Come to Yumes! [(No longer) OPEN]

This was it. Today was the day.

Kira Yoshikaze, previous inhabitant of the far away village of Duwang had gotten out of the hospital after a whole year interned, ready to start a new life in a new town a la Cleveland Brown.

Well, ready was not all that accurate to be honest. With an arm still bandaged up, Kira struggled to walk while he supported his weight in a cane. There were still months of recovery and rehabilitation till he was 'ready' to start that new life.

'... This is certainly troublesome...', Kira thought as he observed the entrance of his new business, Yumes. While he was away his wife Reimi had ran it with the help of their son Yosuke after school, but this was no good. It would not be responsible to keep making Yosuke work instead of letting him focus on his studies now that he was back.

... However, truth remained that in his state he hardly could be of any help to Reimi. Of course he could be behind the counter, attend the costumers and such things, but that was nothing, not even a 5% of all the work running a business like Yumes took. As Reimi's husband it was his duty to do 50% of the work! It was common sense!... That was why Kira had taken a new, bold initiative!... Which meant that he had done something absolutely normal that only he found bold due to how little he liked altering his daily life with small changes like this one.

"I've got it. Are you sure it wouldn't be better to just put a poster on the shop window?"

The one talking was Reimi. Her voice was unmistakeable and so were her footsteps. In order to always know who was around him the first thing he did when he met someone was to memorize the sound of their footsteps. Others might think he was paranoid, but there weren't two people in this world that walked the same and Kira could easily control his surroundings with this simple method.

"Absolutely. The more visible it is, the sooner it'll work". With a quiet sigh, Reimi climbed the ladder she had placed there minutes ago, tying the extreme of a piece of fabric, going down then and repeating the process on the other corner then. "How does it look?",  she then asked.

"Perfect, just perfect..."

In the fabric, in large, colorful letters made to attract the attention of passersby, a message was displayed:

"Yumes is now hiring people!, Ask for information inside!"

With no little effort, Kira put the cane on the hand of his bandaged left arm, using his now freed tight arm to grab his wife by the waist and pull her closer to him, "... Not as perfect as you however.", he said with a somewhat sly smile, suggestively looking into her eyes. Caught by surprise, Reimi blushed looking at her husband like a deer in the headlights before assessing the situation, passing her arm around his back, "You know, we still have to celebrate your birthday", she said, leaning her head on his head.

Kira said nothing, but his eyes glimmered as he let out a content smile. He had never wanted to leave Duwang and had only agreed to for Yosuke's good... But now he had the feeling that, of all options, he had ended up in the best of all places. Perhaps that 'new life' Ueitawa offered him wasn't all that bad. The only thing he hopped was that there were no Persona Users besides him in the region.

Nanami was thinking. About all that had been discussed as the... Well could you call it a meeting? She didn't know and it seemed liked it was one of the strangest meetings she had ever attended if it could be considered one. Her mind was stuck in a rut, moving from one thought to the next and looping back on itself in a viscous cycle.

Her feet were not so stuck in the rut she created for her mind. While she moved about in circles mentally, her feet were exploring Hayabusa and finding quite a many new thing. Like this new building! She had nev been in thee before! Nanami entered this store, Yumes and quietly prompted herself to look up.

When the high schooler finally looked up, she found herself in an unfamiliar store. It looked new. It smelled new. It also looked and smelled empty, save for herself and maybe one or two people in the back. Quickly, as not to seem rude, she walked out to take a look at the store name. Yumes. Wasn't that a chain store? What was it doing here? But it offered a great opportunity to get some cash. Or was that not appropriate given the current situation? Nanami frowned and stepped in once more, looking about the shelves, her first mental rut forgotten.

"Hey, cut it out already, will you?", said Reimi, giggling, "A customer has entered, shouldn't you attend her?"

Kira's head instantly propped up as if he was a startled cat and after a second observing Nanami, off he was, moving at a speed that were hard to believe, coming from a man in a state such as Kira's.

"Geez, and he says he wants a quiet life?"

Moving without any sound, Kira reached Nanami, jumping over her with a forward triple mortal leap with which he landed right behind the counter, hidden from view for a few seconds before he slowly and seamlessly got up, staring at Nanami and giving her his best shopkeeper smile all the while.

"Hello and welcome to Yumes. My name is Yoshikaze Kira and I'm the owner and manager of this store". He said, politely bowing as he brought his right non-bandaged hand to his chest, "Are you searching for any articles in particular or have you come perchance to request the employment?"

The girl had been distracted and so ducked instinctively as... something vaulted over her head and behind the counter. She watched it as it rose and made itself out to be a man. Wow, he was very talented! She finally came up from her half-crouched position and smiled. Her instincts told her to tun, but she was trying to be a different person. Someone new. Someone who didn't hide behind a mask. Here's hoping that the smile was genuine.

"Ah, hello Yoshikaze-san. That was... quite an impressive leap you made!" She tittered a little bit before clearing her throat. "Ah, I had wandered in here though some luck and didn't notice your sign until I looked up and saw that I was someplace I didn't recognize! However, please don't mistake that as inattention. There has been... a lot on my mind as of late." She sighed and looked away, her eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. "The Red Sky can make anyone depressed these days." Wait, she was supposed to be talking about the job! "But! I would more than gladly take up a part-time position since you need one. I am still in high school and have never held down a job before, but I can promise I will work as diligently as anyone else!" She paused for a bit before smiling weakly. "As long as I don't have to vault over any of the customers that is."

Keeping his smile, Kira observed how the girl looked at him bewildered, having almost dropped to the floor from the initial impression. Kira didn't get it, had he done something abnormal?, He had an obstacle before him and he had sorted it the fastest and most direct way possible. Wasn't that how he was supposed to deal with day to day situations?

Honestly, people's expectations could be pretty weird sometimes.

"Ah, it's nothing at all. You should have seen me when I was young", he quickly commented as he shifted his position, he didn't like it much when people payed him too much attention, even though he was pretty accustomed to it at this point. The way people decided what was worthy of attention and what was not made no sense to him, making it very hard for poor Kira to avoid situations like this particular one.

After the quick incision into the conversation, Kira returned to silence, quietly listening to what the girl had to say, his smile finally disappearing slowly as he analyzed her words trying to use them as a gate to look into her as he always did with everyone around him.

Bizarre. With the town's folk he usually just managed to understand them a little bit more, but here he detected something else. A common need you could say.

"... What you need is 'peace of mind'. And I know just the perfect way for you to attain some", He said, almost purring from self-satisfaction. "I actually know a mangaka I became friends with when I was around your age. I could ask him to send you some drawing material if he has anything he does not require anymore. You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Your hands", would he answer when the obvious question of how did he know such a thing was made. "Most people do not realize how much their hands reveal about themselves. And it's only logical that they do, we use them in almost every activity. Your hands for example have a little of ink on them and they are clearly trained to perform fine, precise tasks. That's how I figured out that you either write or draw. Or both."

"... But anyways, I can only do that if you do take the job. Which unfortunately might include vaulting over a number of things... Your labour would be helping out my wife, Reimi, in everything she might require help at. After all, I, in this condition can't do all that much... Oh, look who we have there", he suddenly added, pointing behind Nanami.

When she turned, she would see a somewhat short (1,65) woman of delicate, yet youthful constitution an reddish-light brown straight hair that reached the end of her head yet didn't cover completely her thin neck. She looked, in a single word, innocent.

The woman would approach the two of them, carrying a ladder with her, "What is it that you want, Yoshi?", she simply said, her eyes shifting between the two.

"This girl will be helping you from now on"


"Not yet, but I believe she will."


"... Actually, now that you mention it, I didn't quite catch it...", Kira replied, diverting his gaze towards Nanami, "So, who am I having the pleasure to meet?", he would say with yet another smile.

Nanami was mildly surprised that he managed to pick out what would settle her mind. A good story, a good story worth writing. Now there was something that could calm her down faster than anything. She didn't just want to write them, she wanted to read them, delve into them, become them in a sense. Good reading lead to good writing. Unfortunately, she wasn't into much manga, other than the occasional senin publication.

She looked between the two, one a handsome man, and the woman that he indicated to be his wife. She too was handsome, instead of mearly 'pretty.' Time had aged her well. Nanami stared between the two for a moment before realizing that she hadn't said her name!

Quickly, the girl bowed deeply. "AH, I'm so sorry!! My name is Himura Nanami! It's very nice to meet you, and I hope that we will get along well!" She came from her bow and smiled at the proprietor. "It was very kind of you to offer to speak to your good friend, but I couldn't possibly ask you to do something like that."

"I'm sure we will", said Reimi, smiling, "... Now that I realize it, you are around the same age as our son, Yosuke", she would add upon closer inspection, "He goes to Kizuna Academy, well, went until it was closed down. Now he is being tutored here at home, so you'll likely come across him."

"Now I should go to the back of the store, I have to put the new TV models that arrived this morning on the shelves."

And with that, off she was with the same smile from before.

... However, even though he said nothing, Mr. Yoshikaze didn't look pleased at all.

"... See that Himura?, That's the kind of thing I should be doing. I should be the one doing all the heavy-lifting. It's my duty.", for a few moments Kira would remain in silence, observing how his wife walked away, still carrying the ladder. "Unfortunately for you, since you'll be make-doing for me, you'll have to do a lot of that in the near future", he added as he turned to face Nanami, his demeanor switching to his prior self. "Your salary will be of 40.000 yen per month and and you get free drinks plus a discount should you buy anything here. Your first task will be..."

Kira looked around, now, what could he have her do to begin with?, Honestly, he had no idea. Until now, he had taken care of the store alongside Reimi, he had never have anyone working for him. Overlooking the fact that he actually needed to tell people what to do for once made this much more bothersome than expected.

But he then happened to lay eyes on something, a little something so appropriate it was hard to believe he hadn't thought about it right away. "I know!, Go get that ladder from Reimi and take down the signal at the entrance", it was only fitting that the one that had obtained the job was the one taking down what announced the availability of said position."... If you do accept the job, that is."

Nanami watched. Watched and listened, and saw what was bothering him. She could see why it would bother him; he was used to just doing it instead of telling someone else to do it for him. Well, she would just have to take his job and try to be as seamless as possible about it. 40,000 yen seemed like a lot to her, but then again she had nev had a job before and so didn't say anything about a raise.

Nanami gave her best reassuring smile and rolled up her sleeves. No time like the present. First, take down the sign, then help Reimi-San with the televisions. Then what? Restock the front? Or the back? She was sure that she could ask them, but she didn't want to seem like a burden. Quickly, the girl got the ladder from the older woman and tried not to fall as she took down the sign proclaiming that they needed help before folding it as neatly as she could by herself and returning inside to help lift and carry for Reimi-san.

Yoshikaze smiled and nodded as she accepted the job. This Nanami girl seemed to be fairly reliable but, to be honest, him contracting her was an 'oddity'. Under normal circumstances, he would have awaited for someone more fit for the tasks at hand, someone taller, stronger and accustomed to hard labor, someone with big rugged hands, not fine, delicate ones like Nanami.

However, that 'kinship' he had felt moments before... The curiosity, the interest he felt easily overpowered his mostly utilitarian point of view. Perhaps they did have something in common, but what? (Did she also like hands too?), That was the question Kira aimed to resolve, an answer he was eager to obtain... But there was no need to hurry anymore. Now that she worked for him, she was going to be around Kira very often and throughout the entire time, he'd keep a watching eye on her. Sooner or later, he was bound to find out.

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This is the story of Yosuke Yoshikaze or, as his friends tended to call him much to his chagrin YoYo (pronounced JoJo).

Yosuke was the son of Kira Yoshikage, a local shop owner, and was a lot like his father used to be. So much did they resemble eachother that Yosuke couldn't help but to feel confused around him. It was like he was growing to be a reflection of him... But he had never tried to imitate Kira or even looked up to him.

Not that being like his dad was something terrible. His father had always been a good, honest to god person, so it was not like following his steps should concern him... However, it just didn't feel right.

He had always thought that, in the end, he'd be his own person, perhaps that's why he was always trying to escape the seemingly unescapable 'gravity' of his father, always pulling Yosuke towards its within. Perhaps that's why, despite not being able to summon a Persona, he had joined the Investigation Team.

A year ago, he had met and befriended Josuke Higashikata and his friends Okuyasu Nijimura, Koichi Hirose and Yuuya Yamagishi, his older nephew Jotaro Kujo and his sworn enemy Rohan Kishibe, participating with them on the investigation of the mysterious disappearances that had been taken place on the town. Together, they had fought many Persona users and Shadows, overcoming their power alongside any obstacles in their way towards truth... However, when they were about to find out the identity of the killer his friends, his companions simply... Vanished.

No one knew what happened to them, they just disappeared without a clue... But Yosuke did. Without a doubt they had all been murdered by the killer.

Yosuke remembered the fear back then, the horrible dread of knowing that you were the next on the line and that it was just a matter of time... But time did pass and nothing happened.

For much time, the young man had lived in fear of even his own shadow, but as the weeks turned into months and these into seasons he came to the realization that he would not be killed, that he had been spared.

That filled the boy with rage, even if he had been killed at the very least he would have died as a hero alongside his friends... Instead, he had been abandoned, thrown aside as if he wasn't worth the effort. The story had never been given 'closure' and that tortured Yosuke in a daily basis... But not for long. Back then he had been weak and unable to help much, but this time it would be different. For his friends, in the name of the dead and Justice he would find and kill the killer and it all would finally end. It was just something he had to do, even if it costed his life. If he didn't, he would forever be haunted by his demons and would never be able to move on his life... Perhaps he hadn't caused the deaths of his friends, but forgetting about them would be an even greater crime.

That was what the reason why everyday he wore six black bands, three per arm, one per friend. Regardless of how it made him look or the rumors spread behind his back, he never ever took them off and he would never do until he achieved his objective.

With these and other thoughts on mind, Yosuke stood at the backyard of Yumes / Yoshikaze residence, a row of cans disposed before him. The student deeply breathed in and out before extending his hand towards the one on the far right, "Come on, I must do it!!...", he mumbled as he focused as much as he possibly could on the can. Yosuke could remembered how his friends summoned his Personas, they made it look so easy, as if they weren't even trying... And yet, despite having the potential (unlike people that didn't, he wasn't paralyzed in the presence of Shadows), the boy had so much trouble with it.

'Come on, just a little more!...', he thought as he saw the can trembling on the spot, redoubling his efforts.

For a few moments, nothing happened, only silence. The can had even stopped trembling... Until it was suddenly ripped to shreds with much violence.

Yosuke heavily breathed in and out, his knees almost giving in after the effort. Nonetheless he was satisfied for the result, 'It's just a matter of time now', he thought as he turned to enter the storage room to pick something to drink and take a rest... However, as soon as he did turn, he froze on the spot.

Through the window that led to the storage room he saw someone, not his mother, not his father but a person foreign to the Yoshikaze household.

The girl seemed to be around his age and... He remembered her. He had seen her around Kizuna. Yosuke didn't know her name but what he did know was that, if she had seen him, he had to do something about it... But... What?

Harming her was out of the question, but perhaps he could intimidate or convince her into keeping silence... But first of all he had to find out if she indeed had seen anything at all.

With decision, Yosuke strolled over the back entrance to the storage room, entering and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge there located. Calmly, he opened it and took a sip. Only then did he turn to face the girl.

"You are from Kizuna right?", he simply said as he studied the girl, awaiting for her reaction.


OOC: Yosuke and his (still locked) Persona, Ziggy Stardust:

Spoiler: