Chapter Text
“All right then. Thank you for coming to this meeting, everyone.” Mitsuru announced, visibly tense as she spoke. “With the final Full Moon operation coming up… it’s important to make sure all of our bases are covered.”
“No problem, Kirijo-senpai!” Junpei replied with a grin, before it slipped off his face. “But, uh, you didn’t tell us what this meeting was about.”
“It’s - well.” Mitsuru sighed. “I am aware that this will likely cause some internal strife… which is why we still have two weeks before our final operation.” Mitsuru’s eyes fell to the ground. “But I wish for us to discuss Kotone.”
“Oh! You want to see her again and see if she wants to join us?” Ken asked with a grin, that was entirely unlike his usual demeanor lately. “I’ll tell her the -”
“No.”
Mitsuru sighed.
“I wish to discuss the possibility… that we may be facing her as an enemy, on our final operation.”
The air dropped several degrees.
Whether you were judging it in temperature or mood.
“...why?” Akihiko asked, eyes narrowed. “Are you convinced she’s part of Strega, or something?”
Mitsuru exhaled sharply. “We have to consider the possibility-”
“There’s no way Kotone-san would ever help them!” Ken’s uncharacteristic shout caught the attention of everyone else. “She’s - she’s nice, and friendly, and she always helps me with my homework, and - she never asks about SEES, so she can’t be a spy! And - there’s no way she’d betray us like that!”
“...then how else do you propose she gained a Persona?”
The ice-cold question from Mitsuru cut through the heart of SEES.
“...she… maybe Strega dropped an Evoker sometime?” Junpei suggested weakly. “We still don’t know how they got theirs, right?”
Yukari’s expression was rather dark. “Junpei, I really doubt that, if Strega dropped an Evoker and realized that somebody was running around with it, they’d let the person who picked it up keep it. Or live.”
Unless they agreed to join them. Went unsaid.
Dark looks were exchanged. “Maybe… Ikutsuki-san dropped one somewhere by accident?” Ken suggested, although the tone he was using made it clear he didn’t believe that.
Mitsuru sighed. “There are less than two dozen Evokers that we know of presently in existence, and all of them are accounted for. The Kirijo Group is extremely fastidious when it comes to the Plumes of Dusk - they are a resource we currently have an extremely small supply of, and no way to produce more. Those secrets died with my grandfather and most of Ergo Research.”
Yukari winced. “So… you’re saying that -”
There’s no other explanation.
“...guh…” Akihiko scowled, shaking his head, clearly upset. “...Makoto, what do you think is up with Kotone?” The silver-haired young man turned to the field commander of SEES.
Makoto was silent for several seconds.
“Makoto? What are your thoughts?” Mitsuru repeated Akihiko’s question.
Makoto’s body language grew more closed off, and he remained silent.
The rest of SEES shot each other concerned looks.
Their leader’s body language had always been - closed, in short. Even as he gradually opened up, he had always been quiet, even if he was good at - summaries.
Now, however, well -
It had been months. And - the members of SEES had slowly been opening up to each other. Letting each other into their own worlds, getting closer, coming to know each other not just as “coworkers” (who, as Junpei tended to gripe, didn’t even get paid), but - well, actual friends.
And - Makoto currently looked as if he had just gone back into the shell he’d always hidden in when they first met him.
“Makoto? Is something wrong?”
There was no response.
“Makoto?” Mitsuru’s voice became firmer.
Makoto was silent for another few seconds.
Then, he stood up.
“Wait here.”
“Makoto?”
The single-word question that Mitsuru gave went unanswered, as Makoto walked towards the stairs.
And there was silence.
“...you guys have any idea what’s goin’ on?”
Briefly.
Yukari, for once, had no more idea what the hell was going on than Junpei. Not that she would admit it.
“Maybe he ran into Kotone-san and never told us?” Ken suggested. “I mean… I don’t remember him ever talking about her unless one of us did.”
“...huh. You’re right…” Akihiko mused, crossing his arms. “Makoto never talked about running into Kotone… actually, I don’t think he’s ever brought her up at all. I don't remember her ever talking about him or asking about him, either.”
“Hm. Was she avoiding him specifically, for some reason, then?” Mitsuru pondered aloud, crossing her arms.
“...maybe he just - ran into her enough it didn’t seem important?” Yukari suggested. “I know they both worked at Chagall…”
Fuuka’s cheeks went red.
Fuuka Yamagishi couldn’t help but wish that she had worked up the courage to talk to Kirijo-senpai about getting whole coffee beans delivered to the dorm, to supplement their Yawn B Gone stock.
…after all, SEES could only get so far on determination, without caffeine.
…she would talk to the terrifying senior, though! One day!
But for now, she was reliant on her electric grinder, the coffee machine she’d repaired last November, and Chagall Coffee beans.
She just had to walk in, walk up to the register, and purchase one of the bags of coffee beans -
That were not there?!
“Hello, Fuuka-chan!”
An extremely cute young woman with red hair and a maid uniform appeared out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, Fuuka’s initial panic was overshadowed by an entirely new one. “O-oh!” Fuuka’s yelp of panic did not make the enormous smile on the young woman’s face go away. “I - I, um-”
“Take your time.” The coffee maid replied with a great deal of patience and a still-present smile. “We aren’t busy.”
A single glance around the cafe told Fuuka that was definitely the case, given that she, and the - um -
“Um, what’s your name, miss?”
“Oh! Call me Kotone!” The redhead replied with a cheerful smile.
“Okay…” Fuuka nodded at this, unable to help but notice that the two of them were the only people in the cafe. “Um… I wanted to buy some coffee beans, miss Kotone? But it looks like you ran out…”
“Oh, whoops. KNEW I forgot something!” The redhead said with a loud sigh, shaking her head airily. “There’s more in the back, wait here, Fuuka.”
Fuuka had been about to open her mouth, and ask how Kotone knew her name.
And then, Kotone turned around, maid uniform flaring, and the question vanished from her mind.
The redhead skipped away, almost airily, into the back of the store, petticoat flaring upwards as she moved and her hair swishing behind her in the breeze she was creating.
Fuuka’s eyes never left her, no matter how much she moved about, as Kotone entered the back, skirt breezing around her beh-
…oh no.
Fuuka’s blush did not leave as the memory passed, but thankfully, her many years of experience at being as noticeable as wallpaper meant that nobody realized it had been there.
And for once, she was grateful.
The debate went on for another minute - and stopped, when the sound of thumping told SEES that Makoto was returning from - his room? Probably?
And as he came down, everyone there realized - near instantly - that he’d gotten changed while he was up there.
“Uh, dude, why are you wearing a skirt?” Junpei asked, visibly confused as the blue-haired leader of SEES returned to the table, a travel bag in hand and new clothes on.
“Makoto. Why do you have a skirt?” Mitsuru asked as Makoto set his bag down.
“...where did you get a skirt?” Ken innocently asked him.
…why does he look so good in a skirt?! Yukari asked herself.
Makoto didn’t answer any of these questions, instead focusing on unzipping the bag he had been carrying.
Yukari wished that she could have seen into it, but she was at just the wrong angle for her to get a good look.
Judging by the semi-broken look on Akihiko’s face, though, there was something interesting there.
Not noticing anyone’s faces, Makoto slowly reached into the bag.
And he withdrew-
“Uh… why do you have a bra?” Ken asked, very confused.
Makoto didn’t reply. Instead, he just dropped the item in question on the table. He didn’t seem to notice how Mitsuru had responded by picking it up, investigating it - or how Yukari was now taking a look at it herself. A push-up bra? But… Makoto doesn’t have breasts… right?
As Yukari pondered the question, and the implications of it, Makoto reached into the bag a second time, before pulling something out and pulling it - over his head?
Yukari looked up, to see what he’d done, and felt her mind slip, ever so mildly.
Makoto was wearing a wig.
And instead of the blue hair that everyone in SEES was used to, on his head -
…what.
And then, as if proving that, no, tonight’s weirdness was not over, Makoto (right?) - did something that none of them could ever remember him (...?) doing.
He beamed.
…no.
What?
And at that moment, Yukari’s brain made the connection.
…Makoto -
Makoto is a girl?
And then, Yukari registered just whose hair that was.
No.
Not just a girl.
As Yukari continued to have an attack of bisexuality (along with most of the other people in the room), Makoto(?) grinned ear to ear, and - were those tears?
And then, he spoke. In a tone they all knew. “Hey everyone! Good to see you!”
Yukari - somehow - was the first to recover.
And, leaping from the couch, she said the name that was on all of their minds.
“KOTONE?!”
It took nearly five minutes for SEES’s members to calm down at the shared realization that the field leader roughly half of them were crushing on was also the cute girl roughly half of them were crushing on.
(These halves overlapped a bit more than any of the overlappers wanted to admit).
“So… you’re a girl?” Junpei asked - still confused, but not quite as confused as he had been five minutes ago when his brain had been broken by Makoto putting on a wig and turning(?) into Kotone. “So - that’s why the wig and stuff?”
Makoto(...maybe?) winced. “No. I’m not.”
“But -” Akihiko managed to get out the first word, but after that, his voice failed him, and he could only shake his head in confusion.
“...okay. Perhaps we should… start this over from the beginning.” Mitsuru eventually managed to say, shaking her head. (She was not blushing at the mental images passing through her head now of Makoto - Kotone? In her room, trying on his clothes and hers - oh my . …she was definitely blushing now…)
“...what is your name?” Mitsuru eventually managed.
Makoto’s face fell, and Mitsuru immediately realized she had asked the wrong question.
“Makoto-san and Kotone-san are the same person, Mitsuru-san. They use multiple different names, depending on their gender identity at any given moment. But they do not always feel the need to share their current identity with us, for reasons I will not disclose without their given permission.”
Mitsuru didn’t know what sort of presents Aigis would like, but she swore, right then and there, that she would find the gynoid one that was perfect, eventually, for the perfectly timed distraction from her poor social skills.
“Thanks, Aigis!” - Kotone (??) said, a wide grin on her (...her, right? Mitsuru hoped…) face. “I’m Makoto when I’m a boy, and Kotone when I’m a girl!”
“Uh, okay… good to know…” Junpei said, eyes still glazed over somewhat.
“So, uh… wait, Aigis, you knew?!” Yukari realized belatedly, eyes turning to the android.
As the rest of SEES swiveled to her, Aigis remained nonplussed. “Koromaru-san and I discovered their shared identity several weeks ago. However, they requested that we remain quiet on the topic, due to personal concerns. As it seemed harmless to allow this knowledge to pass by you all unawares, I consented to doing so.”
“You knew this for more than a month, and you didn’t think to tell us, Aigis-san?!” Ken demanded.
“I did think of telling you. However, as I stated, I was asked to remain silent by - what is your present name?” Aigis asked, turning to the leader of SEES without missing a beat.
It was only at this moment that the rest of SEES realized that said leader still had tears leaking down the sides of their face.
“...Koto…”
“...Kotone, y’mean?” Junpei asked, curious.
“...no. I’m Koto.” Koto shook her(?) head, red hair flowing as she did.
“Um… what’s the difference?” Ken asked, curiosity clear.
“I’m… both right now.” Koto replied. He was sitting down as he spoke, looking at the floor. “Call me either.”
“...how does that work?” Fuuka asked, eyes swiveling upwards as she tried to understand this. “I… how can you be both?”
“...how can you be a girl?” Koto replied, but with no real heat behind the words. Fuuka nevertheless took this as the question it was, and her eyes and mouth curled up as she pondered it.
Nevertheless, no one spoke up. And Koto took that as enough of a reason to speak up for herself.
And as he did, he pulled the red hair on his head off, revealing the blue underneath that he’d been born with. “Look… This is me.”
As Koto spoke, (s)he stood back from the table, and twirled around -
And as he did, Yukari realized that he’d grabbed the bra while her brain had been fizzling.
As she processed this, Koto - ACK!
“WARN US!” She snapped as she brought her hands up to cover her eyes, while Koto started pulling off her shirt.
Near her, Fuuka let out a high-pitched noise that could be mistaken for a kettle boiling as she averted her gaze (from the nicely muscular torso that had just been exposed).
“Ma - KOTO! That is entirely inappropriate!” Mitsuru declared. Her declaration was somewhat undercut by the fact that she had closed her eyes and had cheeks as red as her hair.
“Sorry.” Koto replied with a very not-sorry voice as she finished pulling on the bra that had been on the table - and wow, Yukari could see now how he and Kotone were the same person. “But that’s me.”
As he spoke, the red hair that they all knew not quite as well plopped back onto her head - but there was no smile there, for once. “And this is me. On... some other days, at least. This isn't me today - at least, not all of me, today. But it's still me. ”
And as she spoke, she continued rooting around in the bag.
And to the surprise (again) of everyone else, she pulled out a new wig.
Purple - oh.
Without missing a beat, Koto pulled off the hair that marked her as a girl, and pulled on the dark purple hair that fell down just to the edge of her neck. “Today, this is me too.”
And, reaching in again, a head of black hair came out, this time - just a bit shorter than the purple hair, and longer than Makoto’s usual haircut. “So is this. Not today, but this is part of me.”
Koto gestured at - well, themselves, after saying that. “All of this - well, it’s me.”
They sighed. “I… thanks for not freaking out. Everyone always did, before.”
“...point me to the people who did, if we ever meet them!” Yukari declared with a cheerful smile and bloodthirsty tone.
She had two crushes she needed to take care of, now.
Junpei was next to reply. “Um… okay. You… might have to explain this to me again later… cause I’m… still getting it, I guess.” A friendly grin crossed his face. “But if it’s what you want to do, dude - dudette? I’m there for you, all the way!”
And as a chorus of similar declarations passed around the room, Koto slowly began to relax.
Mitsuru sighed, after everyone had finished. “I must say, this explains why we were never able to find you. Of all the places I thought to look, your closet wasn't one of them.”
Koto got a look that was very unlike Makoto, on his face. “You'd know a lot about closets, huh, Senpai?”
Mitsuru looked very confused. “...I don’t understand what that means.”
“...Nothing.”