<i>The door would've been open already as if the one heading the club didn't even bother locking it. Inside it would be oddly dark compared to normal classrooms with each of the windows being covered with tape and large pieces of paper. The lights in the room would be off as well with the switch being on the side of the wall. In the corner of the room where a teacher would normally sit would be a slightly older looking boy with a large pair of headphones on and a blank stare as they focused intently on a screen in front of them. The floor around the desk specifically would be messily surrounded by wires that seemed to power multiple strange devices around the boy's computer. Over on top of one of the desks was a shiny silver briefcase that seemed to already be open slightly. It seemed as though the boy hadn't even noticed anyone enter the room with how concentrated he was on typing.</i>

<i>FInally after waiting for a while a man with messy black hair would walk into the room wearing an overly formal suit. The students would recognize this man as their homeroom teacher, Yamane Suezo. He seemed tense at the moment as if he just got off the phone with someone.</i> Mr. Suezo: &quot;I apologize for the delay, I got an important call that I had to take. Hope you weren't waiting too long. Anyway, uh, I know this seems a bit awkward but I'd like you all to reintroduce yourselves. Some of you may not be properly acquainted and it would help me check you off my list.&quot; <i>The man would go over to a desktop computer on his desk and begin checking over a list he had made previously to ensure all the students were tested.</i> Mr. Suezo: &quot;This test shouldn't take too long as long as we don't discover anything abnormal. Think of this as a physical exam if that helps. Also, I see one student is absent today. That's not exactly good but since most of you showed up it won't matter too much.&quot;

<i>Yamane would begin walking towards the doors and making sure they were locked. He would then go over to the windows and begin closing the blinds. He seemed to be ensuring nobody could see or hear what would be being said in the room at the moment.</i> &quot;I'll get to the point then, perhaps you've heard of strange events occurring all over Japan in the last several decades. Tokyo being closed off randomly for a few days, rumours oddly coming true, An extra hour in the day only certain people can witness, a string of murders in a small town with no external wounds on the victims, a group capable of making the guilty confess their crimes, and even people disappearing with no trace... I suppose you could say that such tasks are part of my job when they meet a certain specification. Though you could say recently we've been a bit more involved with the government. Usually, our organization doesn't require much interference from the Japanese government. We're funded by a separate group and our leader doesn't trust the military not to try and abuse the powers at hand but apparently, that doesn't stop the government from conducting certain 'experiments' that have gone a bit haywire. The bottom line is that our organization is in need of help from some fresh faces with adequate potential and so far you're the only group with scores consistently above 50. I'll be blunt about this, disappearances within the past few years have been tied back to this. People didn't know what they were dealing with and caused a lot of harm and now that the government has lost control of their 'experiment' there's no telling what could happen.&quot; <i>Finally, he would open the briefcase to reveal a set of five silver watches. They would all shine as if they were brand new.</i> &quot;I'll cut the vague talk but only if you truly accept. Take a watch and put it on but the moment you put one on it isn't coming off. You'll be committed to this and become a member of our group. I may be a member of that organization but I'm also still a teacher, I'd never ask my students to commit to something they didn't want. This is your last chance to walk away if that's what you choose.&quot;

<i>Yamane would nod along with each students response as he marked them off his list. Finally, Kira would barge into the room causing Yamane to have to stand up and greet him after checking him off his list as the last one.</i> Mr. Suezo: &quot;Tachibana Kira, correct? Did you get lost somehow on the way? It doesn't matter. It seems like everyone's mostly acquainted already so I'll be explaining the test now.&quot; <i>He'd reach into his bag he was carrying with him and pull out a strange looking device. It almost looked like a gun or medical device of some sort. There was a screen on the side of the device that would be completely black as if not turned on.</i> &quot;Mr. Suezo: &quot;The reason your gym teachers wouldn't be conducting this test is simply that this isn't a serious test at all. All I'm going to do is press the tool up to your arm. It will detect your blood levels and stress. This test is mostly to see if students are overly stressed and require special attention. I promise you won't feel a thing, mostly because this tool only scans you from the outside. Now, one at a time I'll ask you all to come up, then after I've scanned you, you should sit back down so that I can report any abnormal results.&quot; <i>Little did most of the students know but this tool actually was a special evoker meant to measure Persona arcana and potential. Each time he scanned someone it would give information on arcana and overall potential. The score would estimate with a number between 1-100. Anything above 50 was what he was really looking for, so far most students couldn't seem to pass this mark with either no potential or limited potential but above 50 should be able to manifest a persona through the right means.</i>

<spoiler>OOC: Uh, no, sorry Rep. This is a closed thread. Those who are participating planned ahead of time in my plot planning discord server.</spoiler>

<i>Yamane would look over each of the results seemingly by looking at the small screen on the device. Shinobu would see nothing on the computer by a roster with each students name on it. Finally, Yamane would nod as he looked somewhat pleased.</i> Mr. Suezo: &quot;Alright, found exactly what I was looking for... Tachibana Kira - 63 Yagami Tadashi - 95 Koboyashi Niko - 93 Rikai Kaito - 80 Hashimoto Shinobu - 61 I apologize, as a teacher, I should never lie but it's an important part of my other job to keep things somewhat of a secret. I'll come clean now but only if I have you're assistance in a new club that has just been formed here in this school. Perhaps you could even tell me what you believe those numbers represent.&quot; <i>The man would put the device back into his bag and begin to pull out a somewhat small but shiny briefcase. He'd hold it at his side for a moment before continuing to speak.</i> &quot;Now, the proposition I'm about to make is important, however, if any of you don't wish to continue this conversation then you're free to leave now.&quot;

<i>The boy's eyes get agitated by the light but his attention doesn't immediately get pulled away from his work. In the end, it would be everyone's talking that caused him to close his computer and take off his headphones before getting up. With his headphones off his ash coloured hair could be seen clearly along with his overly focused seeming eyes.</i> &quot;So loud today... What are you all doing here? This is the VR club, y'know? Don't you people listen to rumours? Like the one that says I'm actually an alien android bent on world domination, or maybe the one about me being a government agent sent to arrest the creepy biology teacher down the hall, or my favourite one about me actually being a serial killer who targets high school students. People certainly are creative, regardless, what are you all doing here? I already had to deal with some weird kids before asking around about rumours. Wait, don't tell me you want to join the club?&quot;

<i>Seeing most of them take the watch Yamane would smile nervously. It was never easy watching students accept such a responsibility but his choices were limited and he knew how desperate the situation actually was.</i> &quot;There's always a bit of risk with circumstances like this. I was around your ages as well when I was first recruited. As long as you can survive though you won't be hurt, not physically at least. We wouldn't be doing this but things have become... Desperate and those watches are actually half of the reason why. They can only be handed safety to those with no experience with what we call Personas and Shadows. It'd be hard to explain everything right now and I'd rather take this a little slowly at first. This stuff isn't easy for everyone to adjust to. If you're worried then you won't be forced to stay Kobayashi.&quot; <i>Yamane would look at Kaito with a somewhat more cheery expression.</i> &quot;The watches were designed to survive much worse than a little water. Taking off the watch wasn't literal, these watches bond with their wearers in a way though, there aren't many ways to unbind them from the wielders either. I promise I'll reveal everything when the time is right, I'm on the side that want's to find out what's going on as well but even the information I have is limited in some ways.&quot;

<i>The watch would power on simply from Tadashi moving his hand near it as if it was motion powered. The screen would flash a brief animation with the word &quot;HOPE&quot; flashing across the screen before bringing up a small menu with an icon in the topmost corner that seemed to indicate the need for voice commands. From top to bottom only two phrases could be seen as visible with others simply not being visible at the moment: <span class="underline">Log In Persona</span> Yamane would look back at the students and address their questions one at a time. First, he would turn to Kaito.</i> &quot;Perhaps it may be better for you to experience what shadows are first hand, though that could be dangerous as well. These watches have some strange features programmed in that don't exactly make shadows easy to deal with the usual way but they also have their own set of defences too. I suppose it wouldn't be too dangerous if I start off with the basics but first I should instruct you with how the watches work. They're somewhat complicated, not exactly designed for ease of use.&quot; <i>Yamane's lecture would be interrupted by Kira's question. Yamane would look sombre for a moment as if not sure how to answer the question.</i> &quot;Nothing can be guaranteed but at very least the fates of those who have disappeared is still unknown which means there is still hope. The alternative...well the people who have reappeared aren't in a very stable state. Perhaps it's better if I leave it at that but this is the first time we'd be exploring the cause of where people seem to be disappearing too.&quot; <i>He would continue looking around the room as if waiting for everyone to settle in before going any further.</i> &quot;Alright, first of all, if I wasn't clear before, these devices are called HOPE devices. We're not sure on their exact origin as the government supplied them to us without explaining much behind how they work and who created them. The most we know is the HOPE stands for Hyper Oriented Persona Emulation. Think of them as a way to naturally invoke what we call a Persona, a being who's somewhat like another version of yourself. In the past, we who are called the Shadow Operatives utilized devices know as Evokers to force a Persona awakening but there were allows risks involved with that method. The sheer fact that these devices can accomplish what we haven't in years even with our resources is...well, it's hard to believe and we even have reason to believe that the creator of the shadow world we discovered has some connection to the creation of the devices as well. Oh right, I forgot about shadows, if Personas are a manifestation of your will then I guess shadows are kind of like the opposite, manifestations of stray uncontrolled emotion. Most of them are more the result of many people's stray emotions being pieced together then of just one person so they don't exactly have much coherent thought. Anyway, a shadow world is where these creatures reside and until recently we only believed they could manifest in the physical world or at least in an interpretation of the physical world. To be honest, this new shadow world defies all logic and reasoning. From what little information we have it seems as though someone in the government figured out how to capture shadows made from emotions being sent out through the internet. Any questions so far? I know it's a lot to take in and probably not that easy to understand.&quot;

<i>The boy would laugh to himself a little, seemingly amused by Akamine's joking along with his own. He'd then turn to everyone as a whole with a little alarm.</i> &quot;Wait, people are actually here to join? I honestly didn't think anyone would with all the rumours. Well, that's fine but I'm still waiting for the teacher who was supposed to sub-sponsor the class to show up. I'm sure some of you might already know but I don't actually work here. I'm just a volunteer who used to go to school here a long time back.&quot; <i>The boy would then look over towards Yasogi for a moment and cratch his head slightly.</i> &quot;Uh, demons in VR? Maybe in a game or something but there are no real demons in software.&quot;