If you ask them, the heroes of a story rarely see the beginning coming. It is only after the fact that they realize what the pivotal moment was.

And then there are times when that moment is...unmistakable.



Surely each of them had their own reasons for having been at the shopping center that Saturday evening. They never would have been together otherwise.

But that night found a group from Toda Gakuen walking down the same street, toward the same train station: the irreverent playboy Hishou Hane and cool new transfer Tagami Kazuo, 3rd years; the righteous delinquent Kitano Touji, the worrisome rich boy Yamamoto Taro, the beautiful blind Suzuki Hitomi, 2nd years; and the mousy and shy Fuwa Emi, 1st year.

It was night. It was dark. They all knew each other at least in passing from school, even though it was only a few days into the new year. It was only natural that they would group together during the walk to the train station. It was normal.

And it stayed that way for a while, with the full moon bright in the night sky, adding its illumination to the line of street lamps as the high schoolers made their way down the sidewalk with Tagami Kazuo in the lead, flanked by their reflections in the shiny glass windows of the buildings to their right.

A cloud passed over the moon and the world seemed to dim and slow. Tagami's reflection turned suddenly, its eyes widening as the profile turned to completely face outward, although Kazuo himself hadn't made any sort of matching movement.

And then the eerie slowness of the moment was gone as the window shattered outward in a shower of sparkling glass propelled by two dark bodies. The smaller of the two thumped to the ground some yards away. It was a humanoid figure, wearing clothing very similar to Kazuo's.

The other figure was much more pressing at that moment, though. It was a bull. Or, it wasn't. Bulls usually didn't have spiked wheels for feet. But this one did. Its body was black and matte, like it was made up of only shadows, and two pairs of golden horns glittered on its head, one curving up and back and the other smaller pair canted forward. The creature's wheels squealed as it fought the momentum that had carried it through the shop window, and it careened into a turn as it stopped, leaving it facing the group.

For a moment, everything was quiet again, as myriad emotions flooded through our heroes. And then, somehow, they found themselves. Something...unlocked, and they were no longer rooted to the spot in fear, unable to react.

As each of them imposed their inner control over the tide of terror-tainted feelings that rose in their hearts at the sight of the nightmarish creature, they heard a different voice echo in their mind: that of their Persona.

I am Thou...Thou art I...

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Official Forum Mom

The dark-haired student, Kazuo, stopped dead in his tracks, reaching up to cradle his head in his hand as the voice echoed seemingly throughout his whole body along with a high-pitched ringning. He could only grunt as this awkward feeling kept him stunned and unresponsive.

The street lamps were now dark, andt the shopping center around them was now eerily dim and abandoned apart from the strange figures before the small group of teens. Something about the human-looking figure bothered Kazuo. He seemed familiar, and if he hadn't known better he would have sworn his reflection in the glass looked at him before it shattered... but now wasn't the time to worry about that. The third-year was getting ominous vibes from this man and the impossible creature that joined him at his side. He feared for his classmates behind him, but also for himself... He barely knew these people. As far as he was concerned he was alone, and that thought was the most terrifying part...

The voice echoed through Kazuo's head again, this time louder.

The time has come...

Open thine eyes... And call forth what is within...

He felt something in his hand that wasn't there a moment before. He gazed down to observe a strange looking card just moments before it eminated a blinding flash of light. Kazuo's expression of shock suddenly turned into a calm smile. A soothing feeling washed over him as he no longer felt alone. He smirked slightly. Something was there with him. Something that would help protect him from the strange shadows ahead...

"Per... so.. na!"

Kazuo wasn't sure why that word came into his mind other than pure instinct, and as he uttered those three syllables, the card in his hand erupted into a blue flame. The otherworldly fire soon enveloped Kazuo's entire body, illuminating the area though seemingly doing no harm to him whatsoever.

Kazuo raised his hand in the air, then closed his fist around the card causing it to shatter like glass. On the ground beneath him, strange numbers made up of light began to appear, spinning wildly in a circle around Kazuo like a roulette. When the spinning stopped, the number 0 rested before him and out of the fire behind the blue-eyed student emerged a figure clad in cobalt blue armor. The man's eyes shined brightly, clutching in his hand a short, double-edged sword, and in the other, the snake-haired head of a monster.

"I am Perseus... Slayer of Horrors." The man spoke with a commanding voice which seemed to shake the very foundations of the buildings around them. It was then that the monstrous bull's wheels screeched again as it charged forward toward Kazuo.

Perseus lept out in front of Kazuo protectively, staring down the rampaging bull, while still surrounded by the blue glow of the flame. He then raised the Medusa's head, its eyes now glowing too, causing a roaring wind to rush through the shopping center and intensely assault the creature. With this initial, distracting attack, Perseus charged in as well, winding back his right arm to make a powerful cleave with his sword...

Taro jumped backwards as soon as he realized he could move again. He was almost about to whimper and crawl away when his classmate, Ka-something, produced a mythical figure. In the back of his mind, Taro recognized the name. He muttered under his breath "Perseus from the Greek mythology just appeared with the head of Medusa and I really need to get out of here." He stood up and his weapon banged against his hip.

Do not run away. Do not look away.

He looked down at it and grabbed his means of self-defense, suddenly decisive. His fingers didn't fumble as they readied the crossbow and placed the bolt. He moved to the side and took aim as blue flame enveloped him and something appeared in his off hand. He looked down at it, his weapon lowering. It was a strange card. A woman using a large bow was on one side of it and he suddenly knew (remembered?) who she was and what to do.

Realize all that thine art

Taro's arm was steady as his other hand crushed the card and the blue flames around him exploded "Persona!" The roulette appeared and began spinning around Taro's arm before coming to rest at the number XVIII. The woman on the card appeared, her bow paralleling Taro's own weapon. "I am Artemis, Goddess of Light!" Taro pulled the trigger at the same time she loosed her arrow. The two missiles seemed to merge into one as they flew, then turned into a large shard of ice. Taro spoke the words that came from somewhere else "Bufu!"

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

Within a second, the entire world had turned insane.

Kitano stumbled, the eruption of light and sound and the impossible interrupting everything in him. A million thoughts collided in his head, his body trembled from the overflow of information and his senses seemed to dull everything into a white noise. He could not move. He could not think. The whole world was a static of cluttered panic.

Justice

The single word cut into his mind and at once, everything was clear.

A card had materialized in his hand and he crushed it with no hesitation. "Persona!" Kitano cried out without knowing why.

A giant robed in sunlight burst into existence. His black beard flowed down his chest and covered his face, but two stars twinkled where his eyes would be. "I am Utu. I am Justice."

Kitano stared dumbly at the god as a circle of light surrounded him.

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Explosion. It was the first thing that entered Hane's mind when the world around him began to fall apart and glass fell in a sudden hale of sound and glitter. He found himself motionless, perhaps because the fear he felt then and there was the greatest threat to his person he could ever think of...

Until he caught a glimpse of the mechanical bull-thing of death. Fear compounded upon fear; something inside Hane told him that it was all over, that life and all its many pleasures were to be taken from him! His face paled and unconsciously cursed aloud, "Hell-" He cut himself short of a tirade as a singular word consumed his mind.

His eyes grew wide and his hand snapped out of his pocket and clasped at his brow. All time appeared to stop and his heart filled his entire body. He could not hold himself back if he wanted to... it was just too much.

"Per-son-naaaaaaaaaaa!" he screamed, as if a dormant volcano finally erupted, ready to rain fiery wraith upon the world. There was a surge that suddenly filled him as a band of ethereal numbers encircled his head-holding wrist. The shining wheel spun, halted on the roman numeral XV, and burst into light. Before him stood what looked to be an Oni with glittering, scaly skin, gemstones for eyes, great fangs, and enormous paunch. It positively reeked with overindulgence.

A voice dominated his senses: I am Mammon, Lord of Avarice

The tension now free of its hold on him, Hane started to laugh, and laugh hard. He knew, deep down, that his new 'friend' was surely going to help him survive. Not only that, he was going to win.

"Zio!" he spat angrily, pointing a finger at the bovine horror, not completely sure what it meant or why exactly he should say it. He wore a grin upon his face as if to announce his rekindled arrogance.

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

As Kazuo's Persona struck the bull-shaped shadow, it bellowed in pain and jerked away from Perseus, its wheels screeching. With a toss of its horns, it met Taro's glistening shard of ice head on. The spells seemed to have no effect as it shattered over the Shadow.

The lightning that Hane conjured was a different story, and as it struck the flank of the great beast, it gave another bellow of pain as it wheeled about in place before charging blindly...straight toward Kitano!

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Official Forum Mom

Hitomi was very grateful that she could walk with some of her fellow students. A soft voice in the back of her mind warned her not to be too casual with boys especially since she has never met any of them before. Yet after a long week of studying it was good to finally relax a bit. It was a bit cool that night but it wasn’t as bad since Hitomi was still wearing her uniform from school. With her school bag secured over her shoulder and her trusty walking cane she was ready to go to the shopping center. Hitomi was determined to buy a nice bone from the pet store for her faithful companion who was currently at home waiting faithfully for his master to return.

In this usually peaceful town, the last thing on Hitomi’s mind was the crisis that was about to occur. As the glass shattered from the nearby building the young beauty screamed and fell down hard on the sidewalk. A little shaken up and a little sore, the girl checked to make sure that she had no immediate injuries. After making sure that she was fine she stood up with her walking cane and tried to assess the current situation.

Suddenly images that she had never seen before appeared vividly inside the recesses of her mind. A large bull-like creature with golden horns and spiked wheels where his hooves should have been was the only thing she could see. Hitomi was so confused and felt her mind was playing tricks on her but when she heard the screeching of the monstrous bull ringing loudly in her sensitive ears it was clear this was a deathly real situation. The bull that appeared to remind Hitomi of some sort of chariot-like vehicle seemed to give off this eerie feeling of conquest. This was going to be trouble if she didn’t run away.

As she was about to turn around and flee she was stopped dead in her tracks. A voice was ringing loudly in her ears and seemed to echo through her entire being.

“I am thou…Thou art I…From the sea of thy soul…Accept thy power!”

Her skin was getting goose bumps as this ancient voice spoke. She felt an overwhelming power flow through her. Words that she had never spoken or thought of before were trying to force their way out of her body.

“Per…so….na…” she whispered holding her hands tightly together next to her chest.

Blue roman numerals appeared within her mind and unbeknownst to the young girl around her body as well. The numbers acted like a roulette changing rapidly but eventually slowing down and stopping at the number II.

She could see a figure inside her mind which also appeared above her body. It looked like a meditating monk with a red cape, wooden legs, a steel mask and two hands, one with an open palm towards her the other holding a white orb. There seemed to not be a body underneath its wrinkled cape but it’s mask seemed to be crying tears of blood through one of it’s eyes while the other had a large vertical gauche.

“My name is Bizuru-Sonja! The deity of curing and vision! In the face of this adversary let thy mind be thine eyes and use thy power wisely!”

This was all going way too fast for the blind woman. A rush of emotions filled her body but she tried to calm down. As Binzuru-Sonja faded she was able to see other creatures next to the bull monster. They appeared to look and give off the same feeling as she did when she met Binzuru-Sonja and thus she figured they were the same type of creature.
It appeared to be some sort of game as the other creatures shot magic or other freaky abilities. The bull seemed agitated and was heading toward a golden giant creature named Utu with a large beard. The girl didn’t want to see the creature hurt and felt she had to do something to help protect it.

“Please…Protect him!” she shouted with all her might holding her hands together as the numeral II appeared once again in her mind along with Binzuru-Sonja Releasing her hands and pointing her right palm towards Kitano in unison with Binzuru-Sonja. A purple column of light appeared around Kitano raising his defenses.

The girl could only watch as she hoped her ability worked, still a bit shocked at what she had just accomplished.

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The bull was coming for him.

Kitano was not a coward, he had jumped into enough reckless situations to prove that. This was more of reckless situation barreling its way to him. That gave him pause.

A swirl of purple light surrounded Kitano suddenly and it shook him out his second shocked reverie. He had to stop the bull. He had to fight it off. A voice in his head dully suggested that he just jump out of the way, but it was drowned out by Utu's cry.

Justice

And there was no arguing with that. The delinquent planted his feet and pulled his fist back. Unbeknownst to him, Utu did the same. The bull was still a way's away, but Kitano punched anyway. Utu's flaming hand burst towards the impossible creature.

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Utu's strike impacted the skull of the bull and stopped it cold...as the Persona faded away, a faintly glowing crack formed in the forehead of the monster. It spread until the Shadow shattered, the dark stuff that it was made of falling into eerily liquid piles that snaked away from the group with an alacrity that even the wheeled bull had not possessed.

As the Shadow-stuff disappeared into the darkness of the light, and the Personae of the group flickered out of existence, the streetlamp they stood under flickered on again.

"A-ano..." began the painfully shy 1st year, the only one of their group who hadn't showcased a manifestation of personal power, "Wh-what...was that?"

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Official Forum Mom

Everything had happened so quickly. After Perseus' initial attack, there was an overpowering feeling running throughout Kazuo's body. Not only from his power, but from the other students around him as well. One after another they also spoke the word 'Persona' and summoned a creature of their own. A younger student in blue glasses called forth a woman in a green robe who then proceeded to conjure a blast of ice to assault the bull with. A dark-haired student in his own class summoned a horned figure which shot lightning...

Before Kazuo could gesture for another attack, the bull was struck down by a fireball launched by the white-haired kid's protector. The shadowy creature broke into pieces then seemed to melt away and escape, almost as if it were still alive in its puddled form.

The streetlight came back to life almost as if to symbolize everything going back to normal. Still, the small group of students seemed to be alone while the moonlight once again peeked through the passing clouds.

The blue-eyed teen gazed upward in deep thought; He tried everything he could to make sense of what just happened, but there was no logical explanation, other than the chance that he was dreaming. The feelings were so real, though...

A quiet voice finally came from one of the others as a younger girl spoke aloud what they were all wondering.

"Wh-what...was that?"

Kazuo glanced down at his hand again, closing it into a fist. Somehow, despite the fact that Perseus and the other 'Personae' faded away, Kazuo didn't feel like they were gone. He still felt invigorated by the power that emerged within...

Though now that things had calmed down, the third-year student had some time to think about their battle and now realized that the younger girl who spoke up didn't awaken any power. As confused as everyone was, she was probably the most worried.

"I don't know." Kazuo replied, finally. He put on a reassuring smile as he looked over to the girl. "But we're safe now."

Granted he didn't know that to be the case, but he felt it.

"Is everyone all right?" He added, unsure that everyone was taking this as calmly as he appeared to be. Truthfully, he was confused and worried. They may be all right now, but something out there attacked them and it appeared to have gotten away. It was possible it would return, perhaps with friends... Who knows if they'd be able to fend off the attack as easily next time... What was happening?

As the bull faded so too did the other images of the other student’s personae disappeared form her mind. She had never seen images that nature…was it her imagination that created creatures that can never been seen in real life? Those images never had see felt anything was so real ever since that incident. Never again would she ever want to relive the horror that caused her illness.

The blind girl fell to her knees trying to take it all in, breathing heavily, trying to hold all of her emotions inside of her body. For some reason she felt so drained and so tired and she wondered if that weird event that just occurred had something to do with it. As Kazuo asked everyone if they were alright she responded, “I’m sorry I am alright I just need to catch my breath.” When Hitomi finally caught her breath she used her walking cane to stand up. It was getting later then she wanted and she was in no condition to continue onto the shopping center. All she wanted to do was return to the safety of her home.

Still unsure about everything that happened and from the sounds of it, not everyone who was walking this street felt that weird power. “I can’t tell if there is any damage but do you guys think we should call the police? Things like that don’t happen everyday…Oh and before I forget I want to thank you guys for protecting me from that danger. I wouldn’t know what to do if I was all by myself. Oh where are my manners, my name is Suzuki Hitomi.” She said bowing her head in respect. “Would any of you be so kind as to escort me home…I’m kind of scared to go back alone after what just happened…” the young girl spoke as she seemed nervous and cautious of her surroundings.

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Hane's bravado faded as the bull-monster dissolved into nothingness, leaving him with an irritated and slightly pale look. It took a moment before he realized that he was not alone in this whole affair, and quickly regathered his over-confident wits and arrogant facade. "Eh? Oh, I'm fine, aside from shell shock, a total mental break, and probably PTSD, but thanks for askin'," he said, "Son of a bitch... that thing could have killed me. By the way, what the hell was it? Seriously, that shit is not something you see every day."

He looked at each of his classmates, wondering if they were holding out some information, and he spied the crossbow of Taro. "Whoa, partner! Where were you keeping that bad boy?!" he said, pointing at the deadly device, "It looks like you were just ready for something bad to happen..."

When the girl spoke about 'being escorted home', Hane's attention flipped right to her, "Hitomi, that's quite a pretty name. It fits your pretty face," he said, tossing in a wink and a seductive smile. "If you need protection, than I'm your man. Hishou Hane, at your service." He reflexively dusted his attire and withdrew a comb to fix his hair, "Name the place, and off we'll go, little lady." He knew she could not see him, at least not well, but image was almost everything to the egotistical youth.

He took Hitomi by the hand, "I take it the rest of you guys can handle yourselves?."

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

His mind had switched off when danger had reared it's ugly horned head in his direction. As his schoolmates began speaking up, activity returned to his brain.

His first thought was that he was alive and well. As far as he could tell, he was also sane and awake. As far as he could tell.

His second thought was that this guy who was trying to play the gentleman for the blind girl was obnoxious.

"Think you can take on one of those things by yourself?" Kitano scoffed at the Hishou kid, "I certainly don't. No, how about we stick together in case another appears and maybe we get some things straight," He looked at his hands as if he expected them to disappear, "Namely what the hell just happened."

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It wasn't until she spoke up that Kazuo noticed the dark-haired girl was accompanied by a walking cane. He wasn't sure if being blind would make things more or less confusing. She was spared having to see that unreal creature. The question about calling the police made the third-year student worry more for their own sake, due to the broken glass still surrounding them. It would be hard to explain just what happened.

"Calling the police just to report the damage might be a good idea, but for anything other than that I think we're on our own... Who's going to believe anything about what just happened? Even if we all say it did, they'll probably just think it's some sort of prank..."

Hitomi introduced herself following her earlier question, and then asked to be escorted home. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to be alone after all that. Before Kazuo could offer assistance, however, another student spoke up first. Hane, a rather arrogant student from his class, quickly snatched the opportunity while adding a flirtatious flair to just about everything he said to the girl. The lack of subtlety was astounding, especially when Hane asked the rest of them if they were fine on their own, obviously wanting to be the sole escort for the beautiful girl.

Kazuo let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing his forehead in thought. A larger, white-haired student spoke up next, offering a voice of reason.

"I agree... We don't actually know if that thing will be back. We don't know the limits of the power we just summoned... We.. don't really know anything. So we should stick together, just a bit longer...

Let's all walk Hitomi-chan home together, and maybe on the way we can figure something out... like whether or not we all happened to conveniently go insane at the same time and now are in need of psychiatric help..."

The blue-eyed teen offered a slight chuckle, hoping to maybe alleviate some of the tension, but he was still worried. Why did the human figure that accompanied the bull seem so familiar? And just what was a Persona...?

"Oh, I'm Kazuo, by the way... I just moved here. I hoped to make some friends quickly, but this wasn't quite the situation I had in mind..."

Being the man that he was, Kitano started sizing up his fellow students. A curvy blind girl, more hot than cute, a scrawny pretty boy who had already made his priorities clear, a shorty who apparently carried a crossbow and a kid as tall as Kitano who seemed to be taking charge here. He looked like a real trooper, typical class president material.

Kitano could take all of them at once. The crossbow kid might be a problem, but if it came to it, Kitano was confident he could put the twerp down before the weapon even came out.

Not that he would. At least not without a good reason.

"Kitano Touji," He grunted his name, playing his part in the obligatory pleasantries, "Second year."

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Taro blinked at the others and began to feel slightly uncomfortable. They all seemed to be taking this a lot better than Taro was. As a point, Taro had reached for his cellphone when he had remembered he had one but he had paused. He didn't really know what to say. He wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of lying to the police but they had to do something. None of this was said but a lot of it showed through Taro's face and his actions.

He fidgeted with his crossbow for a moment before putting it and his cellphone away. He pushed his glasses up, they had a habit of slipping, and looked at the others. He opened his mouth twice but each time someone else spoke first and he closed it. Eventually he said "My name is Yamamoto Taro." He looked like he wanted to say more but did not.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

The body that had been left behind when the bull melted away was still there. If any of them had forgotten about it, the pained groan that issued forth from the fallen figure may have been enough to remind them of its existence.

It stirred, still some distance away from the group, and pushed itself up to its knees, and then its feet. The remainder of the lights on the street began to flicker back into being again, illuminating the mysterious person who was dressed almost exactly like Kazuo, and whose hair was almost a perfect mirror of the transfer.

Eerie.

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Official Forum Mom

Hitomi blushed a bit when she heard the complements from one of the boys around her. The fact that this random guy she never met before grabbed her hand so suddenly took the young girl by surprise. Calling Hitomi by her first name without any honorifics also helped to bring worry to the beautiful girl’s face. They weren’t even friends let alone really close friends that spent a lot of time together. Deep down she hoped it wasn’t the type of guy that flirts with anything that has a pulse. She was a little uneasy and felt uncomfortable holding his hand and thus she broke free and took a step back saying, “Thanks…um…Hishou-san…but…um…your making me nervous…we’ve only just met…” Hitomi gripped her walking cane in her other hand tightly. If this boy got any closer to her she wouldn’t hesitate to scream as loud as she could and whack him as hard as she could with her cane.

When Kazuo explained that calling the police would be a bad idea and offered to also help Hitomi back home she felt more at ease. “I agree” the young woman spoke, “The police probably couldn’t do anything about that hideous monster that just appeared. Oh and thank you very much um… Kazou-san was it? It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance!” when Hitomi said his name she didn’t catch his last name and felt a bit embarrassed for not showing the proper respect. “I’d feel much safer if we all just stuck together for just a bit longer.” Deep down if the only person who wanted to escort her home was the boy named Hishou then Hitomi would probably have a panic attack.

Bowing her head in respect towards the voices of her classmates she also said, “It’s very nice to meet you two as well Kitano-san and Yamamoto-san” before raising her head. “I know it’s a little strange but during that fight with that creature I was able to see images of four otherworldly creatures as well as that monster…were those creatures from my imagination or perhaps did they all come from you guys?”

Before she could continue she was extremely startled by the pained groan coming from the direction where the bull monster once was. A little shaken up by the sudden noise, a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her she let out a short scream of shock and said, “Who…Who’s there?” She thought to herself, “It couldn’t be…is it still alive… or is something else coming?”

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Kazuo raised an eyebrow at Hitomi's comment. "Really? You saw them..?"

But that train of thought was interrupted when the harrowing groan came from where the direction the creature previously attacked. There it was again, though without its monster companion. Kazuo was able to get a good look at the humanoid figure this time, and the resemblence was striking. It looked exactly like him...

"You again..." The dark-haired transfer student grumbled, clenching his fists as if he was ready to have it out with his doppleganger right that moment. "It's nice to know you aspire to be someone as great as I am, but this world only has room for one of me, so perhaps you should change back into whatever your real form is and get the hell outta here."

Kazuo was letting a bit of his arrogance show, if only to mask his confusion and to boost the confidence of the others. He was still well aware that he had no idea what the thing in front of him was, why it looked like him, or its true strength. He took a deep breath, realizing that antagonizing the thing wasn't necessarily the best idea either.

"...Just what is it you want anyway?"

Kazuo's mirror image shook its head as they started talking to it, as though it was trying to remove a buzzing sound or a fog of confusion. Striking blue eyes settled on the group and Kazuo's counterpart started toward them, limping, but stopped at the Senior's bravado. Even from this distance, one could tell that the mirror image was frowning.

Its head turned to look down the street, a hand pressed to its side as it hunched forward, presumably in pain, and the observant would notice a detail that kept this person from being Kazuo's true mirror image: while the hairstyle was the same (only mirrored) in the front, the back of this person's hair was much longer, pulled back into a tight braid that nearly blended in with the dark clothing.

A hissed curse issued forth from the stranger as the electric blue gaze alighted back on Kazuo.

"What happened to the Shadow?" And for the unobservant, that this wasn't a perfect mirror. The voice wasn't the same. It was a feminine voice, although it was a hard contralto that could possibly be mistaken for a young man's voice in the right circumstances...

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Official Forum Mom

Kitano eyes grew wide as the mysterious lookalike spoke up. He had missed it, Kitano cursed himself, he hadn't noticed the damn person responsible for this. Too busy trying to wrap his head around the damn bull-from-mars to think about the ordinary looking kid who had appeared alongside the monster. It was a mistake that Kitano was keen to correct.

The delinquent sprang forward and took the fake by the collar. Kitano roughly pulled the limping boy up to his feet and snarled when they were face to face.

"You. Who are you? What did you do?"

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It was only natural for Kazuo to assume that the figure before him was what previously attacked the group, but under the light things were only becoming more complicated. The young man narrowed his eyes as if he didn't believe what they were seeing at first. This person looked a lot like him, even down to the clothing. That seemed like a lot to wager on mere coincidence.

The seemingly human figure finally spoke, offering a voice that wasn't quite like Kazuo's. It was then that he noticed that things weren't exactly the same. Longer hair braided back and generally more feminine features that were at first hidden under the typically masculine attire. If Kazuo had a twin sister, it wasn't much of a stretch to say that's what she'd look like...

Kitano was already asking more questions in a less than friendly manner, despite the group never having answered the one presented by the stranger. What had happened to the shadow? The girl (or so he assumed) now in Kitano's grasp looked injured. Kazuo wasn't about to ignore all possibilities of a trap, but somehow he didn't feel threatened by this person's presence like he did before.

"The shadow? It's gone... We handled it..." Kazuo answered hesitantly. "Let go of her, Touji-san. Doubt she's much of a threat against all of us, especially if already injured."

Kazuo walked over to Kitano and the girl, smiling slightly as he arrived. "You all right?"

The events that unfolded before him caught Hishou Hane staring blankly. Shadows? A copy... no... a girl that looked like Kazuo? What is going on here? he thought to himself. It took a moment for him to gather his senses.

Hane smiled once more at Hitomi, "Well, I can't have you being nervous now, can I?" He let go of her hand and returned his own to his pocket, "I am known for accommodating the ladies. To do otherwise is to do them an injustice."

"So," he added as he turned to face the near-doppelganger girl, "ya think we might need a doctor or someone? You look pretty banged up there... your injuries, did that Shadow thing do that to you."

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

Hitomi felt relieved that it was just a regular girl that made the noise even if it was a disturbing noise. Everything was happening so fast it was getting hectic. She was clueless about the details of the situation around her but from the conversation and the faint noises that rang clearly in her ears; this unknown girl appeared to be either threatening and/or injured. Hitomi also had no idea what that girl meant when she said the word ‘Shadow’. Did she mean the dark shape that is made when light is cast on objects or was it something far worse?

Lowering her guard since it seemed like everything was under control she asked politely, “So um can someone please explain to me what’s going on? If there is an injured girl over there than I believe we should take her to the hospital to see a doctor just like Hishou-san suggested.” This shadow was it that monster…maybe this girl would give us some much needed answers as to what is going on.

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This time Taro made up his mind. "Yeah, we need to make sure everyone is okay... because I really hope that I'm not inhaling something I shouldn't be." He flipped open his cell phone and a taxi service. "Excuse me? I need 2 taxis to bring us to the hospital. It shouldn't be an emergency but I will add a large tip if you can hurry." He told them where they were, then closed his phone. "They should be on their way so maybe we should just take a seat." Taro fidgeted a little and looked around for a bench. He found one and turned to their new acquaintance. "Can you walk?"

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

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