He is the resident class clown of St. Hermelin, relying on stupid puns and old man jokes to get attention. Hidehiko pesters his classmates to try out the game "Persona" in order to impress them, but Masao Inaba doesn't believe that it will actually work. They both hold a bet, with the loser having to treat everyone who was dragged into it at the Peace Diner. Masao thinks that he won at first, because nothing happened after the ritual. Hidehiko complains, saying that Masao didn't try hard enough when it was his turn to perform. But then a crying young girl appears, and they are all hit by flashes of lightning that send them to the border of consciousness and unconsciousness.