Post by graybeardhalt on Dec 14, 2011 0:29:11 GMT -5
As promised, here is Kazuma's backstory. It will follow the P4 path pretty closely for a while, but that's mainly for the intro. Once the first dungeon starts, THEN it will get better. Trust me. Anyway, here it is.
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"Hello. Welcome to the Velvet Room," a silky voice echoed from across the limo. The boy's eyes snapped open, taking in everything he could, trying to find a way out of this mysterious place. "Relax," the voice calmly commanded. "You are not in any harm here. You are simply our newest guest." The boy slowly relaxed, the calm voice washing over him. It was then that he noticed the origin of the voice. Sitting just across from him was a demon-like old man. The top of his head was completely bald, but he had pure white locks wringing completely around, stopping at the bangs. He wore a plain black suit with white gloves, but his eyes seemed to gaze into the boy's very soul. A crooked smile spread across the man's face as the eye contact lasted; the boy had to break the contact or risk losing all of his darkest secrets to those eyes. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. Now," the old man continued. "My name is Igor. I shall be the one to guide you on your journey." Igor gestured to the woman sitting beside him, whom the boy just noticed. "This is Margaret, my assistant. She will help you whenever you need it." Margaret nodded stiffly. She was an older woman with long, wavy light blond hair, yellow eyes, and full lips with red lipstick. She was wearing a blue headband, and black turtleneck underneath her blue dress with long sleeves. She sort of resembled a flight attendant, but the dress had eight golden circles running down it. "Now, what is your name?" Igor asked, his voice filled with curiosity. The boy was frozen. Here he was in a strange room, with very strange people, and they were asking his name. "K-Kazuma," the boy finally struggled to say. "Kazuma Magari." Igor's smile deepened and he casually wiped something from his shoulder. "Well then, Kazuma, do you believe in fortune telling?" Kazuma was thrown by this question. Of course he didn't, it was just some sham to scare old women away from their money. Igor seemed to sense this suspicion, but his smile held. He pulled a tray out, forming a table in front of him. As he brushed a gloved hand across the wooden surface, cards suddenly appeared, following the white hand's path. A bead of sweat formed on Kazuma's forehead, his eyes following the hand's every twitch now. "Every reading is done with the same cards," Igor explained, adjusting a card here and there. "Yet the result is always different." Igor chuckled slightly. "Life itself follows the same principle, doesn't it?" As he finished, he flipped a seemingly random card. Kazuma tried not to look too interested while at the same time trying to see what the card was. "The Tower," Igor declared. "In the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is...." Igor reached over and flipped another card. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'....Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you." Igor stated, leaning back in his seat. Studying Kazuma for a minute, he continued. "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny...." Igor's smile seemed to darken slightly. "If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. " Igor nonchalantly adjusted his tie, not taking his eyes of Kazuma. "My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen. We shall attend to the details another time," Igor said, leaning forward, interlocking his fingers in front of his face. "Until then, farewell...."
------------April 11th, 2011-------------------------------
Kazuma bolted upright, cold sweat dripping from his body. Out the window, the countryside sped by, tinged orange by the setting sun. 'The train,' Kazuma thought. 'I'm just on the train going to my uncle's. No weird limos, no flight attendant ladies, just a train.' He repeated these thoughts over and over until his breathing finally calmed and he was able to chock the visit up to a dream. As his eyes slowly began to close again, a blaring, metallic voice over the intercom declared "YASOINABA STATION NEXT, YASOINABA STATION." Kazuma shook himself awake and gathered his bags, slinging one of his shoulder and carrying the other. 'I shouldn't have brought so much stuff. It's gonna be hell to carry all the way to the house.' He continued to grumble to himself as his mind flashed back to the last time he had been on this train. Almost twelve years ago to the day, Kazuma had exited the train, still holding onto the folds of his mother's dress, just to make sure to not lose her. She had the knack of wandering off in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Most of the memory was a blur, but he remembered a kind, rugged face, a jacket that he never wore, and maybe the spark of what he now realized were cigarettes. He smiled at the distant memory until the train slid to a stop. Inhaling deeply, he disembarked, taking his first step into a town he'd barely ever seen. 'So this is Inaba....' Kazuma thought, overlooking the station. 'This is gonna be one loooong year.' He sighed, adjusting the bag on his shoulder and moving through the platform. "Hey! Over here!" A man was calling over to Kazuma, waving an arm to draw his attention. The man had short, blackish gray hair, gray eyes, a three-day beard, and broad shoulders. To go along with the relaxed-wear look, he was wearing a dark gray shirt with pulled up sleeves, a loose red necktie, black pants, and a dark brown belt. He had a black jacket thrown over his shoulder, and something seemed to be peeking out from behind it. It was hard to tell from a distance, but as Kazuma got closer he could make out a small girl. She had brown hair, held up in pigtails, and was wearing a pink dress with long white sleeves. Right now, her face was flushed with embarrassment and shyness, but she kept hiding it behind the jacket, only to peek out a few seconds later. Kazuma set his carrying bag down as he approached them, letting out a light sigh of relief. "Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo," The man said, a grin spreading on his face as he held out his hand. Kazuma gripped it, smiling back, though very warily. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'll be looking after you." Kazuma nodded, understanding the earlier comment now. "Let's see....I'm your mother's younger brother....and that about sums it up." Dojima said, clearly uncomfortable. "It's been a long time," Kazuma responded warmly. "You're telling me. I still remember when you were in diapers," Dojima chuckled. He reached behind his jacket and lightly pushed the little girl forward. Her face was deep red, and she constantly stared at her own shoes, fascinated by them. "This here's my daughter," Dojima explained. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." Dojima encouraged, slightly nudging the girl. She looked up, but stared at the wall right next to Kazuma's head. "........'lo." Nanako barely whispered, and vanished behind Dojima's jacket again. Dojima chuckled again. "What're you so shy for?" He teased. Nanako's face lightened a shade of red, and she smacked the back of Dojima's thigh with a resounding 'smack'. "Ow," Dojima said, leaning away from the slap, still chuckling. He turned back to Kazuma, the ghost of smile still on his face. "Well then...let's get going," He said, picking up Kazuma's bag and walking away, Nanako still hiding herself from Kazuma. 'Well....this is going to be interesting.' Kazuma thought, following after the two.
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"Hello. Welcome to the Velvet Room," a silky voice echoed from across the limo. The boy's eyes snapped open, taking in everything he could, trying to find a way out of this mysterious place. "Relax," the voice calmly commanded. "You are not in any harm here. You are simply our newest guest." The boy slowly relaxed, the calm voice washing over him. It was then that he noticed the origin of the voice. Sitting just across from him was a demon-like old man. The top of his head was completely bald, but he had pure white locks wringing completely around, stopping at the bangs. He wore a plain black suit with white gloves, but his eyes seemed to gaze into the boy's very soul. A crooked smile spread across the man's face as the eye contact lasted; the boy had to break the contact or risk losing all of his darkest secrets to those eyes. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. Now," the old man continued. "My name is Igor. I shall be the one to guide you on your journey." Igor gestured to the woman sitting beside him, whom the boy just noticed. "This is Margaret, my assistant. She will help you whenever you need it." Margaret nodded stiffly. She was an older woman with long, wavy light blond hair, yellow eyes, and full lips with red lipstick. She was wearing a blue headband, and black turtleneck underneath her blue dress with long sleeves. She sort of resembled a flight attendant, but the dress had eight golden circles running down it. "Now, what is your name?" Igor asked, his voice filled with curiosity. The boy was frozen. Here he was in a strange room, with very strange people, and they were asking his name. "K-Kazuma," the boy finally struggled to say. "Kazuma Magari." Igor's smile deepened and he casually wiped something from his shoulder. "Well then, Kazuma, do you believe in fortune telling?" Kazuma was thrown by this question. Of course he didn't, it was just some sham to scare old women away from their money. Igor seemed to sense this suspicion, but his smile held. He pulled a tray out, forming a table in front of him. As he brushed a gloved hand across the wooden surface, cards suddenly appeared, following the white hand's path. A bead of sweat formed on Kazuma's forehead, his eyes following the hand's every twitch now. "Every reading is done with the same cards," Igor explained, adjusting a card here and there. "Yet the result is always different." Igor chuckled slightly. "Life itself follows the same principle, doesn't it?" As he finished, he flipped a seemingly random card. Kazuma tried not to look too interested while at the same time trying to see what the card was. "The Tower," Igor declared. "In the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is...." Igor reached over and flipped another card. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'....Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you." Igor stated, leaning back in his seat. Studying Kazuma for a minute, he continued. "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny...." Igor's smile seemed to darken slightly. "If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. " Igor nonchalantly adjusted his tie, not taking his eyes of Kazuma. "My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen. We shall attend to the details another time," Igor said, leaning forward, interlocking his fingers in front of his face. "Until then, farewell...."
------------April 11th, 2011-------------------------------
Kazuma bolted upright, cold sweat dripping from his body. Out the window, the countryside sped by, tinged orange by the setting sun. 'The train,' Kazuma thought. 'I'm just on the train going to my uncle's. No weird limos, no flight attendant ladies, just a train.' He repeated these thoughts over and over until his breathing finally calmed and he was able to chock the visit up to a dream. As his eyes slowly began to close again, a blaring, metallic voice over the intercom declared "YASOINABA STATION NEXT, YASOINABA STATION." Kazuma shook himself awake and gathered his bags, slinging one of his shoulder and carrying the other. 'I shouldn't have brought so much stuff. It's gonna be hell to carry all the way to the house.' He continued to grumble to himself as his mind flashed back to the last time he had been on this train. Almost twelve years ago to the day, Kazuma had exited the train, still holding onto the folds of his mother's dress, just to make sure to not lose her. She had the knack of wandering off in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Most of the memory was a blur, but he remembered a kind, rugged face, a jacket that he never wore, and maybe the spark of what he now realized were cigarettes. He smiled at the distant memory until the train slid to a stop. Inhaling deeply, he disembarked, taking his first step into a town he'd barely ever seen. 'So this is Inaba....' Kazuma thought, overlooking the station. 'This is gonna be one loooong year.' He sighed, adjusting the bag on his shoulder and moving through the platform. "Hey! Over here!" A man was calling over to Kazuma, waving an arm to draw his attention. The man had short, blackish gray hair, gray eyes, a three-day beard, and broad shoulders. To go along with the relaxed-wear look, he was wearing a dark gray shirt with pulled up sleeves, a loose red necktie, black pants, and a dark brown belt. He had a black jacket thrown over his shoulder, and something seemed to be peeking out from behind it. It was hard to tell from a distance, but as Kazuma got closer he could make out a small girl. She had brown hair, held up in pigtails, and was wearing a pink dress with long white sleeves. Right now, her face was flushed with embarrassment and shyness, but she kept hiding it behind the jacket, only to peek out a few seconds later. Kazuma set his carrying bag down as he approached them, letting out a light sigh of relief. "Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo," The man said, a grin spreading on his face as he held out his hand. Kazuma gripped it, smiling back, though very warily. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'll be looking after you." Kazuma nodded, understanding the earlier comment now. "Let's see....I'm your mother's younger brother....and that about sums it up." Dojima said, clearly uncomfortable. "It's been a long time," Kazuma responded warmly. "You're telling me. I still remember when you were in diapers," Dojima chuckled. He reached behind his jacket and lightly pushed the little girl forward. Her face was deep red, and she constantly stared at her own shoes, fascinated by them. "This here's my daughter," Dojima explained. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." Dojima encouraged, slightly nudging the girl. She looked up, but stared at the wall right next to Kazuma's head. "........'lo." Nanako barely whispered, and vanished behind Dojima's jacket again. Dojima chuckled again. "What're you so shy for?" He teased. Nanako's face lightened a shade of red, and she smacked the back of Dojima's thigh with a resounding 'smack'. "Ow," Dojima said, leaning away from the slap, still chuckling. He turned back to Kazuma, the ghost of smile still on his face. "Well then...let's get going," He said, picking up Kazuma's bag and walking away, Nanako still hiding herself from Kazuma. 'Well....this is going to be interesting.' Kazuma thought, following after the two.
