March 3 2010

Another day, another different school I have to attend. Well, I suppose 'day' is a bit of an exaggeration. Two months is much longer than a day. Oh well. I guess it was nice of the others to invite me along even though they know I'll only be attending for the first two months. I have good friends. I always make good friends wherever I go.

And then I always have to leave them.

...Why is that blue-haired guy staring at me?

"Excuse me ladies," the creepy dude began as he walked towards us, "But I really need to steal this fine young man from you for a few minutes." He dragged me by the arm away from everyone. I shot them a pleading look but they just shrugged in response.

...I take back what I said about them being good friends.

"Alright. What's this about?"

"Just wanted to talk to you for a second." he told me. Turns out he dragged me into what looked like the school's chemistry lab. "What's your poison?"

"I-What?"

"Ah, right. You probably don't drink yet. Well that's pretty good since you're underage but I really need a drink."

So I can assume that's alcohol that he's pulling out of that cabinet then. Good to know he's more delinquent than psychopath, at least. "Won't you get in trouble?"

He started pouring various bottles into two beakers. "Well if I get caught, then it's my own bloody fault for offering drinks to a minor." Bloody? I know alcohol is pretty much a big 'no' but just how strict is this school? "Name's Minato Arisoto, by the way."

"Seta Souji." CRAP! Why did I just say that? Damn my good manners!

"Well since I know your name I can drag you down with me if I get caught." DAMMIT! "Cheers" he said as he passed me my 'drink'.

"Cheers" I replied, taking a sip from the beaker...

…only to spit it out again. "What the hell! What kind of drink is that?"

"I have no bloody idea." There's that 'bloody' again. Maybe its a verbal tic? "Ryoji was the one who knew his way around a bar."

"Well where is he?"

"He died. Want another drink?"

Wow. That's some impressive nonchalance about death. Either this guy deals with it a lot or he's seen it up close. I mean him and this 'Ryoji' must have been close to have set up this secret liquor cabinet and it must have been kind of recent since its still here (and barely touched, by the looks of it). To be so... indifferent about it... I don't envy him.

I passed him the beaker and he started mixing another drink. Then he started philosophising. "You know, alcohol is a funny thing. It makes people more open, less in control of themselves. It makes some men violent, some men loving. It can turn a genius into the biggest idiot, yet give a man who's hit rock bottom inspiration for a revolutionary breakthrough. A good drink can unite and reunite old friendships, but you know the most important thing you need to remember about alcohol?" he asked me.

I picked up the drink he passed to me. "It's poison."

He nodded. "The wrong drink at the wrong time can ruin someone's life forever. Yet the right drink at the right time with the right words can save a thousand souls."

"So it's a medicine too?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"All medicines are poison if not used right." I told him. "Overdose on this particular medicine and your body starts to kill itself in shame because you prefer the sweet embrace of drunk obliviousness to the ugliness and the beauty of the real world."

I started to chuckle as I realised "You've been reading Bartender, haven't you?"

He just smiled at me. "My friend was like that Ryu guy." Is this Ryoji again or someone else? "He liked to help people. He often had to hurt people to help them though. He was both medicine and poison, really."

"So, you just grabbed a random kid and dragged him for a drink?" No. He was staring at me for a while. He picked me for a reason. Damned if I know what it was though.

I was expecting another vague philosophical tangent. What I got was... weirder. "No, I'm telling you this because I know people like you. The whole world is yours for the taking, and you know it. You're like the cocktail in your hand." he told me, pointing at the clear liquid in my beaker. "Right now, your future isn't set, but you have the choice. You can either become someone's medicine or someone's poison." He added a squirt of whiskey to his drink turning it a dark red. "Don't become poison." he warned me as the symbolism started to click in my head. "Trust me here, there's so much happiness in helping others. Don't become the kind of drink that'll kill a man."

"What kind of drink are you?" I asked.

He appeared to be considering my question as he finished his drink. "A cocktail." was the answer he came up with. "Molotov."

...Okay, he just compared himself to a bomb. This would be the ideal moment for me to run away very very fast. On the other hand, I'm an idiot. Thus, help him clean up then wander off to find my friends.

...Stupid manners.

"Hey, where were you? We were getting worried." Keiko asked when I finally found her after wandering around aimlessly for 20 minutes. I'd have asked Mr Molotov for directions to the next spot on the tour but I couldn't shake the worry he would demonstrate the similarity between him and his favourite deadly concoction.

I responded "Next time maybe you could, I dunno, not let the crazy guy kidnap me? It might help."

"Yeah, well he was cute and I didn't want to seem rude, Seta-kun."

I sighed. "Let's just carry on with the tour please? Kind of just want to put that whole thing behind me." Mostly because I still have no idea what he was talking about. Keiko just shrugged slightly and kept moving, leaving me to dwell on creepy dude's words.

He knows people like me? Like me how? Maybe I should've asked him... NO. No no. Asking more questions in that situation would definitely have been a bad idea. Still, he obviously knew something he wasn't willing to share. If that's the case then it's something I'm gonna find out about later.

Just hope I don't end up as crazy as that guy 'cos... damn.

Hello and welcome to my Persona 4 fic. Well I say 'my'. Anyone who read SamJaz's Persona 3 fic "Fairly English Story has probably already noticed the startling similarities between this chapter and a certain sequence in chapter 107 of that story. Furthermore, you can probably gather that the fanficcy twist in this story will be that I'm following SamJaz's interpretation of events.

Yes, he said it's okay.

No, I doubt this will be as awesome as FES was.

Yes, I'm going to try anyway.

No, there will be no spoilers for the FES sequel (as if he'd give me details on that)

I hope you enjoy this because I'm gonna do my damnedest to make this as good as it can be. To that end, brutal honesty in reviews please. And if possible, constructive brutal honesty.

Thanks for reading!