Meeting at the Library, Part II [Hyde]

"I need to talk to you. Come to the library, please. xoxo"

After texting to Hyde, Shunnosuke leaned his back against the chair, exhaling some air from his mouth. On the table, a few printed papers. It's been a while since Shunnosuke got to visit the library for the last time and during that occasion, he had his classmate Hyde to help his hunt for a certain book as an a pretext to gather information about something that wasn't related at all. This time, however, there was no strategy nor scheming involved. In all honesty, Shun seemed a bit anxious and worried about what he had read in the last few days. The good thing about not being in a part-time job or a club of any sorts is that he had plenty of time to keep his readings up-to-date. As much as he enjoyed the whole history of Azores's Archipelago, he didn't find anything odd or weird enough that could somehow be linked to the abnormal events he witnessed; on the other hand, the teen would never believe a psychology book would present part of the answer he's been looking for. After the search for history material proved to be fruitless, Shun decided to go for the internet and search what he could find for a word that've been hammering his head since that day: "Persona".

"Persona", he'd repeat to himself over and over again, to not forget his purpose, while fastly typing on his notebook. The search in the internet, obviously, brought more satisfactory results than a aimless search in the library; no wonder, since now he had a thing to start for, even if it was a single word. And the more the student searched, the more obsessed with the matter he became...

While he'd stay still, giving a long fixed look to his mobile phone, Shun wondered if Hyde would know what he was about to ask...or how he'd react. The redhead didn't seem the type who'd scandal over such a history, after all he admitedly had his fair share of bizarre experiences. No point anticipating it, however; hopefully, his classmate would show up so they could discuss what Shun have found.

— Oh. Hello. — He waved briefly to Hyde when the redhead approached him. After all, it's the library, they couldn't speak in a tone too much above a whisper.

— No, nothing wrong. — "Yet", he completed, mentally, while depositing his hands over the papers he brought together. Of course, this was meant to prevent Hyde from giving indiscreet and inappropriate glances before Shun could properly introduce the subject and panic before the time. Clearing his throat, the boy, then, began his speech. — As you can already assume, I called you over here for a reason... Do you remember our last conversation about the research I'm doing? The one involving monsters and paranormal activities... — His tone wasn't very sure if that conversation should really be happening, but he still wasn't over that subject. If it weren't for his distress being higher than his hesitation, he wouldn't talk about it with someone else, but it's Hyde, he've been through the same thing. He'd understand...or so Shunnosuke hoped.

— Well... — Shun let a deep breath come out of his mouth, almost sounding like he's gathering energy for what'd come next. — ...Yes. — A brief moment of silence succeeded before he could find the right words to describe the whole experience.

 

— I don't know what happened and how that happened. It's just...one moment I was at Penecia's Caverns on a tour, and the moment after, everything went black and white, my cellphone wouldn't work — as a matter of fact, no one's cellphone — and...monsters, or whatever, came out of the walls in a yucky black ooze. Then I started hearing voices...everyone started hearing voices and after that, one..."person" appeared indicating we'd have to fight the monsters. She looked like a woman, but not a "normal" woman. I can't exactly remember the details, everything happened so fast, but I recall the word "Persona" being said and...am I making any sense? Honestly, if I were you, I don't know if I'd believe myself. No, I absolutely wouldn't! — His expression was confused after blurting out his short explanation. Too much details have been missing, but one can't blame Shun for that. He still had been trying to deal with that traumatic experience alone and couldn't speak about what he went through with the others. At least Hyde was willing to be his friendly ear.

— Yes! Exactly, you know it! It was the same for me. — Shunnosuke replied, in an obvious surprise that his classmate went through the same thing. While he couldn't put it in words in an eloquent manner, it was indeed a shock Hyde, who was always so illogical, would say things making so much sense. Except, maybe, one part...

— ...but wait. Sailor...outfit? Do we get help from women dressed like that?? — He lifted his eyebrow, giving a disdainful stare to Hyde. He didn't meet anyone filling that description, thank God...and if he would, he for sure would remember someone with such an abhorrent fashion sense. — You probably mixed things up or have been watching too much of Sailor Moon re-run. I didn't mean an actual person, you see. Instead, something that looked like a person, but...wasn't. Kind of a Salvador Dali painting coming to life, it was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. At one point, I heard some voices echoing in my head, it was hers, for sure. I think...that's a "Persona", right? — Shun tried to explain it the best he could, but everything was still hard to take in. Like a fuzzy dream you suddenly wake up and can't remember at first all the scenes, so the memories come back slowly when you have time to overthink on what you dreamed. Still, while the subject can be considered something dreadful, he also had some...wonder, or even a childish curiosity, in his eyes.

— Hey...you have one too, right? Can you show me how does yours look like?

Shun decided to stay silent for a minute, analyzing Hyde's countenance. Oh God, he really doesn't know how to phrase things in order to make him sound "normal", does he? He either sounds like a child wanting to play hero, someone infatuated with him and, adding a new topic to the list, a pervert. And the worst part is that he knew it wasn't the redhead intention from the beginning.

— ...Nevermind then. I'm sure you just want an excuse to take me somewhere you can fulfill any sick dreams of yours. Ew! — He'd say with a mischievous, provocative smirk by the corner of his lips, that'd be dismissed soon Hyde restarted the main subject. — Well...a few other people, yes. I remember one of them said something about attending the same school as us. They're probably around here...I'm sure they're alive, it's not important. — He said in a nonchalant tone, shrugging right after the sentence was complete. He kept in mind two of his companions by that time, Mayu and Akira. He haven't seen those in a while, nor he had any interest in doing so. Probably, the couple wasn't part of any death or kidnapping statistics or something in the line; otherwise, the news would already be notifying their disappearance. In all honesty, he was just angry they didn't follow his orders of coming with him rather than venturing in weird blue glittery doors on their own, and even more angry with the fact that resorting to the Police Station was just a humiliating, fruitless decision he took. — But yes, there was black tar. It came out the walls and gave life to the monsters that attacked us. Is this any important...?

— What?? Sharaku??? — Shunnosuke made a deadpan, blank expression immediately after of pure shock. If he were a moody and temperamental person, he'd probably make a scene at the library after that revelation. Instead, he took it surprisingly well...for someone who just discovered his love interest is more special than most people, and in a not very common way. Maybe that explains how eerie his eyes look, and how he and Hyde got acquainted in first place: it's all revolving around that kind of "power". And apparently, Hyde is even closer to Sharaku than him... Figures, Hyde is always friendly with everyone. The teen couldn't help but to feel a bit jealous they got a supposedly high level of intimacy, but well, it wasn't really time for that. As the conversation went on, something crossed Shunnosuke's mind like a lightning. One of that moments where you suddenly remember something, like a missing piece of a puzzle, something he haven't told Hyde yet.

— Wait a minute. About that criminal...is there anything you know about him? For example, appearance, do you have any clue on that? — He could even sound a bit anxious after saying that, but...if everything was connected, then he might just have a hunch.

Shun nodded simply after Hyde's vow of confidentiality. If it's something that serious, of course they can't go around speaking of it loudly. Then again, thanks to the library's silence policy, they weren't speaking of it out loud, by any means. When his mobile phone made an audible and very inconvenient sound, he quickly picked it from his blazer's pocket. The teenager would stare at its screen, quietly, seriously, reading what Hyde just sent him over and over again. It wasn't the clue he was expecting to receive, but nonetheless, there's a high chance it's related to the same person he saw, and it took only a few seconds for him to come up with a conclusion:

— ...I see. An anagram... — Shunnosuke said, still looking at his phone's screen. — These two names are the same with letters position switched, I'm sure of it. — The teen put it back to his pocket and glanced back at Hyde. His expression could seem a bit lost, as if all that dreadful subject has really got into him, and even his tone went lower and weaker than the usual. While he had doubts about the correlation of that message's hints with what he experienced, after Hyde's speech, he was sure there's no way they could've been talking about two different people. — When I was at the Cave with the others, right after those Shadows, like you said, were killed, the image of a man appeared. It was a bit fuzzy, like a TV out of signal, and I couldn't make much of it, but it was definitely a man and...I do remember his voice. He was totally desperate, and mentioned something about a "Dally" girl and being arrested.

— Apart from the whole raving psychopath vibe, you mean? — He let an acid smirk bloom from the corner of his lips. There wasn't anything that stood out more than his trembling voice and the urgency it presented, and what seemed to be an obsession with some random girl he never met before. He wasn't concerned about the man's appearance details; at least, not anymore. His stare would turn vague, like he flashed on something.

— ...wait a minute. — That being said, he took his cellphone back from his pocket and, once again, opened the message Hyde just sent to it. Right after, he opened his briefcase and put over the table a notebook with black, leather cover and a single fountain pen. Immediately, he opened the notebook on a random blank page and started his writings, alternating his sight from his cellphone to the paper. It wasn't hard to deduce he wrote both names on the paper, one below the other and if Hyde tried to interrupt his concentration, he would just ignore it. Occasionally, he'd stop risking the paper for a moment, biting the tip of his thumb and looking at the lines he had written without even blinking. Immediately after, though, he'd go back to risking the paper in a horizontal line and other times writing again. It didn't take too long for the teenager to handle the notebook to the redhead and show his annotations in the following order:

Spoiler:

— What do you say?