pain, and squeeze his eyes back shut, and put his arm over his eyes to block out any remaining light.

 

Ruu recognized this pain as a migraine, since his mother frequently got them when she was still in the beginning stages of her sickness. Thankfully, he wasn't nauseous as well, like Anya tended to get when she got them. He really didn't want to throw up his lunch. Though, he did feel a little light headed, but he chalked that up to that forced visit to the Velvet Room. He felt like asking the strange man who he heard if he had any pain relievers, but refrained from really speaking, feeling himself start to give into his anxiety, which was a little worse around adults he wasn't familiar with. It was kind of frustrating since he was full of questions at the moment, but they couldn't quite get past his lips.

[Teesie]

Arish beamed at Ruune, taking the responsibility of drifting a small, thin cloth around the youngest teen. "Nice to see that you are awake Ruune. It's a good thing that Isaan brought you in at the time that he did. If you would have fainted out there all alone, there is no telling what could have happened. I was surprised that Isaan even stopped to see what the hell was going on. The kid isn't the most nicest person you can rely on." Taking the liberty to run his fingers through the dull, silver hair.

 

"Anyways, do you remember anything that happened Ruu? We kind of need to know".

 

"Arish please....don't overwhelm him. He just awoke. Give the kid some slack." Isaan smirked at the scolding, lightly sneering at Arish as the dark haired teen raised his middle finger.

 

"Wat' I seen wus' utte'ly astonishin'. It is beyon' tha' pow'rs of both Arish's en' my persona. I 'ad thought dat' perhaps you had guided Ruune to dis', but he didn't seem ta' kno' anythin' of wat' I wus' speakin', so I guess it wus' all a surprise ta' 'em. It wus' definitely different than anything' I 'ad seen."