Chapter Text
The Velvet Room Aria of the Soul
Rhys began to wake up inside his Velvet Room after going to sleep for the day. He began to recognize the faint piano and woman singing, the blue walls, ceiling furniture, and the hospital bed he laid on. Sure enough he was greeted by Igor and the attendant known as Samantha.
“Welcome to the Velvet Room!” Samantha greeted Rhys this time.
“Hello.” Rhys answered back. “I take it I’m asleep right now?”
“Correct.” The attendant confirmed. “You are a fast learner indeed!”
Igor began to snicker as always. “It seems you have overcome the first of many challenges in your journey. Obstacles that will require the strength of yourself and others to overcome.”
“You’ve already come to the conclusion of your journey only beginning.” Samantha added. “More obstacles remain in your path to peace, and more bonds are to be forged.”
Igor proceeded to hold out the Judgement arcana card. “It appears you have ignited a bond of unwavering potential. The spark of this bond is faint. However, with enough time and as your numbers increase, this bond will become stronger.”
“It is the bond to defeat Death itself…” Samantha hinted.
Rhys was confused about why the Judgement bond was of significance. “Defeat Death itself? What does that mean?”
Igor looked down, trying his best not to say anything that could seem intervening. “A fragment of the past is on the verge of returning. This will be one of the biggest obstacles in your pursuit of peace. This bond shall aid you if mended properly.”
Rhys was still confused but felt himself start to fade away.
“It seems we are out of time for now. Until next time…” Igor dismissed Rhys as he began to wake up in his apartment.
4/27 – Monday
Hokkaido University – Entrance
Rhys and Takeo began their walk to class for Monday, excited to see their friend back at last. It would be nice for the trio to be back together despite being together for only a week before Hiromi was kidnapped. When they got to the entrance of the university, they saw her standing with her usual purple backpack, wearing black jeans and a purple long sleeve shirt.
“Yo! Hiro-chan! Welcome back!” Takeo greeted the purple lover.
“It’s great to see you again Koda-san.” Rhys greeted as well.
She began to chuckle “Kuramoto-san, we’ve been over this. You can call me Hiro.”
“Whatever makes you feel better Hiro-san.” He shrugged.
“Sensei told me you guys would help me get caught up. But buy “you guys” I’m guessing he meant just you Rhys-san because I doubt Takeo-san remembers anything from the past couple of weeks.”
Takeo groaned “Heeeyah! I’m getting better.”
Rhys remembered asking Solomon to meet him and Takeo somewhere after class, so he decided to ask Hiromi as well.
“Hey Hiro-san, can you meet come with us somewhere later today? We’d like to talk to you about that stuff.” He whispered.
Hiromi nodded “Yeah I’m too nosy for my own good to not be intrigued by whatever happened to me. I’ll tag along.”
Takeo threw his fist in the air. “Alright! Fair warning that talking bird is gonna be there.”
“Yeah, figured you should meet him. Don’t worry he’s nice if you don’t throw anything at him.” Rhys joked.
“Cool.” Hiromi nodded. “We should probably get to class then, we don’t want to be late on my first day back!”
The three walked to their first class together and got on with the day. Hiromi took notes on current subjects and lectures while Rhys and Takeo helped out where necessary by giving past notes and materials. They eventually made it through the day and went to one of the more secluded areas of the university’s campus.
Afterschool – Campus Grounds
“Uuuuuugh that was SO many notes…” Hiromi groaned as she threw her bag onto a table and slumped into a chair.
“Yeah you said it.” Takeo said as he handed Hiromi and Rhys some bottles of water. “Didn’t help that today was one of Sensei’s big lectures.”
As Rhys took a sip of his drink, he began to scan for Solomon to see if he was in the area. He couldn’t find him.
“Where’s that dove at? I told him where exactly we would be.”
“Give him a second Rhys-san.” Takeo leaned back into a chair. “He’s probably eating some pigeon food again.”
“I can’t believe I met a talking dove and cat in the same night.” Hiromi said as she was organizing pencils in a small plastic packet. “I think I have finally lost it.”
“At least you said dove.”
“AHH!” Hiromi jumped from hearing a voice come from behind her. It was the dove himself. Her pencils flew out of her hand as she got startled.
“There you are.” Rhys said as he helped pick up Hiromi’s pencils.
“Why did you have to do that?!” Hiromi scowled. “You couldn’t have just flown in front of us?!”
“Think of it as a unique introduction young lady.” Solomon jokingly said.
Takeo groaned. “Leave it to the bird to do something weird…”
“Hey! I’ll come over there!” Solomon chirped back.
“Settle down for now.” Rhys sat down as he got his friends in order. “It is time for our first official meeting.”
“I’m sorry what now?” Takeo asked.
Solomon was confused too. “Meeting? But we had one yesterday.”
“Not the entire group you two. Just us.” Rhys looked around to make sure no one was around before leaning in. “This is the first meeting for the Talons of Peace.”
“Ohhhh.” Takeo gasps. “Cool!”
“Wait then why am I here?” Hiromi raised her hand.
“Yeah she’s not a Talon! Buzz off lady!” Solomon chirped again.
“I’m gonna pluck one of your damn feathers if you don’t shut your trap!” Hiromi pointed a pencil at the dove.
“Guys!” Rhys interrupted. “Let me finish my sentence please. Hiro-san, you wanted to know what happened on Saturday, so I’m gonna tell you.”
Rhys began to explain the elevator ritual, the shadows, and the meaning of the Persona. He explained what a Persona was and the story behind his brother Logan. Every little detail he could think of, he filled Hiromi in on.
“So the elevator ritual was real?” Hiromi asked.
“Yeah…just not in the way you’d think.” Takeo said scratching his head.
“And the thing that came out of me, that is my Persona?”
“Yep. Your other self if you will.” Rhys elaborated.
“And Sensei has known all of this his entire life?” Hiromi asked regarding Minato.
“His situation was different than ours.” Rhys answered back. “I figure the same could be said about the Phantom Thieves and the other three Persona users, but I don’t know their exact stories yet.”
“Hiro-chan, we believe The Hounds of Chaos kidnapped you for a specific reason, like you were on a list or something.” Takeo leaned forward.
“Really? Why?” Hiromi raised an eyebrow.
Solomon hopped to the table in the center. “Do you remember being taken to a chapel of sorts? Perhaps the feeling of getting cut on the hand?”
Hiromi eyes lit up. “Hey I do remember that! I kept fading in and out of consciousness. I couldn’t really hear anything, but I remember hearing one thing. Those guys slicing my palm woke me up for just a second, but my mouth was covered so I couldn’t scream. When my blood hit the table, it turned into something bright and blue, like a flame. All I remember hearing before I fell unconscious again was someone saying, “she’s worthy of sacrifice.” That’s all.”
“Could that be the way they test one’s potential?” Rhys asked Solomon.
“It’s the best thing I can think of.” The dove replied.
“You guys never specifically said why you think they took me.”
“We think the Hounds took you because they knew you had the potential to awaken to a Persona.” Rhys revealed.
“How would they know that?” Hiromi questioned the theory.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Takeo answered. “Look if this really isn’t over, then that means you weren’t the last Hiro-chan.”
Rhys nodded. “I agree with Takeo, they’re going to find another person with potential, but we don’t know who. We need to stop them from whatever they plan to do, even if it’s another sacrifice.”
The group remained silent for a second, trying to think of their next move.
“I’ll help.” Hiromi blurted out.
“Wait you will?!” Takeo exclaimed. “We haven’t even asked you yet!”
“You guys saved my life, it’s time I returned the favor. Besides, I got a score to settle with those Hound jerks.” Hiromi stood up.
Rhys stood up as well. “As long as you want to.”
“Wait you letting me in just like that?” Hiromi asked. “Your other friends don’t get a say before so?”
“Well last night they appointed me leader over literally all of them, so the way I see it….” Rhys grabbed his bag and took another sip from his bottle. “…I can do whatever the hell I please.”
“So what does that make Hiro-chan?” Takeo asked Rhys.
“You remember that symbol on your hand Hiro-san? Me and Tak have the same thing. That means you’re one of us now. Welcome to the Talons of Peace.” Rhys held his hand out to the new member.
Hiromi shook Rhys’s hand. “I’ll do my best.”
Takeo jumped out of his seat. “Alright! We got a new member! Welcome aboard Hiro-chan!”
As the three began to leave with Solomon, Hiromi remembered one more question. “Hey guys?”
Rhys and Takeo turned around. “What’s up?”
“You guys…wouldn’t happen to know a good place to stay would you? The kidnapping made my parents paranoid, and they don’t feel safe leaving me in that shack we call a house. So until they can afford a better place, they want me to live somewhere else.”
“We can ask Sensei if you can live in the apartments with us.” Takeo came up with a solution to Hiromi’s predicament.
“You can!? Please do!” Hiromi sounded excited to have a chance to live in the apartments.
“Of course.” Rhys smiled. “I’m sure Arisato will find a way to place you in a room. We’ll ask.”
“Thank you guys!” Hiromi checked her phone. “I’ll go let my parents know. Later Talons!” She ran off as Takeo, Rhys, and Solomon watched.
“She’ll make a good member you two.” Solomon reassured. “Let’s start heading back.”
The two of them nodded as they strengthened the numbers of their group. Hiromi Koda has joined the Talons of Peace.
Otaru Apartments – Evening
Rhys, Takeo, and Solomon returned to the dorm as the moon began to set. As they walked in they noticed the lobby looked more filled than usual as the Phantom Thieves and Investigation Team had finished moving into each of their rooms. Yosuke and Chie were put in a single room, as were Futaba and Yusuke. The rest of the new residents were put into rooms by themselves. In the lobby was Yosuke, Ken, and Morgana sitting on the couch near the TV, and Narukami and Ren sitting at the bar next to the entrance to the kitchen. Takeo went up to his room to finish some homework and Solomon flew to the top of one of the ceiling fans in the lobby while Rhys decided to first talk to the three sitting on the couch. He hadn’t had a proper conversation with the Prince of Junes yet, so he figured he’d get to know him.
“There’s our leader!” Junpei said while pointing at Rhys who had walked over to the couches. He was sitting on the sofa chair in between the two couches Yosuke and Ken were sitting on. “What’s good Rhys-san!”
“Good evening, Iori-san.” Rhys greeted as he sat in the chair adjacent to Junpei.
“Were you able to get Koda-san caught up?” Ken asked as he wrote notes down in his journal.
“We got started. It’s gonna take a couple of days to get her fully caught up. Arisato is merciless with his notes.” Rhys answered as he yawned.
Yosuke had a pair of orange headphones on and was looking at his phone during the conversation. He eventually looked up and took them off when he noticed Rhys.
“Oh your name’s Rhys, right? I never actually introduced myself ‘cause I figured you already knew my name from the kidnappings. Either way, I’m Yosuke Hanamura. Thanks again for helping my friends save my skin. I owe you a drink sometime.”
“Don’t mention it.” Rhys nodded his head. “So what is it you do? I never really caught wind of what you make a living out of.”
“I work at a department store in Inaba called Junes. My dad runs the business and over time I took the role of head manager. I just recently told the old man I’ll be staying here for a while longer, so he put me on involuntary leave.”
“How long have you worked there?” Rhys asked.
“Basically since 2011. I tried college when I graduated but it was not for me, so I dropped out. My dad was struggling to keep Junes afloat, so I stayed to help him get it back up. The store is in good shape now since we merged with the Shopping District.”
“Do you have any more friends beside Narukami-san and your wife?”
Yosuke groaned. “Unfortunately, yeah. I’m just gonna warn you in advance some of them will say or do things that’ll leave you banging your head against a wall.”
“Did you guys ever go your separate ways like Arisato’s friends?”
“Hey we had lives to live Rhys-san!” Junpei exclaimed. “Going separate is natural in life!”
“Kinda. Narukami moved back to the city after the first year he was in Inaba. Some stayed in the town while others did things outside of Inaba. Narukami eventually moved to Inaba permanently after he got done with college.” Yosuke replied.
Rhys nodded as he began to get up. “Well I got something I need to take care of. It was nice getting to talk to you Yosuke-san.”
“You too Rhys-san.” Yosuke put his headphones back on as Rhys said later to Junpei and Ken.
Rhys walked over to the bar Ren and Narukami were sitting at to greet them.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?”
“Hey Kuramoto. We’re doing fine.” Ren greeted the new leader.
Narukami took a sip out of a shot glass. “What’s up leader? You doing good?”
“Yeah just dandy.” Rhys jokingly said. “Have you two seen Arisato anywhere? I need to ask him something.”
“Uh yeah. Arisato is-
Clanging pots can be heard from the kitchen before a faint “shit!”
“Doing something in there.” Ren pointed towards he kitchen.
“It smells good though.” Narukami sniffed the air.
“Got it. Thanks you two.” Rhys nodded at the other two Wild Cards as he walked into the kitchen. When he got in there, he saw Minato frantically trying to put a pan back on an eye. There was some vegetables in it alongside some beef. He began to turn the stove off as Rhys walked in. He noticed the transfer student and put the pan to the side.
“Need any help?” Rhys asked his teacher.
“Oh-uh no I just got done. I don’t know why I keep dropping the damn pans though. Might just be that I’m tired. Yukari assigned me to cook for her and the kids today. I might be decent at cooking, but I’m a school professor, not a chef.”
Rhys began to laugh. “I can relate. I had to learn how to cook just so my mom didn’t have to. She is my biggest critic.”
Minato laugh as well as he put a lid over the pan. “So what’s up? Did you get Koda-san up to speed in her material?”
“Kinda. But this is still about Hiro-san.”
“Oh? What about her?” Minato crossed his arms.
“She told me and Tak something earlier today. Her parents want her to live somewhere safer because of her kidnapping. So…I was wondering if she could live here? I already made her a member of the Talons so I think it would help if she was here all the time.”
Minato hummed. “This theoretically is a safe place. There are a ton of adults here all the time. And you said you filled her in on everything. If she is willing to help, then I see no problem with it. I’ll talk to Kirijo about it considering she bought the place, I’d go on ahead and tell her she can move in here. I’ll contact her parents myself.”
“She’ll be thrilled. When can she move in?” Rhys said with a thankful grin.
“Let’s try the 29th. That’s Showa Day so you guys will be out of class for the holiday.”
“Got it. I’ll let her know tomorrow. Thanks Arisato.” Rhys dismissed with Minato as the bluenette agreed to get Hiromi a room in Otaru Apartments. After that, Rhys went back to his room and went to bed for the day.
4/28 – Tuesday
Hokkaido University – Entrance
Rhys walked to the university by himself today. On the way there, he decided to call his mother. He remembered she told him she was going to get a check up due to some coughs and forgot to call her. It had been a week since he called her.
While walking on the sidewalk he began to call her. Rhys put his phone back in his pocket since he had his headphones on and began to talk to his mom as he was walking to class.
“Hello?”
“Hey Ma. How are you doing?” Rhys began to speak in English.
“What do you mean dear?”
“Last week you said you were going to the doctor to check up on that cough, did you go?”
“Oh…yes I went.”
“What’d they say?”
“It’s nothing…doctors said it is just flu. It will pass eventually.”
“That’s good to hear.” Rhys said that as he heard his mom coughing. But…the cough was really aggressive. It sounded like the cough was physically draining her.
“I’ll be fine son. Now it is nighttime over here and I need my rest. So you get to class, okay?”
“Okay Ma, I’ll let you sleep. Love you.”
“Have fun Rhys. Love you too.” *click* The phone call ends. Even after she said it was just the flu, Rhys was still concerned about his mother. He felt there was more to it but he knew his mom would never lie to him about anything. He ended the call as he made it to the entrance to the university, where Hiromi was standing again.
“Hey Rhys-san! How’s it going?” Hirmoi waved at Rhys as he walked over.
“Good morning Hiro-san. I’m doing great. I walked by myself today. Takeo-san had to stop by some other part of campus.”
“So…” Hiromi began twiddling her thumbs. “What did Sensei say?”
“Hiro-san, looks like you’re the newest resident of Otaru Apartments.” Rhys said while grinning.
“Really!? He said yes!?” her eyes lit up.
“Yep. He said he would call your parents today and he and one of his friends would get your room assigned.”
“YES!” Hiromi jumped in the air, her black and purple hair flying all over her face as she jumped with excitement. “So when am I moving in?”
“Arisato suggested tomorrow since we’re out for Showa Day. For now, let’s get you caught up with everything.”
“Say less! C’mon let’s go.” Hiromi and Rhys walked to class for the day and proceeded as normal. Rhys began to feel like his life in Sapporo was going to be the best for him, and everything was gonna work out. His journey had only just begun.
Evening
Kita Ward – Unknown Company Tower
It is nighttime in Kita Ward and people have filed out of the sidewalks and streets. A bald man in a red velvet suit is walking on the district’s sidewalk towards one of the tall buildings there. He walks into the empty lobby, the only person there being a receptionist. She smiles politely and begins to greet him.
“Welcome to Ashina Refreshments! I’m sorry, but we’re about to close. If you wish to make an appointment, please sign the form on the counter.”
The man leaned forward and looked the receptionist with cold eyes. “Sanguis pro Chaos.” He sternly spoke. The smile on the receptionist vanished and she pressed a button on her desk that calls the elevator in the lobby.
“They’re waiting for you…my Deacon.”
Deacon nodded as he walked into the elevator. The door shut but instead of going to a higher floor, the elevator began to go down despite Deacon not pressing any of the buttons. As the elevator descended underground, he began to slip on black gloves and pulled out his white-fur wolf mask that went over his entire head. As he put it on, he took a deep breath and the elevator stopped.
The door began to open to a concrete hallway, candles lighting it to a black door at the end. Before the door were two heavily armed Hounds of Chaos. They wore red hoods over the back of their heads and black leather wolf masks on their faces. Along with what they wore on their heads, the two guards wore black trench coats that covered their entire body.
“The others are waiting for you Deacon.” One of the guards said as they both bowed while placing their right fist on their chests.
“Very well.” Deacon nodded as he opened the door. Behind the door was a meeting room of sorts. It was a long narrow room with candles hoisted on the walls. A dim lamp lit the top of the room and in the room itself was a long table with papers and books placed all over it. In the room were two other members of the Hounds, but like Deacon were dressed differently from the average grunt.
The one to the left of the table from Deacon’s view was a man. He was taller than Deacon and the other hound and wore a silver metal wolf mask. The mask only covered the top of his head to his nose. The inner part of the mask’s ears had a darker shade of silver compared to the rest of the mask. This darker shade covered the inner part of the mask’s forehead and went down a narrow line to the nose. The outer frame of the mask was a dark red that bled into the inner parts of the mask in a branch like pattern. Underneath his mask, the Hound was covering his entire head and neck with a black full-face mask. He wore a dark, midnight blue tailcoat that came with a hood. He had the hood over his head. On the tailcoat itself was silver wrist gauntlets and small shouler pads on each side, with the coat being zipped up with a leather grey vest.
To Deacon’s right was a woman the same size as him. Her wolf mask covered her entire face, but not her medium length orange hair. Her mask was made out of wood and looked like a wolf’s skull with the addition of pale white ears. The white wolf skull mask was etched with a dark orange trellis pattern. She wore a long, white poncho over black slacks and a white long sleeve and black tactical vest.
“You’re late Deacon.” The man in the dark blue tailcoat spoke to him.
“There were other matters to attend to Cardinal. I’m sure you would understand. Besides, I’m not the only one late it seems.” He turns to look at the woman. “Do you know where the others are Bishop?”
Bishop crossed her arms. “It will just be us three tonight. The two Archbishops are gathering more leads.”
“Those two are our sources for our targets.” Deacon scowled. “Did the Alpha authorize this?
“Yes.” Cardinal replied. “The Alpha informed me of their absences. But that is not the matter of this meeting.”
“What is the report on the Wraith from the Citadel of Envy? The Alpha has grown impatient with your silence Deacon.” Bishop ordered their colleague to speak.
“The Citadel of Envy was a failure.”
“Failed!?” Cardinal exclaimed. “Explain Deacon!”
“We were making the preparations for the sacrifices in order to tame the Wraith. However, on the 25th, I had to leave for other matters. During my absence, their friends attacked and saved them. In the process…they killed the Wraith.”
“But that’s impossible!” Bishop shouted. “The Wraiths are too powerful, that’s why we wanted to tame them to begin with.”
Cardinal sighed. “What of our men? Were there any casualties.”
Deacon began to laugh. “Oh yes. All of them were killed. Three of them were killed by their own hands.”
“Oh Really?” Cardinal began to look at an ancient book on the table. “It’s just as the prophecy said. “In the journey, the righteous heroes will sacrifice their morals. Morals contradicting their codes to spare the lives of their enemies.”
“If the prophecy really is coming to pass, does that mean..?” Bishop began to gasp.
“I believe it does.” Cardinal looked at Deacon again. “Was he there Deacon?”
“Yes. Logan’s little brother was there. Rhys Kuramoto.”
“The Kingslayer…” The two other Hounds whispered to themselves.
“They don’t know our true intentions yet.” Deacon grabbed the ancient book and began to flip through the pages. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“Who does the prophecy say the Kingslayer meets next?” Bishop asked. “He already met the last line of intellectual blood and the framed victim.”
Deacon began to read pages aloud from the book. “In the next chapter of the Kingslayer’s journey, he will meet another ally to his cause. The one who was abandoned at birth, lived a life of mockery, and only sees the world through one eye…”
“One eye?” Cardinal asked. “So we must search for a monophthalmic?”
“It seems so. They have already created their cause.” Deacon scowled.
“Yes. The Talons of Peace.” Bishop growled.
Cardinal got a buzz from his phone. “Ah. It seems the Archbishops have found our two other targets.”
“Good.” Deacon breathed. “For now, we should lie low, and wait for the cyclops to make themselves known. We will begin to make our move on the 15th of May.”
“Agreed.” Bishop nodded. “This is your assignment Deacon.”
“Don’t fail the Alpha again.” Cardinal scowled towards Deacon. The three then put their fists over their chests. “To the glory of Chaos!” The three chanted. The hierarchy of the Hounds of Chaos dismissed, their goals in mind, and their next targets located.