[IC] [High-Casual] Persona: Mirrors Mirage

[Makatsume Haru]

The night before the start of the new school year, a group of people who had either just recently enrolled or are coming back to Tsukiyama Academy after some well deserved vacations, fell into a deep sleep. Whether they were tired or not, they were nervous or expectant or whatever else, even if they didn't feel like sleeping that day, they just couldn't shake off their sleepiness, regardless of their situations, just before midnight hit. However, after closing their eyes and seemingly falling asleep, they were greeted by something else. Their vision was filled with a deep blue and they found themselves in a foreign and odd room. A room that they did not recognize, but felt strangely reassuring and calming. Everything was way too vivid to be only a dream.

In it, a man with his eyes casted down sits right in front of them, with a little blue desk in front of him, and beside him, a woman, who cannot be described with any other word than beautiful. Upon closer inspection, they may notice the sound of crashing waves and the light movement inside the room. They are clearly on board a boat. Before long, the man that had been looking down lifts his head and reveals his ridiculously long nose and bulging, bloodshot eyes. As he speaks, he sports a smile that looks as crazy as his eyes.

"Welcome, to The Velvet Room. Do not be alarmed, you are sound asleep in the real world right now." The bizarre man explains, as if to soothe his guests. "My name is Igor, and this here is my assistant, Priscilla. We are delighted to make your acquaintance." Igor makes a gesture towards his assistant, telling her to introduce herself. Regardless of it, however, he continues. "We have called you all here tonight for a reason. I am certain that you have noticed that something seems off recently in your city, maybe you have even experienced the cause of this, but you are still unable to believe your eyes." He lets out a slight chuckle before continuing. Something sounded off on that last sentence, though. Everyone there thought they were alone in this so-called 'Velvet Room', but now that they are aware of it, they feel as if there were way more people than just the three of them, however, it is really odd, after all, they can only see Igor and Priscilla, but something definitely feels odd about it. Not as if this whole thing was bizarre enough, anyway. "But, it is our role to help you through this..."

Igor puts his hands above the blue desk in front of him, and a deck of cards appears. "Do you believe in fortune telling?" He swipes with his hand into the air, and 6 cards from the deck follow suit, spreading themselves throughout the desk in an orderly manner. "Even though every reading is done with the same cards, the result is always different... Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?" Before continuing, he accommodates himself in his seat and lets out another chuckle. "What I find most intriguing of this is that every guest tonight shares the same fate. Perhaps destiny has bigger plans than even I cannot predict." Igor himself confirms it, there is more than one person right now in The Velvet Room. "Now, shall we?" With a swift motion of his fingers, a card flips itself. "Ah.... The Tower, in the upright position. It seems that a catstrophe is imminent. However..." With another motion, yet another card reveals itself. "The Lovers, in the downright position. Hmm, it seems that this catastrophe will not be something you have to face alone, as the Lovers represent relationships, but due to its position, this will not be something certain for all of you." Though it should have ended there, when two cards are revealed from each side of the spread cards, Igor reveals yet another one. "Let's see, due to the amount of people, yet another card needs to be revealed. The Wheel of Fortune, in the upright position. Changes are imminent in your future, however, whether you are willing to accept them or not, is entirely up to you."

Igor, with another swipe of his hand, makes the cards return to the deck. "You have an intriguing future, indeed. For now, we shall say our farewells, but be certain... We'll meet again, and then, we'll attend to the details we may be 'neglecting' as of now. Though that task will be mainly Priscilla's, as my role right now is that of a mere fortune teller. Until then, farewell."

The Velvet Room fades to black....

---

Touko woke up on her bed, breathing heavily and holding her brother's pendant tight in her hand. "What was on with that dream...? Huh, I can't really remember what it was about..." As hard as she tried, right now she couldn't recall what her dream was about, as neither of the others who also experienced it could.

"Touko-chan! If you don't hurry up you'll be late to your first day! The voice of a middle aged man can be heard from outside Touko's room, more especifically, the first floor of her house.

"Coming, dad!" She says and is about to rush out of her room with her pink, baggy pajamas still on. Realizing that she should get ready before having breakfast, otherwise, her foster dad would get angry at her. She quickly dresses up with a pink dress with black details, she also puts on a pair of black stockings and on come her high-laced boots, by the way, the laces are pink. Though she almost forgets, Touko takes the white blazer the school gives out to students. Tsukiyama Academy is very flexible regarding uniforms, usually just making the first year students wear a blazer, black for males and white for females, and even with first years, as long as they have it in their bag they see no problem about it. Though being this flexible about uniforms also makes them a bit more strict with other things, such as committees or student council.

After having breakfast with her dad in the dinning table, she leaves her plates with the maids that are around her house. Such irony, passing from the streets to a mansion with maids.

"I'll be off, dad!" She says and runs out of her house.

"Have fun, Touko-chan."

---

Upon arrival to the school, the students are to check their classrooms on the announcement board and then head to them. Touko gets her classroom number pretty quickly and heads off to her class. In every year and classroom, the homeroom teacher asks the students to present themselves.

When Touko's turn arrives, she stands up and goes to the front of the class. She takes a deep breath before giving her introduction. "Hello, my name is Suzuhara Touko! What I looove the most are magic tricks and thinks like that! I hoope we get along this year, everyone!" She says in an energetic and cute tone, though people like her dad or the maids in the house would see right through her fake emotions. However, everyone in this class, who were complete strangers, totally fell for it. Many of her classmates now think Touko is an energetic girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. Poor fools.

[Draconilian]

"What, was that?" Ken never dreamed, supposedly that was a sign of unhealthy sleep, though he never felt like he didn't get enough, a solid eight hours a night. But they always passed by instantly, never any dreams. Their rarity was enough to make him pay attention to it. Though in his mind, the memories were rapidly fading, all he could remember, was a strange man, and some cards... How peculiar. No time for further thought though. First day of a new year, his second year at Tsukiyama. The school was nice enough, nobody knew him, nobody cared to, and he didn't want anything to do with anybody. As far as his teachers were concerned, he was just a number. And that is how he preferred to be. Things work best when nobody gets into your business, and that's true of even the most innocuous business, the type of things that Ken concerned himself with these days, like stock trading. Much safer than drug dealing, and not as time consuming as an ordinary part time job. "It's practically the perfect crime, except it isn't even a crime. Making money multiply itself? How much better could it get?" He thought when he first started. All he had to do was follow the largest businesses and extrapolate what would happen to them. He had a nice amount saved, perhaps enough for a watch even better than his current one.

As much as he hated his current watch, it was highly functional, and that was enough to make him keep it, until he could replace it with something superior at least. Ken put on his new uniform and grabbed his watch off the endtable. He also remembered his knife, just in case. Not quite legal to carry around in school, but his pockets never got searched anyway, another thing worth keeping around for sheer function. He sped down the stairs of his apartment complex, onto the sidewalk. and took his place in the natural line of walking traffic. Thankfully the school was a short stroll from his home, and within five minutes he had reached the gates.

There were a few students still lingering around before the bell, but it wasn't in his nature to be tardy, so he kept a quick pace and made it into 2-4, the assigned classroom this year. Most other people had already arrived, so he took a spot near the back, one that nobody would want, but his vision was good, and it kept him from interacting with others. Since there was a handful of minutes left, he broke out his phone and began to check the news. The headline caught his attention, primarily because of it's local nature.

"Lhermitte Effect:" He mumbled under his breath "Mysterious illness causing intensely vivid hallucinations, occasionally suicide in the victims. Cases found locally, with an extra concentration at..." He scrolled down to see the last word.

"Tsukiyama High School?" he gasped, still quietly, but surely somebody heard him. No way, I've never seen anybody here freak out about something unreal... how recent is this? is it less severe than it sounds? is it all made up by the government to scare us or cover something up? Hmm, I'd best keep an eye out to see if anybody manifests symptoms He folded his hands and rested his chin on them, waiting for class to begin.

[Noel]

Drowsily the girls eyes began to drift open to take in the elegantly odd blue scenery surrounding her. She was one of many, several other individuals standing about in the surreal room. Rei paid the others no mind, her attention being drawn across the room by a voice belonging to an equally strange, even odd looking man sat behind a desk. She blinked slowly, idly wondering if there could be anyone who looked such a way in the real world. But wait, what was there to say this was not the real world? Strange as it all felt, it felt just as real as anything else at the same time. Her eyes drifted again, this time to another figure, a woman standing in stark contrast to the eerie looking man at the table. Striking golden eyes and white hair, a soft smile painting her features and a deep blue uniform matching the rooms décor. As if on queue, the woman introduced as Priscilla made a single step forward followed by a formal bow, the heavy leather bound tome hanging from her shoulder swinging with motion.

Rei could only watch the proceedings, silent and dumbfounded. The girl was entirely unsure how to react to anything as the man calling himself Igor produced a series of tarot cards and delivered a reading. If the situation itself did not leave her confused enough, this made her even more baffled. Furthermore, the message delivered by the reading caused an uneasy feeling to rise in her stomach. She wanted to step forward and demand more answers yet she found herself unable to remain anything but passive and simply listen to the proceedings. Before she knew it the reading was complete and farewells were said, leaving the scene to fade into darkness. As it did so and her consciousness faded back to sleep she would notice the woman Priscilla raise her hand in a wave before turning towards her master.

”My, so many new arrivals today. It seems things are going to become exciting once again. I do so hope they will visit again soon. I wonder which...” The attendant spoke in an enthusiastic tone, her voice gradually blurring out into silence...

---

Early morning, Rei awoke with a groan, the morning sunlight glaring harshly through thin curtains. The girl pushed herself from her bed, stumbling off the side in a morning stupor and landing on the floor with a thud, the blanket tangled around her legs. ”Oi dammit Nozomi, keep it down already!” A voice spat harshly from a bunk above, a hand swinging over the edge of the bed, a stiff pillow flung and meeting Rei's face as her attention was drawn. ”Mao I swear to god I'll punch you right in the throat one of these days...” She growled a reply as she gathered her things for the day ahead from a drawer beneath her bunk and heading off to shower and get ready.

After showering she quickly dressed, choosing a males gakuran which was admittedly a size too large for her having taken it from one of the resident delinquents that hardly showed up to class anyway. She wore it open with a white collared shirt beneath and a pair of black pants for her bottoms, the outfit completed with two items she always held, her black cap and the leather belt and waist pouch strapped around her waist. After dressing the girl wasted no time leaving the orphanage, departing without even bothering to eat.

Her trip to school would be an all too annoyingly familiar run to the school campus which sat several blocks away from her boarding house. On the best days all she could hope for was a jog to school, and on the worst a full on sprint. Today fell closer to the sprint end of the spectrum. As she ran to school Rei found herself recalling the strange dreams from the night before which were surely to blame for the unfortunate morning. She couldn’t help but curse her own mind for conjuring those night time visions, a feeling she often had...

---

Already running Rei would continue until reaching the bulletin board with the list of class assignments for her year, still late despite her efforts. The girl sighed, her chest already heaving from the long run as she noted the classroom. Room 3-3, located on the third floor. She groaned before starting off and running up the stairs. When she arrived at her classroom she stopped before the door to catch her breath, already hearing the sounds of the first day introductions. She sighed, reading herself for the inevitable disapproving scowl of the teacher and the irritating snickering of the students, sliding the door open and stepping in.

The one saving grace for her was the teacher being one she had before, an instructor for her previous year. The man still gave the judgmental scowl but at least she didn’t have to bother explaining the situation. ”Nozomi, Rei...” She stated in introduction, pausing for a moment as she thought of something else to say before finally giving up and giving a dismissive wave, proceeding to her seat and practically falling into it, her legs aching all the way. She could, of course, hear other students already gossiping away. The year was already off to an annoying start.

[chukklehed]

Tsukiko sat in the middle of the classroom, her eyes closed and her mind open, absorbing all of the random chatter and gossip around the room. Thanks to her tonal eidetic memory, she could easily remember all the different conversations that were going on at once, and smiled when somebody started talking to themselves about the Lehrmitte Effect. She already knew what the reports were saying about it, but she never believed a story written by another journalist until she researched it herself.

Most of the other conversations were pointless, things about how glad so and so was to be in somebody's class again or who was dating who, which, while something another school reporter might jump on, just wasn't the kind of thing she wrote about. She found her mind drifting back to the dream she had last night, but no matter how hard she focused on it the only thing she could remember was there was a lot of blue. She sighed again, wishing her perfect memory extended to dreams too. She opened her eyes, done listening to the inane chatter and started getting ready for home room.

[Zane620]

Rubbing his eyes, Kazu sat up in his bed and looked around the room. "What a weird dream. Can a man like that even exist? Yet somehow it felt oddly real..... I've must of been watching to many magic shows." Kazu mumbled as he got out of bed, moving towards the bathroom where he took a shower. He then changed out of his pajamas, into a dark purple shirt and black jeans, with of course the black blazer the school gave him. He then wrapped a Black scarf around his neck to cover up the tattoo, and went down stairs where he saw a note left to him from his mother. Picking it up Kazu read it before putting it in the trash and fixing himself a bowl of cereal. He didn't live that far away from the school, so he could take his time with eating. After he finished eating he washed his bowl in the sink then left for school, locking the door behind him.

Like he thought, it didn't take long for him to arrive at school, where he went to his classroom for the year 2-4, along the way he could already hear the whispers about people trying to figure out how he got his fake eye again. One thing that never changed for Kazu as he found his classroom making his way inside. All he could hope was that they didn't make a big deal out of something like a fake eye. It wasn't even that big of a thing really. People get injuries all the time, why would a fake eye make people so curious as to how it happened? Seeing as he still had time he went and looked out the window, just simply gazing at the outside as he rather waste his few minutes he had looking at nature than a black board. Looking back at the clock, Kazu sat down in the middle section left seat so he could still look outside while he waited for class to start the beginning of a new school year.

He could hear some people talking about this Lehrmitte Effect, it didn't really matter to him, for what he knew he never had it so why should he care about it, of course other pointless conversations came up while everyone waited. He saw one student come up to him and ask if he could see out of the left eye, while he gave a smile, he was really annoyed that it only took a few minutes before it was asked. "No, it can't see movement." Was all Kazu said as he was now hoping the teacher would arrive.

[Dusk]

Awaking with a start, Hoshiko stared out of her room's window. For some reason, her head was filled with an image of blue. It was a weird blue...maybe she dreamed about the beach or flying? "Aw, man. Wish I could remember..." Hoshiko snapped her fingers before groggily getting out of her bed, which was colored in various pastel shades, as the rest of her room. On her desk, beneath the window at the north wall, was her ring, floral headband, and her purse. After showering, and throwing on an outfit, she picked up these items and put them on her person. Today, for her first day at Tsukiyama Academy, she decided to wear a light yellow sleeveless blouse, which had a frilled bottom, and a long white, airy skirt. Her arms were covered by the white blazer which was the uniform for girls.

Coming down the stairs, she was greeted by her parents, and her mom made her a bowl of fruit for breakfast. She woke up rather early, so she had to time to talk to her parents, who encouraged her to have a great first day and to make some friends. Of course, she rarely had difficulty doing so. The news was also on, which she could see from the kitchen, in the living room. Text rolled by about something called 'The Lehrmitte Effect', and how it was some disease affecting the mental health of people in the area, especially students from the Academy. A look of worry passed over her mother and father's faces, but Hoshiko dispelled it instantly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise." With that, she gave her mom a hug, and her dad a kiss on the forehead, before walking towards the door. Hoshiko looked to the shrine in the living room for her sister. "Wish me luck, Aki." She gave a sullen smile before leaving, and heading towards school.

It wasn't a long way to the school, thankfully, and she was there within 10 minutes, with time to spare. The bulletin board which held classroom assignments had her at Room 2-4, with the Second-years. Hoshiko made her way, smiling, up the stairs and into the room. Everyone was getting settled in, and already chatting up a storm. A few looked her way, probably because of her bright attire, prompting the girl to smile and wave. She took a seat around the middle, next to a bookish girl with brown hair and blue glasses. Hoshiko didn't want to bother her, though, and would simply wait for introductions. When the time rolled around, and homeroom started, Hoshiko's turn eventually came up. The bright young lady stepped up to the front of the room, her white leather sandals making clacking as she walked.

Turning, a huge grin was plastered on her face. "Hi guys! I'm Koizumi, Hoshiko! I'm new to the school, so I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you guys!" She even did a little curtsy before heading back to her seat, already hearing a bit of chatter about her maybe overly-bubbly nature.

[Lionheart]

Ryu awoke with a start, turning over, his bleary eyes searched for the glowing numbers of his digital alarm clock. "5:30? Of course, I have to have some dream so early....." Though he couldn't remember what the dream was about. Ryu never ever dreamed but when he did he could always remember them as clearly as if it happened yesterday. A perplexed look crossed the young man's features as he sat up. Unfortunately it didn't look like he was going to get back to sleep, so he thought he might as well get an early start.

Being about a half hour early sure had it's advantages. No rush, not nearly as many students, and first dibs on the classroom seats. Ryu made his way to classroom 2-4 which was relatively empty. So naturally Ryu picked the seat by the window and farthest away from the teacher. Yes, that seat would provide optimal lighting and lessen his chances of being bothered. And so with nothing much else to do the young man pulled a book from his bag and started reading whilst students slowly started pouring into the classroom.

Of course the ambient noise was also growing louder as more people started talking, but Ryu had become very adept at tuning them out so he wasn't that bothered. Eventually the teacher arrived, one he was familiar with as this would be his second year here. Eventually the time came for him to introduce himself, he slowly stood and set a patient stride towards the front. His face was completely devoid of emotion as he faced the classroom. "Kouzuki Ryu." He said loud and clear, yet monotone and flat. With that he purposefully walked back and took a seat, more or less prepared for the first day of classes.

[Draconilian]

Ah yes, the standard once a year "hello, my name is blank" routine. A ritual expected of japanese students everywhere. People went up and down the aisles, when it came to Ken's turn, he got up from the very back, made his journey to the front, cleared his throat and stated flatly "Yamada, Ken." And he returned to his seat.

No fanfare, no event. Just a name, four syllables. It was as simple as any other, and it held no personal meaning to him, not that many things did.

The class day went by uneventfully, Ken took his notes rather neatly, but quickly enough he had time to daydream or look around in between points. The first thing he wanted to look for was if anybody in his class suffered the Lhermitte effect, unfortunately, he didn't have enough information about it to make a solid judgement. He didn't know if it started minor and ramped up over time, if it caused something like paralysis in the host making it less obvious, or any number of other things that would make it a subtle infection. For a moment, he thought he saw somebody in the classroom stare at the floor with horror, but it could have been anything, hell, it could have been an insect.

Back to the academia, math was no issue, nor history, english gave him a small amount of trouble, so he made sure his notes were extra detailed, he had half a mind to go over them again tonight. At the thought of tonight, he remembered hearing previously that there would be dorms available this year, he pondered whether they were for all students and if he would get one. Furthermore, who would he be with? and what would he be allowed to bring?

The questions buzzed away in his head, completely overshadowing his thoughts on the hallucination disease, and finally, just as he was thinking about what color drapes he would like in his dorm bedroom, class ended for lunch.

"About time" He stated to nobody in particular as he stood up and stretched, grabbing his things and making his way to the exit.

[Makatsume Haru]

In homeroom, Touko didn't really find anything interesting, other than herself, of course. Many came up to her, asking many things like 'You dye your hair?' or 'Do you use contacts?', things of the like. She decided to mix those facts a little, telling people that her hair was natural while she used contacts, when it was the other way around. Touko saw this kind of lies as entertainment. It really cracked her up everytime someone went to her and said something she lied about and couldn't remember, the puzzled look in their faces was priceless. Even so, she felt kind of lonely whenever things like that happened.

One guy, during home economics, tried to hit on her, with a cheap line as 'I'll show you a magic trick'. The guy didn't knew who he was messing with, though, and Touko ended up gambling a whole month worth of homework, which the guy would have to do in her place. The guy was angry, but Touko was sure that, even if he wanted, he wouldn't be able to do a thing against her. After all, who would the teachers believe in? A guy claiming to have being scammed by a girl who, in turn, is claiming to have been sexually assaulted by him? At the mention of that, the guy quickly scrambled with his tail between his legs, or at least it would seem like it IF he had a tail. Touko let out a sigh, mostly of boredom, because the guy didn't put much of a fight. Or so she thought. First day on school and a rumor about her was already going around. That she was a liar, scamming fox. It was obvious who started it. As quick as the rumor, Touko went into her innocent mode. After crying to everyone that the guy had tried to hit on her and when she politely asked him to back off, the guy got aggressive and is now spreading lies about her. Right back at him, Touko turned almost everyone in the classroom against the guy.

So many things happening in just the first part of the day before lunchtime. At least it wasn't as dull as Touko initially thought. The chime sounds through the school, indicating the start of the lunchtime. Touko doesn't really feel like spending her whole lunch time inside a classroom, so she decideds to step out of the classroom and search for something interesting to do. Though, as soon as she puts a foot out of the classroom, everything becomes... weird, to be plain and honest. The floor of the whole school turns into a mirror, reflecting everything in the school, but with slimy, black creatures slipping through it. Everyone else doesn't seem to notice, but the image is vivid for Touko. No, in fact, everyone else seems to be in a world of their own, it looks as if Touko were the only one to notice it. She wishes for it to not be true. In fact, that isn't true at all, at least other two people in her classroom can notice it as well, but she is way too scared to even pay attention to others.

She takes her pendant and holds it close to her. "Onii-chan." She closes her eyes and hears a voice which sounds oddly familiar.

"This... Is the Hour of Reflection." Igor's voice echoes through the skulls of all his guests of last night, though none of them fully recognize the voice.

Touko opens her eyes, not believing her ears and when she does so, everything is back to normal. "Did... Did I just imagine all of that?" Some of her classmates look at her with a dumbfounded gaze, though she dismisses them with a wave of her hand. She then steps out of the classroom, this time without anything weird happening at all. Even so, one word stuck with her, of that odd, creepy, yet, familiar voice. The Hour of Reflection.

Every and each one of The Velvet Room's guests that are in the school just had a brief experience of what it is like, if they hadn't before.

Touko feels a chill go down her spine, but she continues her way, regardless, towards the Faculty Room. She just remembered they might give her a dorm, though she isn't still sure if she would leave her house to go to a dorm, where everyone was a complete stranger.

[Bomberman101]

Ikazaki Residence

Yikito opens his eyes. That dream he had... It all seemed to real. The most silliest man, er fortune teller, he's ever seen as well as one of the prettiest women. Rarely does Yikito ever wake up remembering what happened in last night's dream, and when he does they're usually fuzzy and unclear. Yet, today, the velvet colored room he was in was far too realistic.
He stays there, on his bed for a few minutes, pondering over what that dream could have meant. The Tarot Cards... Surely they meant something. Just like that, Yikito remembers that today is his first day of high school. It was pretty hard to believe... Ever since he was young he's seen high school on television. During those days, high school felt so far away. Yet, here it is.
As Yikito went down to eat breakfast, quietly in order to prevent his parents from awakening, he thought about how he'll have to start over. How all of his old friends moved during the transition and won't show up this year. It felt scary and intimidating, but he knew it was a chance to change who he is. Or at least he could if he wanted to... Maybe people won't be so judgemental here. Yeah right, it's high school and from what he's heard, everyone will judge you.
The savory smell of bacon fills the air. A nice, big breakfast consisting of eggs and toast and all of the essentials necessary to help him focus throughout the day. After finishing his food, Yikito follows his daily morning routine.
Once he was done, he packs his things into his backpack such as supplies and lunch. He also takes out his class schedule and slips it into his pocket for quick reference throughout the day. It was gonna be difficult, new school, new people, new everything. However, Yikito tried to maintain a positive look at things.
He exits out through the front door, putting on his white and gray helmet and pushing his Allant bicycle out of the doorway. A fine bicycle that is, comfortable and reliable. Featuring a stylish black color with a leather-brown seat. Yikito loves his bike, and he loves riding it to places around town. After setting and adjusting everything up, he gets on and rides to school.

Tsukiyama Academy

"1-2... 1-2..."

As he approaches the building, Yikito tries to remember the room number he's supposed to go to. His homeroom. The refreshing ride come to an end. Locking his precious bicycle up tight, Yikito slowly enters through the front door. It was very crowded, and was surprised at the many tall people around here.
Looking around the first floor hall, he arrives at classroom 1-2. (Along with the help of a few school maps placed here and there.) He enters the class a few minutes before it began and decides to sit anywhere he doesn't feel too uncomfortable. As expected, he knew no one here.
During the beginning of the class, everyone is required to stand up and introduce themselves. He figured he'd make his presentation short and simple.
Upon his time to present, Yikito quietly stands and simply announces, "My name is Yikito Ikazaki."
He adjusts his glasses and sits back down. Normally, he says much more than that. But today he just wasn't feeling it. He doesn't know a single soul in this room, in this building. As others begin to go, Yikito lays his head down and watches the other students introduce themselves.

[Draconilian]

Ken finished his stretch and politely waited for everybody else in his row to file out, since he was the last and didn't want to cut anybody off on the way. As he glanced towards the window, sun streaming through and illuminating a certain black haired individual he didn't care to know, something changed

The light bent and distorted, literally warping before his eyes to a sharply downward angle, being absorbed directly into the ground, his eyes followed the path of light and, in the ground he saw something incredulous. A dark reflection of everything in the room, as the floor was made of polished silver, but with no people reflected, instead independently moving creatures, dark and vile, scurried along apparently underground. One looked up and made eye contact with him.

No! Don't look at them! Feeling himself gripped by fear, an emotion he wasn't even familiar with, he grabbed ahold of his desk for support and covered his eyes with his other hand. Within his mind more than his ears, a strange voice echoed.

"This... Is the Hour of Reflection" The words resonated within his thoughts, sticking around a bit longer than Ken felt they should. What is this? this can't be happening! And as soon as it began, Ken felt a change in the world, tentatively he uncovered his eyes, seeing everything back to normal. With a start, he realized he felt tears on his hand.

No! Stupid Stupid Stupid! Baka Baka Baka! Why didn't I realize it? That's the Lhermitte effect dammit, Ken took a deep breath and tried to collect himself Awareness is the key to beating it, but how did I get infected? It's the first day, and I haven't seen anybody else suffer it Ken unconsciously looked around the room and realized, some other people had been suffering it. Right now they had suffered it. A handful of other people in the classroom had similar looks on their faces to his, and he put the pieces together. It seemed most of the people in the class had left, not really caring about the other students having a hallucinatory episode. Ken decided to put away his feelings about people for now and take the initiative. Research first, solution second He thought as he tried to take the front of the classroom in a way that seemed authoritative and in control.

"Alright, Something weird just happened, this bears investigation,"

[Zane620]

When the bell rung for lunch, Kazu sighed in relief as he stood up, wanting to avoid any question that people would undoubtedly ask. He didn't understand why they couldn't just ignore it, but alas he had to put up with it for now. After he filed out of the classroom. Something strange happened. Something he couldn't really describe besides odd or confusing. The floors of the school turned into mirrors. It reflected everything, yet what were these dark vile looking creatures wandering about? "This... Is the Hour of Reflection." The voice echoed through Kazu's head, then everything went back to normal. "What the hell..." Kazu mumbled to himself.

Apparently others had just experienced what he had, he saw a guy go to the front of the classroom, saying something, but Kazu paid it no mind and continued walking down the hallway, he didn't want to waste lunchtime over something as silly as a hallucination that a few people simply had. Besides he remembered something that the Faculty office may give him a dorm this year. It's not that he didn't want to be at home, but he didn't want to risk the chance of upsetting his mother in anyway. So Kazu decided that he would go to the office first then enjoy lunchtime.

[Dusk]

As the day went on, and Hoshiko grew accustomed to Class 2-4, her first day of school was shaping up to be rather nice. She talked to some other girls about the new single released by an idol group she followed, and some boys even looked her way with grins on their faces. Of course, she didn't pay them much mind. Flirting on the first day at a new school wouldn't be really tasteful, would it? During classes, she took diligent notes and asked any questions that came to mind. While she may have been seen as annoying, questions were vital learning tools, and they cleared up Hoshiko's understanding of the material. It must have worked, because that was how she got through school and life.

Lunch approached, and a bell signaled for the students to leave the classroom if they so desired. Hoshiko stood up, grabbed her purse, and started to file out near the back, but not the last, of the line. However...something changed. Suddenly, the floor was a...well, it was a mirror. And it reflected the school, but not the people. Instead of her reflection, was a black mass of...what, slime? It had piercing red eyes, and glared at her. The girl's blue eyes grew wide with terror. Oh God, did I catch that disease?! No, no, no!... Hoshiko pleaded in her mind, before a voice interrupted her.

"This...is the Hour of Reflection..."

"What?..." Hoshiko mumbled to herself. That voice sounded familiar somehow. It was a peculiar voice, one that hinted at mystery and knowing. The young woman looked up and around the room. Despite her thoughts, yes, others had to have had experienced it or something like it. The look in their eyes...Hoshiko recalled the introductions of the day and saw Ken, Kazu, Tsukiko, and Ryu left with similar looks on their faces. Kazu went ahead and left, but after everyone else had gone about their day, Ken stepped up to the front of the room, pointing out that something weird did indeed just happen.

Hoshiko thought about leaving as well, as there was a notice on the board downstairs that said there were dorms available, and she wanted to get information on them. Sure, her house was very close, but living with other people her age for a year would be fun! Bringing her mind back to the present, however, she realized that this was very unusual and deserved attention. She stepped forward, "So you all heard it, too, right? The man's voice...what the heck is an Hour of Reflection?" Hoshiko pondered, before dispelling the initial belief she had. "I doubt this is the Lhermitte Effect that's going around. It's unlikely we'd all see things at the exact same time. But you know, I could be wrong." She stated. Ken was taking a leadership role, but Hoshiko had a habit of speaking her mind in times of stress. Yes, she was terrified, but going crazy wouldn't solve anything.

Though...that didn't stop her from shaking...

[chukklehed]

Tsukiko stood up suddenly, leaving the room. As she passed by the boy in the front of the class, she paused.

"You hallucinate once and suddenly you're acting like it's some kind of emergency." She muttered with a hint of disdain. "I don't want to see how you react to a real emergency." Without another word she closers the door behind her and started walking toward the faculty office, wanting to get her dorm assignment now rather than later.

[/i]"he's right though,"[/i] she thought to herself as she turned the corner, "For everybody to seem to have the same hallucination, it's definitely something to look into. I should study up on this 'Lhermitte effect' when I get the chance."

She reached the Faculty room just as another girl did. From the looks of her she was a first year. "Oh, hello there," she said, slightly surprised there was somebody else skipping lunch to come here.

[Lionheart]

Ryu dully took notes as his morning classes passed by completely uneventfully until the chime for lunch signaled. However instead of bursting from the classroom like a wild animal Ryu instead patiently waited for most to leave before packing up and seeking out nourishment that would be his midday meal. Howver shortly after the chime sounded everything momentarily froze as the entire surface of the floor was replaced with a mirror, however instead of seeing himself on the other end he saw a glob of darkness meandering about, it's yellow eyes gazing this way and that.

The young man caught it's eyes and the two had a stare down until a somewhat familiar voice rang in Ryu's head. "Hour of Reflection?" He took another look at the floor. "Well that part speaks for itself, but what does one reflect upon?" And then everything went back to normal, the world resumed and the noise of students chattering picked back up right where it left off. It was all incredibly eerie, and actually several of his classmates had perturbed looks plastered across their faces. Yet Ryu retained his blank visage and started towards the door, he stopped briefly when another student stood at the front of the classroom and started talking, something about an investigation.

Ryu completely ignored him as he started down the hall towards the lunch hall. What had happened was odd, and perhaps alluded to a chemical leak in the classroom. Why else would multiple people have hallucinations at the same time? Still, it was of little concern to him, if it happened again maybe he'd think about it more but for now, a great relaxing lunch hour of coffee, melon bread, and a good book as he seated himself in his favorite place, the roof.

[Noel]

The day passed by in the same dull manner it always did, like the hadn’t even had a break from the dull monotony of high school life. It was the first day so teachers merely went over their years syllabus' leaving the students to drown in boredom until finally, the mid day bell of lunch sounded to free them from the repetition! Soon as the classroom began to stir with excited chatter Rei stood from her desk and headed out to the hall, the girl couldn’t wait for a chance to get out of the class and stretch her legs. Really she could never pass up the chance to get away from the stagnant class environment.

However, with that first step outside a strange feeling overtook her. Standing just outside the frame of the door, her senses felt heightened, yet at the same time muddied by a thick haze over her mind. She turned back towards the class room looking over the students. They all seemed dazed, even as they moved like they were continuing to interact with each other they seemed to stare right through one another, motions sluggish and uncanny like they had been put into slow motion.

Turning away from the scene Rei took a step away from the door, the sound seemed to echo softly through her ears. Her eyes were drawn downward by the sound, widening slightly at the sight that greeted her. A massive, flawless pane of glass holding a distinctly warped reflection. Recognizable but ever so slightly off, an unsettling feeling came over her in greater intensity. Shadowy figures made their ways about in the world below, like inky darkened reflections showing in a blackened lake at night. She could only stare in a mix of astonishment and confusion. Her fingers twitched, feeling an urge to kneel down and run them over the mirrored ground, but her subconscious resisted, a primal dread raising in the back of her mind.

As she lingered there her own reflection began to move. The mirrored body, dark and blurred, almost impossible to make out kneeled down with elbows set on its knees. Its chin tilted, face staring upwards, surely looking down from its own perspective. Rei felt her heart skip a beat as she looked upon that featureless face. Slowly it raised a hand, beginning to wave casually towards its reflection.

In that moment a strangely familiar voice sounded in her head "This... Is the Hour of Reflection." The interruption caused her to blink a few times and when her eyes opened, the floor had returned to its ordinary tacky school house tiling. A couple of girls were stepping out of the classroom, whispering between each other as they slipped passed Rei. ”Whats she just standing there for...? Creepy...”

Rei's gaze rose to meet the girls backs as they walked off down the hall, her head still foggy from the experience. ”What the hell... its only been half a day and I'm already spacing out this bad...” She sighed, shaking her head and trying to brush the strange experience off. Turning around she headed off towards the stairs, down to the first floor. ”I need an aspirin...” She muttered to herself, heading down the hall towards the faculty lounge.

[Draconilian]

"Well, that's three of four that don't care that mass hallucinations are apparently a thing." Ken sighed audibly, hopefully enough for the others to hear, and went up to the one other person who seemed to be intellectual in the room. "Koizumi Hoshiko, right?" He said with a slight smile.

This person apparently cares enough about what's going on, maybe she can help me stop it, campaign to plug the gas leaks or whatever. I cannot have my perfect high school career compromised by these hallucinations! Ken kept as friendly a tone as he could manage "I know you said that you don't think it's the Lhermitte effect, but I'm pretty sure it is. I just saw the news this morning, according to the report, it's caused suicide in some victims, and I think what we saw is enough to drive some people mad." He took on a more serious tone "The fact that we both heard 'hour of reflection' is suspicious enough, I've never heard of that sort of thing happening. Two people experiencing identical hallucinations, anyway." He took a deep breath

Ugh, perhaps I shouldn't worry about it now, best to move on with the day, if another event occurs, I should examine the space, but for now, it's time to go get lunch, and those dorm assignments.

"Well Hoshiko, glad you at least had the sense to recognize something strange was going on worth thinking about, we'll keep in touch, since we both have the same class together, eh?" He smiled and made for the door "Sorry to rush off, but the others had a point, not worth wasting our lunch time. Ciao!" Ken gave a little wave and made for the office, dorm assignments first.

Names of the people who saw it, Hoshiko first, then Ryu, then Tsukiko, then Kazu... I'll keep them all in mind. This, Hour of Reflection business, it seems like a bit more than just hallucinations. Ken's practical mind didn't want to think about it, but there was something distinctly paranormal about it all. On the other hand, his paranoid mind was abuzz with thoughts of government experiments, or some new drug being tested. "Off to the office I suppose."

[Dusk]

Hoshiko heaved a sigh, shaking her head and laughing. "And I told my dad that I'd be okay...you're probably right, Yamada-san. First day jitters had me thinking I was in an anime, I guess." She laughed again, though she rally couldn't shake it. Since when did a mental disease have the symptom of synchronized hallucinating with four other people? Ken said that he, too, heard the man's voice. It was weird, but the grumbling in her stomach was enough to pull her into reality and make her forget about it. Hoshiko agreed to tell Ken if anything else happened. He seemed like a nice guy, unlike the others.

Leaving the classroom, Hoshiko walked down the hall, taking out her phone. She dialed her home, where her mother thankfully was resting on her day off. Mrs. Koizumi answered the phone, and Hoshiko began to ask her about the dorm. Her mother was hesitant, as she didn't know if the dorm was co-ed or not, and the fact that she was their only daughter left. A year without her always around would be quite hard. The young lady assured, however, that she'd come home frequently, and that this would be a new experience for her, one that could help her grow. Mrs. Koizumi hung up the phone, telling Hoshiko she'd ask her father quickly, while he was on lunch. A call back latter, and Hoshiko was golden.

Smiling, she waled down to the faculty office. Quite a few people were already walking the same way, and she was excited to think about who would be her dorm-mates. The girl also hoped that this would be quick, because...well, she was starving!

[MagusDream]

Meister Residence, Morning

Huh... that was such a strange dream... Velvet Room, he said. If I can remember, his name was Igor and his assistant was... Priscilla, that's it. And what's with this fortune telling thing exactly?, Cruz thought about this dream he had. Surely, there was more people in there, but all that he tried to remember was the words that came out from this Igor person. He rubbed his eyes, as sunlight came from a little drift between his window's curtains. If not by that, the room would be pitch black, the way that Cruz liked it to be. However, if he left with the room closed like that, his grandmother would get worried. I'm certainly no vampire, so a sunlight in the room should be no problem., he thought, opening his curtains. Cruz changed his clothes and dressed himself all for going to school.

As he left his room, his grandfather was leaving already. He could hear the motor's noises from inside. Well, that is expected from an old car that's almost falling apart. Cruz opened the room, only to see his sick grandmother resting. When he opened, her eyes were slightly open. "Good morning, Grandma. Are you felling well today?", he asked, sitting near her. "Cruz... are you... going?", she asked. Cruz gave her a faint smile. "I'm sorry, Grandma. I don't want to leave you alone, but I have to go to the school. I won't take long, I promise.", he said, getting of the bed. Cruz opened a cabinet and picked up his grandmother's medicines. "I'll leave them here. The water bottle is on the cabinet near the bed. Make sure you drink them, or you won't get better.", Cruz spoke. His grandmother nodded and returned to sleep. He left the room, closed the door and headed to the kitchen.

In the table, there was some money and a note. Cruz grabbed it and read the note. Cruz, here is some money for you to by something to eat. I'm doing extra hours at work, so I had to go more earlier today. The nurse will arrive soon, so you can leave and go to school without worrying. Sincerely, Gramps. Cruz grabbed the money and opened the door. A calm and gentle breeze passed through him, as he was lost into his own thoughts. When I will be able... to leave this maze? Will I be able to find a happy ending after all...?, he thought, as he left the house.
__________________________________________________________________________

Tsukiyama Academy, Daytime

Cruz was late on his first day. He stopped to eat at a bakery first, but he didn't thought that it was going to take too long. It was probably lunchtime when he reached the school, since there were many students out. As he walked towards the entrance, a voice spoke into his head. "This... is the Hour of Reflection.", it said. Cruz shook his head, thinking that he was hallucinatin or something. He looked around ito see if anything was unusual around the place, but everything seemed to be perfectly normal. What was that? Where did that voice come from? And why did it spoke to me?, Cruz thought once again. Shaking his head once again, he entered the school, trying to ignore the voice.

Cruz headed for the class list. By now, it was empty, so he was able to look it calmly. "... Oh, here it is. Class 1-2...", he mumbled. Cruz saw other names in it, all of them different from his. Probably I will be know as the foreign student... what a great way to start the year..., he thought. Cruz decided to head for the Faculty Office. He was already late, so it was pointless for him to go to the classroom at immediate. He wasn't happy of being at school, as he wished to be alone in his room, with everything closed.

The Faculty Office was full of other people from all years. Cruz stood behind them, almost walking back to his home. I... I didn't thought that the school was full...! I don't think that I want to wait... it's better if I head for the classroom now., he thought, turning himself to leave. But he reminded that he was already late, so he changed his mind and waited on the big line of people.

[Makatsume Haru]

Touko stopped on her tracks as she heard someone talk to her. Well, to be honest, she wasn't sure if whoever just said 'Hello there' was actually talking to her, but, eh, why the hell not? If she wasn't the objective of the girl who just said that, Touko turned around with quite an exaggerated spin that made her dress wave around along with her. The girl with glasses that stood in front of her seemed to be a senior, a senpai, due to the lack of the white blazer that many girls are using in the first day. Though, she could only have it in her bag, but it seemed somewhat improbable.

In a low voice, Touko decided to ask this girl. "Umm, I'm sorry, but are you my senpai or something? Because, well, I don't see your blazer." She hoped that the girl was as much of a goody-two shoes as her appearance pointed. After all, glasses=nerdy, right? If, by any chance, she was off the mark and the girl was a delinquent or something of the like, then she'd have to make a run for it. Yep, Touko is very simple-minded and sees the world in black and white, it is easier that way, or at least she tries to make it look that way. Of course, the seemingly shy girl in front of the bespectacled senpai was just an act.

Though, she had no time to stay there chatting, since she'd rather finish this thing about the dorms quickly. "W-well, if you are coming to the faculty office, then I think it is for the same as I am, so..." Touko opens the door of the faculty office and steps into it. Almost immedietly, she asks one of the teachers there about the dorms. The old man with glasses, who looked as your stereotypical old teacher in every school, answered her, while handing out some copies to the other teachers.

"Oh, about the dorms, huh? Can you tell me your name, dear?" With shaky hands, the old man reaches out for a pile of papers.

"Suzuhara, Touko. First year." Touko answered, in a somewhat stiff voice.

"Let's see here..." The senior teacher adjusts his glasses to read the file he just picked. "Here you are. Suzuhara-san, you are appointed to Rikkyo Hall, along with some of your classmates and many other upperclassmen. Your stay, and that of your dormmates, is compulsory, though assigments of rooms are up to the students." He says and hands Touko a copy of the paper. "This is a list of your dormmates."

Touko's eyebrows were twitching with disbelief. 'C-compulsory?! B-but, I wanna stay with dad! They are soooo gonna regret this.' She shakes her head and then mumbles to herself. "Well then, let's see..."

---

In the paper read as the title, "Rikkyo Hall Dorm Assigments."

Teacher: Mikihito Kaminari

Students:

Ikizaki, Yikito, First year

Koizumi, Hoshiko, Second year

Kouzuki, Ryu, Second year

Meister, Cruz, First year

Nozomi, Rei, Third year

Okano, Kazu, Second year

Suzuhara, Touko, First year

Yamada, Ken. Second year

Yamamoto, Tsukiko, Second year

5 other rooms still available.

---

Touko's poker face enters into action as she sees this. She seems to be smiling as she mechanically turns around and leaves the Faculty office. In fact, she cannot believe the amount of people, most especifically, males in the dorm. "More than half of them are guys! What the hell are they thinking?!"

She returns to her classroom and slams the sliding door open. She goes up to the teacher's desk and then says, in a somewhat calm, yet menacing voice. "A-are Yikito Ikizaki and Cruz Meister here? I'd like to have a word with them." She calls out to her fellow classmates that will be with her in the dorm. She needs to put up some limits before anything else.