Watching Dreams Become Nightmares
0
Watching The Nightmare Unfold
Author's Note: This is a Persona 4 fanfic. It does not contain plot spoilers, or contain any of the main characters of Persona 4 in any major way. Before reading, I suggest getting a basic understand of what the Midnight Channel is.
Day 1: Rumor
Morning
I never really was one for superstition. All that crap about ghosts coming to get revenge on you, chain-letters that lead to death when not passed on... it just bored me, y'know? What's the point of worrying about that, when you could worry about life, things that actually existed? School and friends came before creepy rituals and sacrifices any day. So I was surprised when I heard the news...
“Hey, didja hear?,” Some of the people in my class were chattering over by the corner, “They say that if you watch the TV at midnight, and it's raining, your soulmate will appear on the screen!”. That susprised me, hearing something superstitious in a school where noone did much else than hang out at Junes. There wasn't much here in Inaba, but certainly more than discussing that shit.
Before long, the entire class was discussing it. Other than me, I sat at my desk at the front resting my head against table, the class was scattered around the room. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Morooka, came into the room, and, upon seeing the sight before him, left instantly, only to return a few seconds later. Everyone was in their seats.
“Alright, shut yer' traps and open up your textbooks. Today we're going to-,” He was cut off by a couple of students whispering to each other, most likely about the rumor. Mr. Morooka was clearly pissed, as he stood there and stared down the students who were talking, until they sank so far into their chairs that they could not see him anymore. After what seemed like a long silence, Mr. Morooka spoke up, “Damn kids these days, thinking you're so smart. Listen, when you get out of this school, life'll beat the shit out of you. So smarten up and learn, or else you'll regret it,”. The rest of the morning was uneventful.
Lunchtime
As I stepped out of the classroom, Shana approached me. Her long brown hair gently swayed behind her, and her also-brown eyes stared directly at me, “Y'know, Gin, you could at least call me before leaving for school! I... I wanted to walk together...” She blushes, and a tear slowly formed in the corner of her eye. I carefully wiped it off, and looked her in the eyes, “Well, you know I have early classes, you should've come by sooner,”. We left for lunch, and returned later, as silent as before.
Before class started again, she looked at me in the hall, “Come hang out with me after, okay?”. She seemed alot happier than before, I didn't know why. But the happiness radiated off of her and onto me, and I almost felt at ease, knowing that we'd be together after school. I returned to class just as the bell rang.
After School
Shana was already at my desk, pounding my head lightly, “Wake up, damnit!” She pouted, as I slowly awoke from my pleasant slumber. Looking around, I noticed that school wasn't even over yet, “Wait... what?”. I was dumfounded at how she got in before class ended, “Don't worry, it'll be okay,” she reassured me. The bell sounded, and we left for the Samegawa Flood Plain.
As we passed by, we stopped down by the riverbed, and took a seat on the rocks. She was sitting too close to me, and the wind kept blowing her hair into my face, so we had to akwardly move around a couple of times, but we eventually managed on a position that didn't irritate my eyes. We spent a silent moment staring out at the flowing water, and then turned to look at each other at the same time. She blushed, and the sight of her hair blowing beside her with the wind, along with her beautiful body, caused my palms to become sweaty, and my face to flush red. After another akward silence, I smiled, “It's not very often we're together like this.”
“E...Eh? No... I guess it isn't... but it's not like we don't have the time...” Shana's voice dropped to below a whisper, “If it was you... I'd make all the time in the world...” I noticed her face redden more, and then she looked at me again, “But there's no use worrying about that. Did Mr. Morooka give you another speech?” I nodded. She giggled, and then responded, “Is there ever a day he doesn't?” I opened my mouth-, “Other than when he isn't there?” I shook my head in defeat. She laughed again, and then stood up, “Well, it's almost time for dinner, and I expect you to walk me home.” The was a slight playfullness in her tone, and I smiled, “Of course.”
Evening
I slid open the door to my house, and gently stepped inside, closing it behind me. There was a note on the fridge for me, “Won't be home for a while, something urgent came up. Make yourself something simple for the next few days.” I breathed a sigh of relief, at least he wasn't cooking for me anymore. Anything was better than that. So I made myself some soup and a sandwich, showed down, and watched TV for a bit, “...everyday's great at your Junes~♪” the catchy jingle played in the background, until the weather report came on.
“Tonight there will be a 60% chance of showers in the Inaba region. Temperatures are expect to drop a few degrees, but it's nothing compared to tommorrow's throughout-the-day rain and temperature drop. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be sunny, but the sun will be gone by Friday, leaving only rain until Monday morning. Be prepared to bring an umbrella, because it will come do-” I flicked off the report, feeling tired. After making sure the lights were off, I returned to my room and drift off to sleep. It didn't even occur to me that there was a chance that this 'Midnight Channel' would occur.
Day 2: Acceptance
Morning
“Did you watch it last night? I saw a sillouette, but it wasn't clear who she was... but her hair was pretty long, about down to here...” The kid reached his hand down to his stomach, and another one spoke up, “What the hell? How the heck can we determine who that is? There's way too many people like that here...”. His voice trailed off, and then was almost silent, “It could be Yukiko... Ah, how wonderful that would be...”.
Apparantly, they saw someone on the TV at midnight. Unless they're lying, which didn't seem to be the case (half the class was talking about it, even a couple of the girls). I decided that it might be worth watching today, since I'd probably be staying up until around then. And then Mr. Morooka came in. Usual speech, same stuff as yesterday.
Lunchtime
Shana was waiting for me out in the hall again, “Let's go somewhere special today.” she quickly said. I shrugged, and went along with her, “Special? Is there anything special here?” That stopped her. She turned towards me, put her hands behind her, and blushed a little, “Well, there's me~” She loudly expressed, “Someone could be a bit nicer...” She began to tear up again, and I wiped it off. Again. She smiled, and we continued on our way to the... takoyaki restaurant?
“This...This is the special place you were talking about?!” I was surprised, but I could understand why someone as beautiful as her would consider a creepy place like the takoyaki restaurant special. It's not like she could just waltz on in there, have a seat, and dig in without half the people looking at her oddly.
“Well, I've rarely been here... so, yeah, I guess it is special to me.” And with that, we walked through the doors, had a seat, and dug into our meal. As we got up to leave, she gently clinged onto my sleeve, and quitely said, “Gin... some of these guys are looking at us weird... w-what do you think they're thinking?” We walked out the door, and I didn't have time to think up a response, “Well... they were probably just wondering why someone as pretty as you is hanging out with me...” I shrugged and rubbed the back of my head, while her face flushed red.
“Hey, class should be starting soon, we should head back.” I suggested, and we slowly returned back to school, discussing more things that happened today. As we stood outside of my class, the bell still hadn't rang, so we talked a bit more in the hall.
“Say... Gin...” Shana looked at me, and smiled, “Being with you is really fun... I wanna do it again... after school, okay?~” She hugged me, and then ran off, leaving me speechless, as I stared at her ass as she ran down the hall. I didn't even notice the ringing bell, and was pushes out of the way by a groupof students desperate to get to class. Sighing, I walked back into the class, and rested.
After School
Along the way back, once again, we stopped by the riverbed, and enjoyed a peaceful moment together. As I got up to leave...
“Say, Gin... have you ever wanted a relationship with someone, but they couldn't see all the hints you were giving them?” Shana titled her head slighty, and a mild blush surfaced on her cheeks.
“Umm, no. Pretty sure that's just you.” I let out a small laugh, and she punched me on the shoulder hard, “Shut up! I'm serious, you know!” She teared up again, “How could you not take this seriously... I mean, he doesn't even notice me when I try to act all cute around him...” I decided being serious was my best bet, because that punch really hurt.
“Who is it? I'll beat them to a pulp!” I braced myself for her to decline my wonderful idea, but nothing came. “Well... who is it?” Shana blushed deeper, and looked down at the ground, “A-Ah... U-Um...It's...” Her voice dropped off, and I couldn't make out what she said, “Sorry... can you speak up a bit?” I was blushing myself, just a little bit.
“It's... it's you, Gin...” She blushed deeper, in embarassment, and I felt my face redden. Did... did she just confess to me? I was at a loss for words, but my body acted for me. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, and swiftly pulled him towards me, hugging her body tightly to mine. I could feel her warmth and happiness, as our hearts beated together, and I slowly lifted up her chin, “A-Are you sure?You'll be stuck with me forever... You okay with that?”
She slowly opened her eyes again, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, “Of course I'm fine with that... idiot...” She blushed deeper, and slowly pressed her lips against mine. We happily embraced, and with that, she stole my first kiss. Not like I considering it stealing, though...
We separated, and then looked at each other, blushing happily. We lightly gripped our hands together, and walked off towards home. Along the way, we stopped by Junes to pick up some groceries, she insisted that she cook for me today, since my parents were gone. I can't live off sandwiches forever.
Evening
After dinner, Shana and I cleaned up the dishes, and then sat on the couch next to each other, holding hands, as the Junes commercial played on the screen. She looked at me, and smiled, “It's such a relaxing tune, isn't it?” I shook my head, “No... it's too energetic. It makes me wanna get up and do something... like shopping...” I shook my head again, “No! EVERYDAY IS NOT GREAT AT OUR JUNES! It's so dull there...” I laughed, and she hugged me. “Y'know, you say that alot of things here are dull... Does that mean I'm dull, too?” She leaned over, moving her face close to mine, which gave me a nice view of her cleavage, though, being a B-cup, there wasn't much to see.
“...Pervert!~” She giggled, and lightly punched my shoulder. I pretended to be in pain, and gripped it, “Aagh!” I perhaps faked a bit too well, I bit my lip, and it started bleeding, “Crap...” I stopped, and looked at her worried face, “A-Are you okay?~” She tried to hold back a laugh.
I simply licked the blood off my lip, and it stopped bleeding eventually. Shana looked at me curiously, “Watch TV's boring... I wanna go see your room!~” She jumped up and started walking towards the stairs, but after a few seconds she realized that my grip was stopping her from moving, “Wait... why do you want to go in my room? The messyness can kill, y'know.” She laughed this time, “Well, I won't mind. Anyway, what're we waiting for?” She kissed my cheek, and then took my hand in hers, and led me upstairs.
The door to my room opened, and we were greeted by a pair of my boxers lying on the middle of the floor. “...Umm... would you have preferred if I cleaned up before you came up here?” She shook her head, “I told you, I don't mind. After all, it's only boxers...” Her voice trailed off, but I heard her mention something about “behind them”, and she blushed deeply.
“Okay, well let's start the tour! This is my computer, it's useless. This is my closet, my dresser, my other closet... and this is my bed.” I pointed at a flurry of objects, eventually stopping at my bed. For some reason, I always made my bed, but didn't worry about the rest of the room. Shana raced over to it, and fell onto it gently, “Ahh, it's soft~” She smiled, and gently pulled on the pillow, “Well? Are you gonna come rest with me? Or do I have to do it all myself?~” My heart was racing, she really didn't know what she just asked, did she? After all, my bed was only a single...
“Okay, but you have to take responsibility...” I laid myself on the bed, beside her, and lightly kissed her, as we gently held hands, “E-Eh? R-Responsibility for what?” She blushed, and looked down at my crotch nervously.
And the rest was history.
Late Night
“Kyaa~! Pervert!” Shana punched my shoulder, and got off the bed, “I-I mean, so soon...? M-Maybe in a few weeks, but not now... But I promise you, one day. Okay?~” I got off the bed, and chuckled. “Okay, promise.” She packed up her stuff, and I led her home, hand-in-hand, holding an umbrella over her head to protect us from the rain. Before she entered the door, I kissed her again, and waved to her as she walked in the door.
Returning home, I looked at the clock. It was 11:30. Half an hour away from that stupid rumor. But, I might as well watch it. I took a quick shower, and prepared to sleep. Sitting in my room, I looked at my small TV in the dark room, as the rain poured down outside. I looked at the clock again, and heard the chimes for midnight...
This is just to brush up on my writing skills before I continue working on the VN. I'll probably add 1-2 more parts to this. Comments/critique is appreciated.
Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95kCDBId9_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGMpxVkzBU
Author's Note: This is a Persona 4 fanfic. It does not contain plot spoilers, or contain any of the main characters of Persona 4 in any major way. Before reading, I suggest getting a basic understand of what the Midnight Channel is.
Day 1: Rumor
Morning
I never really was one for superstition. All that crap about ghosts coming to get revenge on you, chain-letters that lead to death when not passed on... it just bored me, y'know? What's the point of worrying about that, when you could worry about life, things that actually existed? School and friends came before creepy rituals and sacrifices any day. So I was surprised when I heard the news...
“Hey, didja hear?,” Some of the people in my class were chattering over by the corner, “They say that if you watch the TV at midnight, and it's raining, your soulmate will appear on the screen!”. That susprised me, hearing something superstitious in a school where noone did much else than hang out at Junes. There wasn't much here in Inaba, but certainly more than discussing that shit.
Before long, the entire class was discussing it. Other than me, I sat at my desk at the front resting my head against table, the class was scattered around the room. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Morooka, came into the room, and, upon seeing the sight before him, left instantly, only to return a few seconds later. Everyone was in their seats.
“Alright, shut yer' traps and open up your textbooks. Today we're going to-,” He was cut off by a couple of students whispering to each other, most likely about the rumor. Mr. Morooka was clearly pissed, as he stood there and stared down the students who were talking, until they sank so far into their chairs that they could not see him anymore. After what seemed like a long silence, Mr. Morooka spoke up, “Damn kids these days, thinking you're so smart. Listen, when you get out of this school, life'll beat the shit out of you. So smarten up and learn, or else you'll regret it,”. The rest of the morning was uneventful.
Lunchtime
As I stepped out of the classroom, Shana approached me. Her long brown hair gently swayed behind her, and her also-brown eyes stared directly at me, “Y'know, Gin, you could at least call me before leaving for school! I... I wanted to walk together...” She blushes, and a tear slowly formed in the corner of her eye. I carefully wiped it off, and looked her in the eyes, “Well, you know I have early classes, you should've come by sooner,”. We left for lunch, and returned later, as silent as before.
Before class started again, she looked at me in the hall, “Come hang out with me after, okay?”. She seemed alot happier than before, I didn't know why. But the happiness radiated off of her and onto me, and I almost felt at ease, knowing that we'd be together after school. I returned to class just as the bell rang.
After School
Shana was already at my desk, pounding my head lightly, “Wake up, damnit!” She pouted, as I slowly awoke from my pleasant slumber. Looking around, I noticed that school wasn't even over yet, “Wait... what?”. I was dumfounded at how she got in before class ended, “Don't worry, it'll be okay,” she reassured me. The bell sounded, and we left for the Samegawa Flood Plain.
As we passed by, we stopped down by the riverbed, and took a seat on the rocks. She was sitting too close to me, and the wind kept blowing her hair into my face, so we had to akwardly move around a couple of times, but we eventually managed on a position that didn't irritate my eyes. We spent a silent moment staring out at the flowing water, and then turned to look at each other at the same time. She blushed, and the sight of her hair blowing beside her with the wind, along with her beautiful body, caused my palms to become sweaty, and my face to flush red. After another akward silence, I smiled, “It's not very often we're together like this.”
“E...Eh? No... I guess it isn't... but it's not like we don't have the time...” Shana's voice dropped to below a whisper, “If it was you... I'd make all the time in the world...” I noticed her face redden more, and then she looked at me again, “But there's no use worrying about that. Did Mr. Morooka give you another speech?” I nodded. She giggled, and then responded, “Is there ever a day he doesn't?” I opened my mouth-, “Other than when he isn't there?” I shook my head in defeat. She laughed again, and then stood up, “Well, it's almost time for dinner, and I expect you to walk me home.” The was a slight playfullness in her tone, and I smiled, “Of course.”
Evening
I slid open the door to my house, and gently stepped inside, closing it behind me. There was a note on the fridge for me, “Won't be home for a while, something urgent came up. Make yourself something simple for the next few days.” I breathed a sigh of relief, at least he wasn't cooking for me anymore. Anything was better than that. So I made myself some soup and a sandwich, showed down, and watched TV for a bit, “...everyday's great at your Junes~♪” the catchy jingle played in the background, until the weather report came on.
“Tonight there will be a 60% chance of showers in the Inaba region. Temperatures are expect to drop a few degrees, but it's nothing compared to tommorrow's throughout-the-day rain and temperature drop. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be sunny, but the sun will be gone by Friday, leaving only rain until Monday morning. Be prepared to bring an umbrella, because it will come do-” I flicked off the report, feeling tired. After making sure the lights were off, I returned to my room and drift off to sleep. It didn't even occur to me that there was a chance that this 'Midnight Channel' would occur.
Day 2: Acceptance
Morning
“Did you watch it last night? I saw a sillouette, but it wasn't clear who she was... but her hair was pretty long, about down to here...” The kid reached his hand down to his stomach, and another one spoke up, “What the hell? How the heck can we determine who that is? There's way too many people like that here...”. His voice trailed off, and then was almost silent, “It could be Yukiko... Ah, how wonderful that would be...”.
Apparantly, they saw someone on the TV at midnight. Unless they're lying, which didn't seem to be the case (half the class was talking about it, even a couple of the girls). I decided that it might be worth watching today, since I'd probably be staying up until around then. And then Mr. Morooka came in. Usual speech, same stuff as yesterday.
Lunchtime
Shana was waiting for me out in the hall again, “Let's go somewhere special today.” she quickly said. I shrugged, and went along with her, “Special? Is there anything special here?” That stopped her. She turned towards me, put her hands behind her, and blushed a little, “Well, there's me~” She loudly expressed, “Someone could be a bit nicer...” She began to tear up again, and I wiped it off. Again. She smiled, and we continued on our way to the... takoyaki restaurant?
“This...This is the special place you were talking about?!” I was surprised, but I could understand why someone as beautiful as her would consider a creepy place like the takoyaki restaurant special. It's not like she could just waltz on in there, have a seat, and dig in without half the people looking at her oddly.
“Well, I've rarely been here... so, yeah, I guess it is special to me.” And with that, we walked through the doors, had a seat, and dug into our meal. As we got up to leave, she gently clinged onto my sleeve, and quitely said, “Gin... some of these guys are looking at us weird... w-what do you think they're thinking?” We walked out the door, and I didn't have time to think up a response, “Well... they were probably just wondering why someone as pretty as you is hanging out with me...” I shrugged and rubbed the back of my head, while her face flushed red.
“Hey, class should be starting soon, we should head back.” I suggested, and we slowly returned back to school, discussing more things that happened today. As we stood outside of my class, the bell still hadn't rang, so we talked a bit more in the hall.
“Say... Gin...” Shana looked at me, and smiled, “Being with you is really fun... I wanna do it again... after school, okay?~” She hugged me, and then ran off, leaving me speechless, as I stared at her ass as she ran down the hall. I didn't even notice the ringing bell, and was pushes out of the way by a groupof students desperate to get to class. Sighing, I walked back into the class, and rested.
After School
Along the way back, once again, we stopped by the riverbed, and enjoyed a peaceful moment together. As I got up to leave...
“Say, Gin... have you ever wanted a relationship with someone, but they couldn't see all the hints you were giving them?” Shana titled her head slighty, and a mild blush surfaced on her cheeks.
“Umm, no. Pretty sure that's just you.” I let out a small laugh, and she punched me on the shoulder hard, “Shut up! I'm serious, you know!” She teared up again, “How could you not take this seriously... I mean, he doesn't even notice me when I try to act all cute around him...” I decided being serious was my best bet, because that punch really hurt.
“Who is it? I'll beat them to a pulp!” I braced myself for her to decline my wonderful idea, but nothing came. “Well... who is it?” Shana blushed deeper, and looked down at the ground, “A-Ah... U-Um...It's...” Her voice dropped off, and I couldn't make out what she said, “Sorry... can you speak up a bit?” I was blushing myself, just a little bit.
“It's... it's you, Gin...” She blushed deeper, in embarassment, and I felt my face redden. Did... did she just confess to me? I was at a loss for words, but my body acted for me. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, and swiftly pulled him towards me, hugging her body tightly to mine. I could feel her warmth and happiness, as our hearts beated together, and I slowly lifted up her chin, “A-Are you sure?You'll be stuck with me forever... You okay with that?”
She slowly opened her eyes again, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, “Of course I'm fine with that... idiot...” She blushed deeper, and slowly pressed her lips against mine. We happily embraced, and with that, she stole my first kiss. Not like I considering it stealing, though...
We separated, and then looked at each other, blushing happily. We lightly gripped our hands together, and walked off towards home. Along the way, we stopped by Junes to pick up some groceries, she insisted that she cook for me today, since my parents were gone. I can't live off sandwiches forever.
Evening
After dinner, Shana and I cleaned up the dishes, and then sat on the couch next to each other, holding hands, as the Junes commercial played on the screen. She looked at me, and smiled, “It's such a relaxing tune, isn't it?” I shook my head, “No... it's too energetic. It makes me wanna get up and do something... like shopping...” I shook my head again, “No! EVERYDAY IS NOT GREAT AT OUR JUNES! It's so dull there...” I laughed, and she hugged me. “Y'know, you say that alot of things here are dull... Does that mean I'm dull, too?” She leaned over, moving her face close to mine, which gave me a nice view of her cleavage, though, being a B-cup, there wasn't much to see.
“...Pervert!~” She giggled, and lightly punched my shoulder. I pretended to be in pain, and gripped it, “Aagh!” I perhaps faked a bit too well, I bit my lip, and it started bleeding, “Crap...” I stopped, and looked at her worried face, “A-Are you okay?~” She tried to hold back a laugh.
I simply licked the blood off my lip, and it stopped bleeding eventually. Shana looked at me curiously, “Watch TV's boring... I wanna go see your room!~” She jumped up and started walking towards the stairs, but after a few seconds she realized that my grip was stopping her from moving, “Wait... why do you want to go in my room? The messyness can kill, y'know.” She laughed this time, “Well, I won't mind. Anyway, what're we waiting for?” She kissed my cheek, and then took my hand in hers, and led me upstairs.
The door to my room opened, and we were greeted by a pair of my boxers lying on the middle of the floor. “...Umm... would you have preferred if I cleaned up before you came up here?” She shook her head, “I told you, I don't mind. After all, it's only boxers...” Her voice trailed off, but I heard her mention something about “behind them”, and she blushed deeply.
“Okay, well let's start the tour! This is my computer, it's useless. This is my closet, my dresser, my other closet... and this is my bed.” I pointed at a flurry of objects, eventually stopping at my bed. For some reason, I always made my bed, but didn't worry about the rest of the room. Shana raced over to it, and fell onto it gently, “Ahh, it's soft~” She smiled, and gently pulled on the pillow, “Well? Are you gonna come rest with me? Or do I have to do it all myself?~” My heart was racing, she really didn't know what she just asked, did she? After all, my bed was only a single...
“Okay, but you have to take responsibility...” I laid myself on the bed, beside her, and lightly kissed her, as we gently held hands, “E-Eh? R-Responsibility for what?” She blushed, and looked down at my crotch nervously.
And the rest was history.
Late Night
“Kyaa~! Pervert!” Shana punched my shoulder, and got off the bed, “I-I mean, so soon...? M-Maybe in a few weeks, but not now... But I promise you, one day. Okay?~” I got off the bed, and chuckled. “Okay, promise.” She packed up her stuff, and I led her home, hand-in-hand, holding an umbrella over her head to protect us from the rain. Before she entered the door, I kissed her again, and waved to her as she walked in the door.
Returning home, I looked at the clock. It was 11:30. Half an hour away from that stupid rumor. But, I might as well watch it. I took a quick shower, and prepared to sleep. Sitting in my room, I looked at my small TV in the dark room, as the rain poured down outside. I looked at the clock again, and heard the chimes for midnight...
This is just to brush up on my writing skills before I continue working on the VN. I'll probably add 1-2 more parts to this. Comments/critique is appreciated.
Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95kCDBId9_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddGMpxVkzBU