KHC - 1. Cold Beginnings

"It's exceedingly cold here..." muttered a silver-headed figure. He stood before a storefront, shoulders hunched with his arms folded closely together as he peered inside through the window. He let out a sigh of frustration and felt it time to call it a night before noticing the glass fog over. "Hmm..." he mused aloud.

"Really, Theo, you've taken to complaining often," his companion sighed. "Why don't you just invest in a jacket?"

"A jacket?" Theodore inquired absently, focusing most of his concentration on the fogged glass in front of him. He extended his finger and touched it to the glass. He drew in a circle and inside the circle two lines and a curve. "Ah," he smiled, reflecting the face he had just drawn. "Perhaps I should have made a request for a jacket?"

"I'm afraid it's a little late for that now."

"I suppose..." he shrugged, frowning then as he took a closer look through the two lines. "Elizabeth ," he murmured.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Look..." he started, rubbing out the fog on the glass. "When you look at him, do you get the same feeling?"

"Hm?" She leaned in closer her brother and peered through the window. "That boy..." she frowned.

"Then you do! They look so much alike..."

"Yes, I agree..."

"Could this be the answer we've been looking for?"

"Theo, it's not our place to interfere like this..."

"If that's all you have to say, then why did you agree to help?" Theodore snapped.

"We don't even know even know if he has the potential or not. I can't just assume because of a feeling..."

"Elizabeth, we've been outside the Velvet Room for four years now. I can't let it all just go to waste."

"We can wait here until the Dark Hour. If he transmogrifies, then we leave him alone, alright?"

"Very well..." he muttered in defeat. He gazed in through the window again, pressing his hand to it. "Master Minako..." he whispered wearily. He pulled his hand back and sullenly walked off down the street.

Elizabeth watched him off silently before glancing at the boy again. He had been sitting in a chair with his feet kicked up onto the table next to him, seemingly blissfully aware of his surroundings. Headphones were plugged into his ears, locking him out of the outside world, and his blue hair fell into his face. "He really does look so much like her..."

When Elizabeth finally caught up to Theodore, he was sitting on a snow-covered log; the only one in sight for miles and miles around. He was hunched over, hugging his arms close together to retain any warmth he could while he brooded.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "When did you get to be such a child?" she sighed, opening the book she always kept at hand. It opened to the exact page she needed. She waved her hand over the page and a blue card floated up into the air. With a flick of the wrist, the card began to spin, allowing then for the Persona, Surt, to materialize in front of her. Instantly, the Persona struck his flaming sword down on the log.

"What are you doing?" Theodore shrieked, falling out of the way and into the snow.

"Making a fire, of course," Elizabeth shrugged, kicking one half of the log away from the other before Surt blasted it with Agidyne. With a satisfied grin , Elizabeth closed the book and Surt vanished. She sat down on the non-flaming log and patted the seat next to her. "Come join me, Theo."

"Are you daft?" he complained, joining her on the log nonetheless. "And how are you not as cold as I am? You have no sleeves..."

"I'm not cold at all, Theo. I haven't the slightest idea as to how you could possibly be. How long until the Dark Hour now?"

"Not long. You took your time coming here."

"Hmph. Even after four years, I still can't grasp the essence of time decay..."

"Is that a complaint I hear?"

"Not at all," she mumbled, punching his shoulder.

"Ow...!" he complained.

"If it is not far off, perhaps we should return to check on the boy."

"But you just got here..."

"Or we could just return to the Velvet Room and cease shirking our duties, if you prefer."

"Of course..." he sighed, reluctantly standing up from the log. He started walking off in a direction he thought led out of the vast white void, hugging his arms close as he shivered.

"Theodore..." Elizabeth smirked slightly as she watched him. "Where might you be going?"

"To save Master Minako, of course."

"You're headed in the wrong direction," she snickered.

"... No I'm not. I'm sure this is the right way," he frowned, pausing momentarily.

"Are you now?"

"Yes. Go any other way you like, and you'll just end up lost."

"Theo, come on, it's this way."

"Nuh-uh."

"Theo..." Elizabeth sighed as he continued on proudly. She shook her head and opened her book again, seemingly to the same page as before. Another card levitated out from the page and after a quick spin another persona materialized, this time Megatron. The persona lowered himself to his knees and extended an arm, to which Elizabeth responded by hopping on. He wrapped his arms around her legs and stood up again. He spread his wings and took flight, darting towards Theodore and snatching his arm before taking off again in the other direction.

"H-hey...!"

They arrived back at the lone building soon after, and the persona dropped both Theodore and Elizabeth before vanishing. Theodore landed face-first into the snow, while Elizabeth landed on her feet. "Come now, Theo," she grinned, walking over to the door. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and gave it a twist, breaking the locking mechanism inside, and thus pushed the door open.

Theodore hopped up to his feet and brushed the snow off the snow from his suit before following after Elizabeth. "It's a tad dark in here, don't you think?" he frowned.

"Not really," Elizabeth shrugged, gliding through the room easily while Theodore stumbled behind her. "There," she said in a hushed whisper, clasping her hand around Theodore's arm to stop him. "He's awake..."

"Hn? He seems so calm..."

"How intriguing," she grinned.

"Perhaps now would be the right time to call for the master?"

"Not yet," she shook her head, pushing him back gently before taking a step closer to the room they had found the boy in. The room was lit by a candle sitting on a desk, while the boy sat erect in bed, staring at the floor aimlessly. A floor board creaked under Elizabeth as she continued to move closer towards the room. The boy looked up instantly, and waited for her to enter the room.

"Are you not afraid?" Elizabeth asked after pushing the door open. "Do you know what it is you're experiencing right now?" she continued when the boy said nothing. When the boy remained silent still, Elizabeth gave him a small smile. "How long have you been aware of your power?"

It was then that the boy pulled out an Evoker and held it to his temple before pulling the trigger. The persona that materialized before him instantly swung his arm out in front of him, hitting Elizabeth in the process, and sent her back through the wall.

"Elizabeth...?" Theodore frowned, quickly seeking aid from his own book. But just as he had opened it to the desired page, the boy had appeared in the doorway with his persona looming over head. Theodore paused to glance up at the persona, his eyes widening when he recognized it. "Orpheus Telos?"

Telos reached for the harp on his back and struck the strings. An immensely strong wind jutted from the ground, knocking Theodore back before he could summon a persona of his own.

"Thor!" Elizabeth shouted, summoning her persona. With Thor's coming was a bolt of lighting directed towards the boy. Before he could react, he was struck by the attack, and fell instantly unconscious. "He has no endurance..." she observed, stepping over the wreckage as Thor disappeared. She stepped over to Theodore and took his hand, helping him up to his feet. "I'll take him back to the Velvet Room," she said, lifting the boy in her arms.

"And then what?" Theodore mumbled.

"We'll see. Do what you like until then," she shrugged.

###

Akihiko knelt down in front of the tombstone and extended his hand, grazing his fingers against the name etched in. With a sigh, he drew his hand back and slid it into his pocket, fishing out a small silver bracelet.

"It's Christmas tomorrow, you know..." he murmured, closing his hand around the bracelet. He reached out and gently picked up the rabbit doll situated on top of the music box sitting on the ground in front of the tombstone. He pushed the doll into his palm and wrapped his thumb around it as he opened the music box with his free fingers. He set the bracelet inside and gently closed the box again.

"It's been so quiet with Tartarus and the Dark Hour gone. Almost boring, even," he said with a weary grin, placing the doll back on top of the box. He paused then, taking notice of some items surrounding the box. "It looks like others have been visiting you, too," he observed. There were two keys placed inside a pig key holder, a cell phone strap, a pair of headphones, a cheap looking cigarette lighter, two worn notebooks, a fruit, a dog collar, a leather watch, a money pouch, a tape, a charred screw, and two rings. "What the hell is someone doing leaving a lighter here...?" he frowned. He sighed inwardly and shook his head.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm proud of you. I know I say that every time I come here, but... I mean it. And I hope you can be proud of me, too... It hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time," he sighed. "I want you back, but at the same time, I understand that you're doing this for all of us. But I am trying, I hope you've noticed... I miss you, Minako," he murmured, standing up again.

"I'll be back soon," he said, pulling his khaki jacket closer around him as he turned around and head back down the hill. He pushed against the entrance gate to the cemetery and slipped through, starting down the sidewalk.

"Akihiko-senpai?" came the inquiring voice of a female standing in front of him a few minutes later.

"Huh?" he frowned, glancing up to see the girl in front of him. She wore a puffy winter jacket with black leggings and a pair of boots that ended at her knees. Her brown hair was pinned up to the back of her head, the tips flairing out at the top.

"Oh my goodness, it really is you!" she grinned.

"I'm sorry, do I know you...?"

"We went to Gekkoukan High, remember? I was still just a second year when you were a senior."

"Oh, uhm..."

"What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Uh... Nothing."

"And hey, aren't you cold? That scarf hardly looks like it's doing you any favors," she snickered. "It's cute, though."

"It's plenty, thank you," he muttered, walking passed her then.

"Hm? Senpai?" she frowned, turning to watch him sulk off.

Akihiko arrived back at his apartment just as the sun was setting. He unraveled the scarf from around his neck and shrugged off his jacket, hanging both up on the coat rack before locking the door behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck wearily and crossed the threshold of the apartment to the office where his desk sat.

He pulled out the chair and uncharacteristically plopped down. He hesitated a moment before wheeling the chair back over to the desk with his feet and opened one of the books sitting on the desktop and stared blankly down at the page. It was his attempt to study for one of the last finals in his college career, but for some reason, he couldn't make himself concentrate at the task at hand.

He leaned back in his seat again and sighed in frustration before glancing down at the bottom desk drawer. That was where he kept his old Evoker locked away. He would pull it out occasionally for the nostalgia it brought, but he essentially spent most of his time looking forward instead of behind him. But now was a time for necessary nostalgia. He reached down to the drawer's handle and gave it a tug, frowning when it didn't budge. "Damned piece of..." he grumbled, opening the top drawer in the middle of the desk before he could open the initial drawer. He wrapped his hand around the Evoker and pulled it out.

He stared stoically at it as it glistened under the light, turning it in his hand. "We did good..." he murmured, smirking then. When he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, he lowered the Evoker and glanced up. "What...?" he frowned. He set down the Evoker and stood up from the chair, and then stepped over to the shelf on the wall. There sat the music box he had left at Minako's grave so many years ago.

He pulled the box down from the shelf and carefully opened it, deepening his frown when he found all the items her friends left behind inside. "What the hell...?"

He closed the box again and tucked it under his arm, quickly leaving the room. He stopped at the front door and pulled his jacket and scarf from the coat rack, and then continued out through the door, making sure to lock it behind him. He shrugged on his jacket and threw the scarf around his neck sloppily as he hurried down the hall.

"Ah, Sanada-san...!" the doorman started once Akihiko reached the lobby and headed briskly towards the door. "Sanada-san, wait!"

With reluctance, Akihiko came to a halt right in front of the door and glanced over his shoulder. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"T-there's a blizzard outside. It's not safe to go out."

"What? A blizzard?" he frowned, glancing back at the door. Sure enough, the blizzard could clearly be seen through the window in the door. "How could I have...?" With a sigh, he shook his head and nodded his thanks to the doorman before starting back upstairs to his apartment. However the music box ended up in his apartment, at least it wouldn't be blown away.

He tugged at the scarf wearily as he reached for the door. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth when he wrapped his hand around the doorknob and found it unlocked. His hand left the scarf and he quickly opened the door. The room in front of him was completely empty.

Still uneasy, he cautiously stepped inside and closed the door behind him, keeping aware of his surroundings as he did so. He then slipped through the apartment to the other rooms, finding his home to be exactly as he left it.

"Odd..." he frowned, shaking his head before carrying the music box back into the office. He set it down on the closed books resting on the desk. There was no way he could focus on studying tonight. And with that, he headed off to the bedroom to call it a night.

He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

It wasn't much later that Theodore stepped through the doorway with the music box in hand.

"You were one of her closest friends..." he commented quietly, staring down at him. "You should keep this close to you," he sighed, setting the box reluctantly down on the bed.