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Chapter Text

Iwatodai bustled with activity on another average Saturday night. Couples walked hand-in-hand on their way to proclaim their love. Businessmen drank their sorrows away while dreading the ire of their wives. And one young man walked through the streets with a hunched back and bad attitude. Junpei Iori thought the most exciting thing that night would be his visit to the convenience store. Oh how wrong he was…

“Iori!”

A shiver shot up Junpei’s spine like a jolt of electricity, nearly making him leap out of his skin. Behind him, Officer Kurosawa stood, giving him that same glare while he held his hands on the flashlight and baton fastened to his hips.

“What’re you doing out this late, son? I thought your school dorms had a curfew.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” the boy said, shrugging off the fear. “I’m just popping on over to the convenience store to grab a snack, then I’ll go back.”

“Then you won’t mind me giving you an escort then?”

“…”

“Well?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he sighed. “Don’t you have a route or somethin’ to walk? You’ve got better things to do than be a babysitter, right?”

“My job is to keep Iwatodai free of hooligans like you,” the cop said, narrowing his eyes. “So I’m going to take you to the store, then take you back to your dorm. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…”

Officer Kurosawa did exactly as he promised, walking Junpei all the way to the nearest convenience store without so much as a passing attempt at conversation. The boy had half a mind to just make a break for it, but the last thing that Junpei really wanted was to give the officer a reason to take him back to the station. He’s already had enough of that happening…

“Oh shoot, officer,” Junpei grinned, faking being disappointed. “Looks like I left my wallet back at my dorm. I’ll have to go get it and come back, but if you’d rather not walk me around all night, I under-”

“Here, spend it well.”

Kurosawa reached into his own wallet and gave Junpei ¥1,200. Surprised, the boy shook his head.

“Oh no, I couldn’t-”

“Take it, son. You’re right, I don’t want to follow you all night. So make it quick.”

“R-Right…”

Kurosawa stood by his side as he walked through the aisles of the small market, picking out some ramen, a drink, and some other snacks. The officer stuck out his hand and prevented Junpei from grabbing a Mad Bull.

“What gives, man?”

“You kids shouldn’t be drinking all that crap when you’re still young,” he grunted. “If you can’t sleep, that sure won’t help. Find something else.”

“Jeez, you’re on my friggin’ back about what I’m eatin’ and hoverin’ over my shoulder like a helicopter,” sneered Junpei. “What are you, my dad?”

“If I was, you’d be better off for it,” Kurosawa leered. “Now find something and finish up.”

“Whatever, man…”

While he looked for another drink, something about the air of the night began to shift. A chill crept up Junpei’s spine as the convenient store’s lights flickered. Just as he settled on picking out a highly sugary lemonade, the whole store went dark. The air gained an oppressive weight to it as the night gained a tint of sickly green.

“Hey Kurosawa-san, what…” He looked over at the officer only to see a sleek black coffin in his place. In fact, the entire convenience store was devoid of all life, only populated by many copies of the same coffin. “What… W-What the hell…?”

Junpei dropped his drinks and food, looking around for someone, anyone to talk to. However, when he stared out the window, all he could see was a busy street packed tight with more of the same oppressive coffins. Junpei had never heard Iwatodai so quiet before, and it terrified him.

“Kurosawa-san!” Junpei howled, opening the door and hearing his voice echo out into the night. “Officer Kurosawa! Where are you?! What’s going on?!”

Then he heard it. A sharp, blood-curdling cry that struck fear into Junpei’s very core. Something between a whale’s cry and the gurgling of a tar-like substance mixed with a shrill warble. Then, without warning, it came for him.

A creature that lurked across the ground at breakneck speed, like it was running away from something. Junpei couldn’t say where its body ended and its shadow began, but the only feature of it that looked solid was the purple mask that had “III” etched into it. Two lanky arms dripping with shadow reached out as the thing approached Junpei.

Screaming, the boy slammed the door shut and dove back into the convenience store. A door hardly stopped the monster though, as it simply flung its hinges open

“Get away from me!” Junpei cried, hiding behind one of the shelves and attempting to flee. No matter what though, the creature blocked his path, forcing him into a corner. “Oh man… Oh man, please…”

Then he arrived. The young man kicked the store door open, cracking his spike-lined knuckles. Junpei vaguely recognized him as Akihiko Sanada, captain of the school’s boxing team. The chair air seemed to cackle around him, intensifying with every step.

“I’m here to send you back to Tartarus,” he growled, pointing at the creature.

The monster immediately abandoned Junpei and leapt onto Akihiko. The boy wasn’t scared—he had done this too often to be afraid of a little surprise attack anymore—but Junpei was terrified that what he was about to witness was the mauling of his upperclassman. When Akihiko was tackled, an object flew off of his person and landed right near Junpei. It was a gun.

With his heart full of fear, the boy snatched up the gun and shakily pointed it at the shadow monster. Akihiko tussled and fought with it on the ground, holding it down and slamming his spiked knuckles into the mass.

“Get the hell out of here!” Akihiko shouted, throwing the shadow off of him and looking back at Junpei. “Go!”

Junpei desperately wanted to run. He needed to run if he was going to save his own life. But despite how much his brain screamed, the boy’s legs wouldn’t budge. Instead, it was his hands that moved.

“What the hell am I doing?” he thought as he raised the gun away from the enemy and towards his own head. “I… I can’t…”

“Gah!” Ahikiko gasped, recoiling as the shadow attacked him once again. This time though, he was struggling under its strength.

“I need to do something… Do something, dammit! Why are you standing still?!”

“If your heart wavers not, pull the trigger.”

“Wh-”

Junpei looked over his shoulder to see nobody. Instead, the phantom voice whispered into his ear again. It sounded so close that he could feel it reverberate through his ear canal.

“If your heart wavers not, pull the trigger,” it repeated. “Draw forth power, and say our name.”

“P-P-P…” Junpei stuttered and wavered, but took a deep breath. All at once, his hand steadied, his breathing stabilized, and he finally opened his eyes. “Persona!”

Junpei pulled the trigger, but he did not die. Instead, he felt born again. An azure fog surrounded him, and fragments of glass swirled around his body. Slowly, they formed into the image of some kind of armored knight figure, with sharp blades coming from its heels and head.

“I am thou, and thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh,” the figure proclaimed. “I am Hermes, messenger of the gods and traveler of realms!”

Wordlessly, Hermes darted towards the shadow attempting to overwhelm Akihiko. In one swift strike, the Persona cut the shadow in half, shattering its mask into dozens of fragments. As the Persona faded away soon afterwards, Junpei began to pant and support himself against a shelf. Why the hell did he feel so tired all of a sudden? Impressed, Junpei’s senpai looked back at him with raised eyebrows. 

“Did you-”

The rest of the boy’s words were lost on Junpei as he began to black out. His whole world began to swirl and pulse as he dropped the gun and began to fall. The last thing he remembered seeing was Akihiko running towards him.

*     *     *     *     *

“Son? Son? Iori, on your feet!”

Junpei slowly opened his eyes to see Officer Kurosawa leaning over him, shining his flashlight directly into the boy’s face. He groaned and turned himself over, pushing the flashlight out of his eyes.

“Dude, give me some space…”

“Are you alright, son?” the man asked, offering his hand. “I turned away for a second and you were out on the floor.”

“Yeah, I am. What happened to…” He decided to turn down Kurosawa’s offer to help him up. Junpei looked around and saw no sign of the monster, his senpai, or the gun that he had picked up. “Never mind, I’m just tired, man.”

“Kurosawa-san!”

The officer turned his head to see Akihiko enter the store, his eyes beaming straight at Junpei. It made the boy shudder.

“Sanada,” Kurosawa nodded. “Is there a problem I should be aware of? Or are you just passing by?”

“I’m actually looking for him,” Akihiko said, pointing to Junpei. “He and I have some unfinished business. It’s related to… our midnight activities.”

“I see…” Kurosawa’s expression turned dark as he turned back to Junpei, who was on the ground. “Make sure he gets back to his dorm after you’re done with him.”

“Yes sir.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” he said, turning and walking out of the store. “Stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, officer,” both boys said. When the cop finally disappeared, Akihiko strode over to Junpei and stretched his hand down.

“Got a name?”

“I-Iori…” he stammered, his entire body shaking as Akihiko helped him to his feet. “J-Junpei Iori…”

“Alright then, Junpei Iori,” Akihiko nodded, swiftly putting his gun back into the holster. “Let’s take a walk, then we’ve got some things to discuss. That sound good to you?”

“Y-Yeah… Sure…”

“One more question,” the upperclassman smirked. “Tell me, do you like ramen?”

Chapter Text

“Fuuka?”

Makoto knocked on his teammate’s door, curious on what she could’ve called him to her room for. Fuuka wasn’t exactly one to invite many people into her personal space, and to want to be alone with a boy in her room…?

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” he thought, shaking his head. “Still, what could she need me in her room for…?”

“Fuuka?” he called out, knocking again. Quickly, the door opened up this time, and a familiar teal-haired team member grasped Makoto’s hand.

“Thank you for coming,” she smiled. “Please, come in.”

The girl yanked Makoto into her room, and the first thing he noticed was just how pleasant it smelled in there. Flowers lined the wall on a mounted shelf, filling the place with an alluring aroma. What really got Makoto’s attention though, was Fuuka’s bed. Something mechanical had been meticulously disassembled and spread out upon the sheets, down to the smallest part.

“Is this what you wanted to show me?” Makoto asked, looking over the parts to try and discern what it could look like when put together.

“It is,” she said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Do you remember what happened after Mitsuru-senpai’s father died? When the men came to our dorm and tried to take us and our Evokers away?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “That was a crazy day… I hardly got to see any action though.”

“Yes, well… When the men were searching for the spare Evokers, I heard them mention something that’s been itching the back of my mind. H-He said ‘Find the guns now, we can’t afford to lose any plumes’ to all his men.”

“Plumes?”

“I didn’t know what he meant either,” Fuuka admitted. “S-So I took my Evoker, and…”

She gestured to her bed, and finally it all clicked for Makoto.

“You took your Evoker apart?!”

“Piece-by-piece,” she nodded. “The way they work is so fascinating… Oh, but that’s not why I asked you to come here.”

“Why did you, then?”

“Because… I think this is the plume they were talking about.” 

From her hoodie pocket, Fuuka pulled out what looked like a glowing shard of cyan glass. Contrary to its rigid-looking structure though, the object bent in Fuuka’s gentle hands like it was just a feather. Makoto recognized it as the thing that came out of them whenever they summoned their Personas, but it had never been solid before.

“Wow…”

“It’s kind of beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked, admiring the object. “I don’t really know what it is or what it can do, but I was thinking… It looks like that thing in Aigis’s chest, right? Her heart?”

“Her heart…” Makoto got visions of Aigis’s battle-damaged body being torn open that fateful night. How he could see a pulsing blue glow deep within her. “Yeah… It does, doesn’t it?”

“I was going to ask Mitsuru-senpai about this. Maybe if we could fasten it into other weapons, we could make even more powerful ways to summon Personas or kill shadows.”

“Fuuka, your silent courage and push for new ways to help us all are two of the traits I love the most about you,” Makoto said, putting his hand on hers. Fuuka’s heart jumped just a little as she beamed with pride from his words. “But I don’t think we should be the ones experimenting or trying to make new weapons like that… Ikutsuki thought he was doing well when he did his own experiments too.”

“But-”

“I’m not saying you’re like him, but we don’t always know what’s best. I wouldn’t want anyone to accidentally get hurt. And I wouldn’t want you to have to live with hurting someone you love.”

“O-Okay…”

“Hey.” Makoto pulled Fuuka into a hug, which she reciprocated with a red face. “You’re still our favorite navigator, alright?”

“R-Right…”

Chapter Text

“Alright, let’s go over the plan again!” Kotone said, pumping up the group. 

Right outside the photography club room, she had gathered with Rio, Yuko, Saori, and Fuuka. After Junpei let her know that someone had snapped a picture of them all together during gym class and spread it around, Kotone had planned her warpath.

“We’re going to kick down their door!” Rio declared, clashing her fists together.

“Right!”

“We’re going to demand all of their photos of us!” Yuko said.

“You bet!”

“And…” Fuuka cleared her throat. “We’re going to find out who took the picture and…”

“Execute them!” the rest of the girls cheered.

“Ah, Mitsuru-senpai would be so proud,” Kotone sighed. “Let’s do this!”

Kotone yanked the door open, making all the people developing their photos inside jump out of their skins. Quickly the room was filled with people trying to frantically block their developing photos from the exposed light.

“We are S.E.R.V.!” she loudly proclaimed. “The Specialized Extracurricular Retributive Vindicators! Whoever decided that snapping a photo of us would be a good idea, prepare for our wrath!”

“So who did it?!” Yuko asked, looking around. “Who took our photo?”

It’s a wonder why nobody answered.

“What should we do now?” Fuuka whispered.

“Come back later?” Rio wondered.

“No,” Kotone shook her head. “We double down.”

“What’s going on here?” the club leader asked, furiously standing in their way. “Can we take this outside, please? Some people here are trying to develop their photos.”

“No we can’t!” 

About a half dozen students gave Kotone the most bitter stares they could muster.

“Alright, I guess we can.”

Everyone was ushered outside and the photography club leader firmly shut the door.

“Ok, what’s this all about?” he asked, folding his arms. “The last time something like that happened, a senior didn’t like her photos in the yearbook.”

“One of your club members took this photo of us and has been spreading it all around school.” Kotone handed the young man the photo of the four girls in their gym clothes together. “We want them identified and pummeled!”

“Punished,” Rio corrected.

“Identified and punished!”

“You have to admit, it is a good picture though,” the club leader said. All the girls gave him an unamused glare, making him hand the photo back. “Well, I’d like to help you, but none of our people took that picture.”

“How can you be so sure?” Fuuka asked.

“We wouldn’t be caught dead with a camera of that quality,” he scoffed. “We use professional equipment. You’re looking for someone with a cheap and crappy handheld camera.”

“Could they have used your room to develop their photo?”

“Oh sure, yeah. We’re open for anyone to develop their film, but we don’t keep track of who does it.”

“Well, thanks for giving what you could,” Kotone sighed, disappointed. 

“I’ll reach out if I catch anyone developing some suspicious photos,” he offered.

“Thanks! That’d be awesome!”

“Don’t mention it. Good luck in your investigation, Kogoro Akechi.”

“We need a plan to catch this fiend!” she declared. “Let’s move out, S.E.R.V.! Back to the locker room to re-group and re-plan!”

Kotone, Rio, and Yuko dashed down the halls as fast as they could, with Fuuka not far behind trying to keep up with the athletes.

Chapter Text

“When you think about it, the fact that we’ve made it this far is pretty much a miracle,” Kotone reflected, kicking her legs that dangled off the edge of the dormitory roof. “I didn’t think about whether we'd make it until January, but… Now that we’re here, I feel so grateful after all we’ve gone through.”

“I guess so…” Makoto nodded, looking up at the stars with her.

“What a couple of fools we are, huh?”

“Infinite potential and all, apparently.”

“What’s been your favorite part?”

“Of what?”

“Of being here,” Kotone giggled. “You know, at Gekkoukan… With S.E.E.S. and fighting Shadows… Being around Iwatodai…”

“Oh… I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You go first.”

“I’ve loved having the chance to know all of you. Makoto, Mitsuru, Yukari, Fuuka, Junpei, Akihiko, Ken, Koromaru, Aigis, and…” Her voice trailed off as she wiped her eyes. “And Shinji. I haven’t had a family in years, and I thought I never would. But you all changed that. You gave me love, hope, comradery, and… and a home.”

As Kotone wiped tears from her eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m sorry… I said I wouldn’t get all emotional up here…”

“Everyone here has served as my rock…” Makoto whispered, looking into Kotone’s shining eyes. “I came to Iwatodai thinking that I wouldn’t care about anyone or anything, like all the previous places I’ve lived, but against all odds you made me… care.”

“Aww, you do have feelings,” Kotone teased, giving her friend a little push.

“Yeah, yeah…”

“I’ve got so many promises to keep after all this is done,” she sighed. “Mitsuru-senpai is going to finish teaching me how to ride a motorcycle, then I’m going to get my license later this year and… I’ll be free to go wherever I please. I can go on a ride to see Saori and take her away from her parents for a whole week on a getaway… Oh! You know what? We can go visit Mutatsu-san! We’ve never seen his temple!”

“That old monk’s probably gonna beat us over the head at the front steps,” Makoto sighed with a creeping smile. “Then he’ll say something like, ‘Well, at least come back when you’re old ‘nuff to share a drink with your old pal!’ before getting wasted next to us again.”

“Yeah, he would…” Kotone chuckled. “What else…? Oh! I want to visit France with all the girls so that Bebe can show us around!”

“You wouldn’t take any of us guys with you?”

“Nope! Girls trip!” she smugly declared. “You’ll have to organize your own guy’s trip!”

“Maybe we can take a trip to America,” Makoto pondered. “Junpei would love that.”

“God, if you do that, then you’ve got to let me be there when you tell him. It’ll be priceless!”

“I imagine so,” Makoto agreed. “Remember that thing we did for him and Chidori a few months ago? I’d never seen him cry before that.”

“I still can’t believe that’s a thing Americans do in school,” Kotone dreamily sighed. “So romantic…”

“Any other plans after this is all over?”

“Well… I met these three people online, and we agreed to meet up a day or two before graduation day in March since a couple of us go to Gekkoukan. It’ll be the first time we all meet up and see each other in person.”

“You excited?”

“I’m nervous,” she admitted. “Meeting up in real life with people online is… a new experience for me. But I know one of them is a senior, and the other goes to our school somewhere. Then the third apparently goes to our rival school.”

“Sounds lively.”

“I know right? What about you though? Any plans?”

“Well… I was planning on taking Chihiro to this big bookstore in Kyoto for her birthday,” he admitted. “It’s a couple weeks after we graduate, and she’s already looking forward to it… And Kenji, Junpei, Akihiko, and I were going to take a trip to the beach at some point. Junpei wants to hit on some girls, and Kenji-”

“Wants to hit on some women?”

“Pretty much.”

They both shared a gentle laugh.

“I heard Akihiko was going to do some kind of apprenticeship thing under Officer Kurosawa,” Makoto mentioned. “So he’ll be staying in Iwatodai for a while longer.”

“Seriously?! That’s awesome!”

“Wants to be a detective apparently.”

“Huh, well that’s disappointing,” Kotone huffed. “I thought he’d want to grow up to become one of those huge, muscular MMA fighters.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Mmm, nope,” she denied, her face turning red.

“Well, he won’t be staying at the dorm anymore, obviously. But at least he’s not moving away like Mitsuru.”

“Mitsuru…” Kotone frowned, looking down at the street. Even from so high up, she could see the ground littered with those horrible flyers marked with the symbols of Nyx’s cult. Reminders of everything they were fighting against… “If we pull this off, we’re going to lose her anyway within the year, right? She’s going all the way to America for college…”

“You’re sad about that?”

“I guess… I know that she’s just furthering her own goals and walking her own path. And I should be happy about that, but I…”

“Don’t want to lose her?”

“Do you know how to make that feeling go away?” she quietly asked, looking his way. “I know we’ll have to all go our separate ways someday, and… it makes me so sad. And scared. And… I love you all.”

“…”

After a moment of thinking, Makoto stood up and moved right next to Kotone, pulling her into a side hug. A gesture of genuine affection that greatly surprised her.

“Think of it like this: if nothing ever changed, we might as well be dead already. The ability to change ourselves is the only proof that we’re alive.”

“Why do you talk like that?” Kotone asked, tearing up. “Gets me every time…”

“And you have Aigis. With her attachment issues, I’m sure she’ll never leave.”

“I suppose so…”

“Hey, you two havin’ fun up here?”

The two looked behind them to see Junpei emerging from the door leading up to the roof. It wasn’t just him either. Also emerging behind him was Yukari, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Fuuka, Ken, Koromaru, and Aigis. They all joined the pair, sitting near the edge of the roof and looking up into the nighttime stars.

“We were just talking about the future,” sighed Kotone. “You know, what we’re going to do after this is all done. The people we're going to do it with. That kinda stuff.”

“Oh how sweet,” Yukari chuckled, looking at Makoto. “You mentioned somewhere super special you were going to take me, right?”

“You bet,” he nodded, making a mental note to start preparing a special trip.

“Oooo, you two gonna have a special getaway?” Junpei smirked, giving Makoto a small punch in the shoulder. “Don't worry, I won’t ask what you’ll get up to.”

“Ugh, pervert,” Yukari scoffed.

“What a beautiful night…” Ken admired. Koromaru barked in agreement and nuzzled under the boy’s arm. “It makes me feel like we can really do this.”

“We have to,” Akihiko nodded.

“We shall win,” Aigis agreed. “With our leaders, I believe that there is nothing we cannot overcome. Even if it would be Death itself.”

“On the bright side, I would find it hard to not live life to the fullest after this,” Mitsuru mentioned. “After everything we’ve gone through, surely it would be difficult to not want to get out there and do everything we can while the opportunity is still before us.”

“Yeah,” Kotone nodded, her heart easing into a state of content. “After we overcome Death, let’s never forget to live… Not ever again…”

Chapter Text

“Is there a reason you… wanted me here…?” Kotone mumbled, standing in the doorway to Mitsuru’s room.

“Shiomi, do you have any plans for this evening?”

“Yeah…”

Truthfully, she didn’t. Kotone had spent the last two days locked away in her dorm room. The only thing she did was drink water, sleep, and cry. Most of the dorm had all taken their turns coming in and trying to coax her out, but she wasn’t in the mood. Not even Yukari bringing her daily home-cooked dinners could make her leave her bed. It took all her strength to just take a shower and go to school that day.

Throughout it all though, this was the first time Mitsuru had even attempted to talk to her after that night… October 4th…

“May I join you?”

“…”

“I’m sorry if asking you to come to my room was a rather sudden request,” Mitsuru apologized. “Please, come in and close the door behind you.”

Without argument, Kotone did what she was told. Following her friend’s gesture, she also sat on one of the extremely lavish white and gold couches. Mitsuru sat on another poised directly across from her.

“Seeing your condition deteriorate over the last few days has troubled me.” 

“I’m sorry… I don’t-”

“Shiomi, until further notice, you’re suspended from all further S.E.E.S. operations.”

“What?!”

Kotone’s head snapped up as her eyes went wide to meet Mitsuru’s. What was she saying?! Kotone had only gotten up and gone to school because she wanted to go to Tartarus that night and vent out her emotions. What does she think she’s doing?!

“B-But Makoto is the one who decides who goes into Tartarus!”

“Yuki is the leader of the Tartarus expeditions, but I oversee all S.E.E.S. activities. And I don’t see you fit for diving into Tartarus or attending any Full Moon Operations anytime soon.”

“That’s not fair!”

“I can’t say with certainty that I trust your ability to perform right now-”

“Which is wrong!”

“And I won't risk you being a danger to yourself or anyone else in the field-”

“You’re jumping to conclusions!”

“Shiomi, this is all for your own safet-”

“Who the hell cares?!” Kotone screamed, rising to her feet. “I don't care!”

The silence that hung between them after that outburst was deafening. Kotone’s face turned almost as red as Mitsuru’s hair. 

“I-I’m sorry… I don’t know what-”

“Shiomi, I know I’m not… I know I’m more emotionally distant than everyone else,” Mitsuru sighed. “But I know what grief feels like… Everyone in this building has lost something that we can never get back.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Kotone said, tears forming in her eyes. “Ten years ago, my parents died and everything was over for me! Then I was passed around from city to city under someone else’s care like a bottle of sake at a dinner table. But the one time I try to get really close with someone, I… They…”

“Shiomi… Come back and sit down,” Mitsuru asked. “If you need help… you can lean on my shoulder.”

“I-I’m fine,” Kotone shakily nodded, turning away and hugging her school bag to her chest. “I’m fine… I’m fine…”

“Shio… Kotone, wait.”

Mitsuru started to approach her, but the auburn girl backed away in response. She tried with every fiber of her being to slow and steady her breathing, but her own body seemed to work against her. She hated it. 

“I’m fine… I’m fine… I’m fine…”

“Kotone.”

“I’m fine… I’m-”

“Kotone!”

Mitsuru caught up to her and flipped her around to look her in the eyes. And in a single moment, Mitsuru asked what Kotone would do for her, and Mitsuru hugged the girl. Tears were streaming down Kotone’s face, and she was trying her best to not howl out her sobs. It had been so long since she felt like this and she hated it. This was not the quiet grieving that her mind allowed for her parents… This was a loud, ugly pain that was so much harder to conceal.

“Kotone…”

“We were going to go on a real date, Senpai,” she cried. “We were going to be so happy…”

“I… I know, Kotone,” Mitsuru whispered. “I saw how you talked… How you held him… You would’ve made Shinjiro happy.”

“Please… don’t say his name,” Kotone whimpered. “It sounds so hollow now…”

“I knew him well. He would want you to carry on, Kotone. He would want you to mourn your share, but stand tall afterwards. .”

“I want to have a will to live… I really do… I just don’t know if I can bring myself to have one,” Kotone said, her every breath wheezing under the threat of more tears escaping. “Please, Senpai… Tell me what to do… Tell me why this has to happen…”

“Kotone…”

Though she wasn’t experienced in giving much emotional security or support, Mitsuru stood there with Kotone in her arms. Neither of them knew just how long they stood there for. When their legs gave out, they sat together on the couch. When their minds gave out, they rested their heads on each other’s shoulders.

Chapter Text

“Everybody, I request your input upon a matter,” Aigis called, walking downstairs. Makoto, Mitsuru, Yukari, and Akihiko were just discussing their plans for Tartarus that night, but even after half an hour they couldn’t agree on a goal height.

“What’s up, Aigis?” Yukari asked.

“I request to be given ‘brutal honesty’ as they say, about my new hands.”

Aigis revealed what seemed to be a new arm attachment. Though, Makoto himself couldn’t see exactly what was different about it from her usual finger guns. Neither could anyone else, apparently, since the entire group was left scratching their head.

“Alright, you got me. What’s different about it?” Akihiko grunted.

“Can you not tell?” the robot asked, cocking her head to the side. “With this attachment, each of my fingers are approximately 2.47mm thicker than before.”

“Does that have any battle advantages?”

“I bet it has some special function,” speculated Yukari.

“Perhaps…” Mitsuru nodded. “Aigis, what are they for? And when did you get them?”

“Fuuka-san has built me a new model of hands of her own design,” Aigis smiled, engaging her weapons and putting her finger guns right up to Mitsuru’s head. Everyone except Mitsuru immediately took a step back in shock.

“Aigis, stand down!” Mitsuru commanded, not a hint of fear in her voice. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Don’t be alarmed, Mitsuru-san,” Aigis asked with an eerily calm tone. “I am simply giving a demonstration of this arm’s functions.”

“We can-”

Before Mitsuru finished her sentence, a small click sounded from deep within Aigis’ core, followed by some whirls and shudders up the robot’s arms. The queen of executions couldn’t even react before a large BANG! made her stumble backwards.

“MITSURU!”

Though the initial force put her off-balance, Mitsuru caught her footing before she could fall. She had no wound, but was surging with a blue mist as her Persona materialized behind her, much to the amazement of everyone else in the room. There was still blue smoke emitting from Aigis’ fingers too.

“Aigis… what was that?” Mitsuru asked, clearly still a bit dazed and confused.

“That would be my weapon attachment,” Aigis smiled, like a child testing out her new toy. “Fuuka-san repurposed an extra Evoker along with one of my old arm attachments. She calls this the ‘Heracles Buster’ attachment.”

“Warn someone before you start putting guns to people’s heads, will you?!” Yukari asked, still shaking while holding her hand over her chest. “You could’ve given me a heart attack!”

In response, Aigis approached Yukari before placing her hand to the girl’s wrists, then her chest, then her head’s temples.

“Worry not, Yukari-san. Your heart appears to be beating quite regularly, though slightly elevated. I do not believe your family has any history of heart disease either. Additionally, you regularly practice a healthy diet, frequent exercise, and participate in team athletics. These factors all ensure that you will likely live a long and healthy life.”

“That’s… not what I mean,” Yukari frowned. “But thank you for letting me know I’ll live long.”

“Can you do the same to me too?” Akihiko asked, offering his wrist.

“Of course, Akihiko-san.”

Makoto glanced aside and saw a small tuft of teal hair hiding just behind the corner. Giving a tired sigh, the leader discreetly broke off from the group while Aigis was still telling them how long of a life they’d live. He found Fuuka curled up, cowering on the other side of the wall with the TV.

“What did I say about not making new weapons with Evoker technology?”

“S-Sorry…” she mumbled. “I-I didn’t know she’d scare e-everyone like that…”

Chapter Text

“Everybody, to the command room, quickly!”

Those words rang throughout the entirety of the Iwatodai Dormitory, and in just a moment, all of S.E.E.S. was gathered in the command room, Evokers ready and weapons in hand. When the others arrived, Fuuka and Mitsuru already had their Personas out and were putting them to use by scanning as far as they could go. 

“What’s happening?” Akihiko asked, tightening his spiked knuckles. He looked out at the completely darkened moon. One of the most eerie parts of the month was always the New Moon when the moon was just gone from the sky during the Dark Hour. 

“I-It’s the Shadows!” Fuuka exclaimed. “Hordes of them have broken out of Tartarus and have been rampaging down the streets of Tatsumi Port Island!”

“We believe it has something to do with the New Moon,” Mitsuru grunted, her ear pressed to a set of headphones as she adjusted the dials on a radio. “They seem to be moving at random though… Not calculated or coordinated whatsoever.”

“According to my Shadow Positioning System, there are approximately four-dozen shadows prowling the streets outside of Tartarus,” Aigis notified. “None have attempted to cross the Moonlight Bridge.”

“Then we should move out quickly,” Mitsuru said, grabbing her motorcycle helmet. “We’ll split into three groups of three. Two of us will patrol the streets of Tatsumi Port Island and hunt down the rampaging Shadows. One group will stay on the Moonlight Bridge and prevent any runaway Shadows from crossing into mainland Iwatodai. Any questions?”

“How are we splitting up?” Kotone asked.

“Shiomi, you and Takeba will come with me. Aigis, you take Yuki and Akihiko. We’ll be hunting down the Shadows. Meanwhile, Yamagishi, Iori, and Koromaru will safeguard the bridge.”

“Sounds good to me!” Junpei grinned.

“Alright,” Makoto nodded.

“Let’s go, S.E.E.S.!” Kotone cheered.

*     *     *     *     *

They all met on the edge of where the Moonlight Bridge crossed into Tatsumi, with everyone having to uncomfortably walk on foot while Yukari and Kotone got the privilege of riding on the back of Mitsuru’s motorcycle. 

“Alright, navigators ready?” Akihiko asked.

“Ready,” confirmed Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Aigis.

“Keep in touch, and let each other know if anything comes up,” Mitsuru advised. 

“Hey, we should have a little competition,” Junpei smirked, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s see which group can kill the most Shadows!”

“This isn’t a game, Junpei,” frowned Mitsuru.

“Well, er… How about an incentive to do our jobs better?

“Junpei-san, a contest would be pointless,” Aigis said.

“Thank you, Aigis.”

“Indeed. A team composed of Makoto, Koromaru, and myself will be 28% more efficient than yourself, Yukari-san, and Kotone san, and 53% more effective than one composed of Funna-san, Junpei-san, and Akihiko-san.”

“I…” Mitsuru looked almost offended. “I don’t think that we should focus on those kinds of numbers.”

“Apologies, Mitsuru-san. Statistics and analysis are my specialty.”

“Heh, what’s wrong, Mitsuru?” Akihiko cockily chuckled. “Afraid of losing in a little contest?”

“Of course not!”

“Then c’mon, let’s do it,” the boy encouraged. “It’ll help us fight harder!”

“Ooo, what about a prize?” Kotone asked. “There’s got to be something the winners get, or else there’s no point!”

“Moolah!” Junpei asked. “C’mon, money! Money!”

“We can get money in Tartarus,” Yukari dismissed. “We need something better.”

“Woof!”

“Koromaru is requesting treats.”

“Oh, yeah, that is a good idea, actually,” Junpei nodded. “How about the winning team gets a dinner wherever they want? The fanciest place they can think of!”

“Ooo, yum…” Kotone sighed, dreamily rubbing her stomach. “I agree!”

“Woof!”

“That does sound good,” Yukari agreed.

“I suppose that would be nice…” Fuuka nodded.

“I cannot eat,” Aigis pointed out. “But I will appreciate the gesture nonetheless.”

“I suppose it’s decided then,” Mitsuru sighed. “I’ll pay for the winner’s meal myself. I suppose it would be a nice incentive to perform better.”

“Then let us commence the competition,” the robot nodded. “I shall keep an internal count of all the enemies my comrades defeat.”

“Hell yeah, bring on the Shadows!” Junpei roared. “I’m ready to kick some ass and win that prize!”

“I’m sorry Junpei-san, but I must notify you that your chances of victory are unlikely. Your performance is in the lower percentile of the group,” Aigis informed. “Based on my projections, you will do 47% less ‘ass kicking,’ as they say, than Akihiko-san.”

“Dude, way to bring my morale down.”

“Worry not Junpei-san, I was merely giving a false statistic to intimidate you,” she chuckled. “I was engaging in a ‘mindfuck,’ as they say. You are only 23% less efficient than Akihiko-san.”

“Wow, thanks…”

“Come on, let’s not waste any more time,” Mitsuru decided, hopping on her motorcycle, followed by Yukari and Kotone. “Aigis, Fuuka, let’s contact each other when we detect no more Shadows.”

“Right!”

“Affirmative.”

The girls squad roared away on their motorcycle, leaving everyone else in the dust.

“See you when the hour’s up,” Junpei smirked, giving Makoto a fist bump.

“Remember to defend the bridge above everything else,” Makoto reminded. “Don’t let them get into Iwatodai.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll give ‘em hell,” Akihiko grinned. “And with Fuuka here, nothing’s going to take us by surprise.”

“Ready?” Makoto asked, turning to his teammates.

“Woof!”

“I’m ready.”

“Lead the way then.”

*     *     *     *     *

Mitsuru sped down the streets of Tatsumi Port Island, periodically slowing down so that Yukari could shoot down some Shadows. Kotone was busy on the back of the bike, adjusting the mounted radios to tune them just right for her navigator.

“Shiomi, more sinewave, please.”

“Alright…” Carefully, she turned the knob little by little. “How’s that?”

“Stop… there!”

“Alright, how’s it feel?”

“A bit more cosine.

“How do you do this all the time?” she sighed.

“Kotone, can you take care of that?” Yukari asked, pointing to a Maya that had clung to the exhaust pipe of the bike.

“Oh, sure,” she nodded, stabbing her spear straight through the Shadow and tossing the tarry remains to the side. “Do you seriously think Makoto’s group will kill more Shadows than us?”

“Nah, probably not,” Yukari said, narrowing her eyes as she shot another Shadow between the eyes. “I bet none of them could use a bow and arrow while riding on a motorcycle.”

“That is hella impressive.”

“Takeba has undergone rigorous training to ensure that she can’t miss,” Mitsuru proudly said. “She even won an award when going to a special competition in Tokyo.”

“Really?!”

“I definitely can miss,” Yukari corrected. “I placed 3rd in that competition.”

“You were also competing against students from universities. In all, you performed exemplary.”

“Oh… I…” Yukari cleared her throat and tried to not let her red face show. “I can always do better. It’s why I go to archery practice so much.”

“I wish I was that good at something,” Kotone sighed. “I just don’t think I can commit myself to anything that much though. Rio kind of gets on my ass when my form is off in the volleyball team though. I don’t think I can be a volleyball champ though. Not like how Yukari could make a career out of her archery.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I could…”

“If anyone could, it’s you.”

“Shiomi, what do you want to do?” Mitsuru wondered, swerving just out the way of a shadow that Kotone picked off with her spear. “I hardly hear you talk about the future.”

“I never really like to think about my future,” she admitted. “Maybe a doctor though. I like the idea of being a surgeon.”

“A surgeon?” Yuakari asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, a surgeon. What’s so funny about it?”

“There’s something about the image of you smiling your ass off while giving someone surgery that makes me giggle,” she admitted. “I would think something more fitting for you would be… maybe a therapist or counselor.”

“Huh… Therapist does sound good, actually.”

“Mitsuru-senpai, did we kill all the Shadows?” Yukari asked, looking around and noticing that there weren’t any more to shoot.

“That… can’t be right…”

Mitsuru stopped the motorcycle and walked around to the back, tuning the radios herself. Her confused and worried expression only grew worse.

“What’s wrong?” Kotone asked. “Did we do our job too well?”

“No… There should be more. Fuuka and I had detected more back at the dorm. So where-”

“Mitsuru-san!” Fuuka’s voice rang throughout all of their ears, urgent and pleading. “We have a problem!”

“Yamagishi, what’s going on?! We can’t find any Shadows near our location!”

“It’s Aigis-san! My Persona is detecting some kind of signal she’s emitting… She’s sending out some kind of beacon that’s attracting the Shadows!”

“She can do that?” Kotone gasped. “If that’s true, then…”

“Have you been able to figure out why?”

“It seems Aigis’s communications are down for some reason…”

“Senpai, should we go help them?” Kotone whispered. “I mean, we are in a competition and all…”

“I think saving their lives matters a bit more than the competition,” Yukari coughed.

“Oh, yeah, I guess it does.”

“Yamagishi, where are they?”

“The southern part of the island, it looks like. You just need to follow the main road and you’ll run straight into them.”

“Then we’ll be their reinforcements!” Mitsuru decided, hopping back on her motorcycle. “Yamagishi, I trust you can warn me of incoming threats?”

“Of course, Senpai. We’ll be on our way too.”

“No, you three need to stay by the bridge and continue guarding it. With Shiomi and Takeba with me, we should be more than enough.”

“Okay then… I’ll still try to provide support from here.”

“What did they get themselves into…?” Mitsuru mumbled, going full throttle down the street. 

*     *     *     *     *

“Unfortunately, Makoto-san, the Shadows seem to be avoiding us,” Aigis reported, watching many of them dart into alleyways and behind buildings. “It seems they can sense the power of your Personas and are weary.”

“That does make it harder to kill them all…” the leader mumbled. “Is there possibly any way to lure them out?”

“Woof!”

“Koromaru says he can hunt them on his own.”

“I appreciate how brave you are, boy,” Makoto softly smiled, kneeling down and scratching the dog behind the ears. “But that’s how you get hurt.”

Koromaru whimpered and whined in response. The dog apparently took that as a blow to his ego. 

“Makoto-san, I might have a solution,” Aigis said.

“Which is?”

“My core can emit a signal that has a chance of emitting a special signal that would draw in Shadows. I would act as a beacon for all the Shadows on the island.”

“That sounds like a bad idea.”

“There is only a 18% chance of us not surviving the ensuing battle. I detect that you are quite stronger than most of the escaped Shadows.”

“This still sounds like a bad idea.”

“Woof!”

“Koromaru believes we can do it.”

“…” Makoto sighed and held his head. He knew this was a massively terrible idea. “Fine, do it.”

“Affirmative. Emitting signal now. Warning: communications will be disabled while the beacon emission is in progress.”

“Wait, did-”

Makoto was cut off by a torrent of roars, and immediately a tidal wave of Shadows appeared down the street. Just as Makoto suspected, this was instantly proven to be a bad idea.

“Aigis! Shut it off!”

“Negative. The beacon cannot be shut off without a complete shutdown of my weapons system as well. This would not be advisable at the current moment.”

Makoto poised his sword as Aigis unloaded her finger guns into the tidal wave of Shadows. With a massive howl, Koromaru swept his own wave of dark smog among the enemies. Shadow after Shadow, Makoto stabbed into them while unloading his own share of spells with various Personas. No matter how many they defeated though, more seemed to follow.

“Aigis, give me a status report!” Makoto barked. “How many more are there?”

“Scanning… Error: undefined.”

“…What?”

“It seems that more Shadows are following out of Tartarus. My beacon may be more powerful than initially expected.”

“Shut it off!”

“But-”

“That’s an order!”

“Powering down weapons… Error: numerous lethal threats detected. Shutdown forcefully aborted. Disengagement of weapons is not permitted at this moment.”

“Ugh!” Makoto gritted his teeth and looked at all the incoming Shadows. Even Koromaru was starting to pant and show heavy signs of fatigue. That’s when an idea struck Makoto. “Aigis, Orgia Mode!”

“Orgia Mode activated!” Aigis declared. All at once, her body flooded with blue hue, making every crevice of her body burst with a harsh cyan glow. “Power at maximum capacity!” 

Aigis let loose her persona, Palladion, and wrecked havoc upon the Shadows.

“Matarukaja!” Makoto shouted, with the figure of Queen Mab leaning over his shoulder. A red glow surrounded him and his allies, making them feel unstoppable.

Nothing got past Aigis, who swiftly dispatched any encroaching enemy in tandem with Palladion. Dodging and weaving between Shadows, the two worked as one with frightening speeds. And with the additional fire from Koromaru’s Cerberus and support from Queen Mab, the trio fought off the Shadow horde for minutes on end.

Eventually though, Aigis began to slow down, and Makoto could see black fumes trickle out from her openings. Palladion began to fade, and Aigis’s movements finally slowed to a near-halt. Makoto really hoped that his plan would work.

“I… am… approaching… my… limit…”

“I’m counting on it.”

With one last whirl of her internals, Aigis summoned Palladion and pointed towards the massive horde of Shadows.

“Heat Wave!” Aigis’s persona wiped out a dozen Shadows in one fell swoop and made about a half dozen more back away. Makoto heard a mechanical groaning accompanied by the whine of grinding steel. “Cooling protocol… activated… Functions… ceasing…”

Aigis’s body fully seized up and fell backwards, only to be caught by Makoto. He thought about how this could’ve all just been prevented if she wasn’t so insistent on trying to win the competition, and the boy couldn’t help but smile a bit. For an android, there was something about how human she acted that charmed him a little.

Koromaru came to Makoto’s side as the last few Shadows decided to gang up and encroach on the team. Glaring daggers into the enemies, Makoto held the Evoker to his head and pulled the trigger with a deathly determination.

“Eligor!”

*     *     *     *     *

When Mitsuru arrived on the scene, Aigis was starting to regain movement functionality. None of them were happy.

“I apologize, everybody…” the robot said, embarrassed. “It appears that my desire to win this contest only placed our mission in jeopardy…”

“Eh, don’t sweat it,” Kotone shrugged.

“Shiomi!” Mitsuru scolded. “This is not something to shrug aside! Aigis put not only herself, but Makoto and Koromaru in danger!”

Haven’t we all done stupid stuff like that though? We’ve all tried to do something impressive in Tartarus only for it to blow up in our faces.”

“That’s-”

“The w-w-wwinner… is us…” Aigis said with a glitched stutter. “The combined efforts of Koromaru, Makoto, and I led to the defeat of 134 Shadows. I believe Makoto, Koromaru, and I get our lavish meal.”

“…”

Everyone fell silent at the declaration. Mitsuru, Yukari, and Kotone hadn’t been counting all of their kills, but it definitely wasn’t over 100. Not even close.

“How about we all go to Muramasa Bistro together?” Makoto proposed. “That way nobody’s left out and there’s no hard feelings. Besides, meals are always better when shared among all your friends.”

“Sounds good to me!” Kotone cheered.

“…Very well…” Mitsuru reluctantly conceded. “Let us go back to the dorm so I can grab my checkbook.”

Chapter Text

“You believe that this arcade experience will ease my tension?” Mitsuru skeptically asked.

“I promise that there’s one game in here that you’ll become addicted to!” Kotone smirked, rubbing her hands together. “It’s practically made for you.”

“Oh? I don’t think I’ve ever played a video game that made me feel like I just absolutely had to come back for more.”

“I think you’ll like this one,” she promised. “And I want to pay you back for giving me those recent motorcycle lessons.”

“Oh, Shiomi, I already said you don’t have to pay me back for that.”

“I know, I know, but even if I don’t have to, I want to. And you can’t stop me!”

“Heh, I suppose I can’t,” Mitsuru chuckled. “Lead the way then.”

Kotone took Mitsuru’s hand and led her into the arcade, weaving through kids, teens, and adults alike to get to the machine she was thinking of. After a couple minutes of searching, Kotone finally found it. A machine with two places to sit, each modeled after motorcycles and facing their own screen. The top of the machine had “Full Throttle!” along the top of it in big blinging LED’s.

“What is this game?” Mitsuru asked, mildly intrigued.

“It’s a racing game,” Kotone explained. “Up to two people can play at once, but you race along various tracks of your choosing. And you do it all on this simulated motorcycle controller thing. You go forward by accelerating, steer by leaning left and right, and break by-”

“How interesting…”

Like an eager child, Mitsuru leapt onto Player 1’s bike and smiled. She looked and felt right at home on the thing. The girl expectantly looked back at Kotone.

“Are you ready?”

“Don’t you want me to explain the controls first?”

“It’s a simulation and is supposed to feel like the real thing, right?”

“They say it’s the most accurate motorcycle simulation game on the market right now,” Kotone said, taking her spot as Player 2 and inserting ¥3,000 into the machine. “It’s gotten some high praise, and I figured that we could spend some time competing.”

“A word of warning, Shiomi,” Mitsuru said, her eyes shooting her friend a deadly glare. “I don’t plan on losing.”

“Good,” Kotone nodded. Smiles crept across both of their faces as she responded. “Neither do I.”

*     *     *     *     *

Though the girls had only planned on staying there for an hour or so, Kotone and Mitsuru stayed in the arcade until it was dark, only leaving to grab some food to go before returning. Luckily for Kotone’s wallet, Mitsuru started paying for the game credits after their third go at it. When it was all over, both of them stumbled out of the arcade—disoriented and trying to come back to reality, but happy and giddily laughing while recalling various moments from their gaming experience.

“So? What did you think?”

“It was wonderful!” Mitsuru exclaimed. “Très bon! The simulation was incredibly accurate, and you were a fierce opponent! It seems our motorcycle lessons have been paying off.”

“Oh hush,” she giggled. “I’m just good at arcade games.”

“Even so, I have to acknowledge your prowess.” The girl looked at the arcade, then spied at the machines sitting inside before proposing a question to her friend. “How much do you think it would cost?”

“To play again?” Kotone asked, confused. “Well, the initial play is ¥3,000, and any credits past that would be another ¥1,500-”

“No, to buy the machine. I enjoyed it so much that I’d like one in my room,” Mitsuru explained.

“You want an arcade game in your room?!”

“Yes,” she nodded, noticing her friend’s distress. “What’s the problem? Junpei keeps video games in his room, does he not?”

“That’s a different kind of video game! He has the kind that fits onto CDs, not a whole arcade machine!”

“Oh…” the rich girl sighed, her face starting to match the same shade as her hair. “I wasn't aware that one was more acceptable than the other.”

“How about we go home and we can come back some other weekend,” Kotone giggled. “I enjoyed those faces you were making today.”

“Hm? What faces?”

“You know, smiles,” Kotone teased. “Watching sweat pour down your face while you turned those corners in-game like your life depended on it. And the cute way you victoriously laughed when you just barely dodged incoming trucks… It’s an easygoing side of you that I’d like to see come out more.”

“I-I don’t know what to say, Shiomi…”

“Hey, no need to get all worked up,” she chuckled. “C’mon, let’s go back to the dorm. You’re going to take me home on the real deal anyway.”

“I suppose that is true,” Mitsuru nodded, laughing at herself. “We could also… Take some time and ride around before going straight back.”

“I wouldn't mind that,” Kotone agreed. In a sudden gesture of affection, she wrapped her hands around Mitsuru’s arm and clung to her side. The redhead was surprised at first, but didn’t fight it. “Want to lead the way?”

“Of course,” the redhead gently smiled.

Chapter Text

“C’mon, Makoto, live a little!” Kotone encouraged.

“…Fine,” he sighed, sitting in front of the fortune teller. “I’ll have my fortune…”

“Wonderful!” the fortune teller smiled, holding out her hand. “¥500 please.”

“Here…”

Makoto paid the lady and sat back as she shuffled her deck of cards. He had to admit that the fancy ways she could mix up the cards was at least mildly entertaining. That alone would’ve probably been worth the 500 yen to him. She finished by spreading out three rows of three cards; nine in total.

“These cards let me glimpse into your past, present, and future…”

“Ooo,” Kotone giggled.

“First!” The woman flipped the first card, which was an image of a large tower being struck down by a bolt of lightning. “The Tower… Your past has been plagued with strife. Hardship to hardship, all spawned by a great tragedy…”

“…”

Makoto didn’t want to engage with the teller, but she continued on anyway and flipped the second tarot card.

“The Hermit, reversed. You have isolated yourself from humanity, cutting ties with those around you and living on your own. Dependency has been seen as a weakness or burden from your perspective, pushing your self-reliance…” The woman flipped the last card in the first row. It was that of a woman riding in a stunning silver chariot, pulled by two sphinxes. “Ah, The Chariot, reversed. Your decisions have been full of trepidation, and you found yourself lacking the ambition to move forward in life…”

“How happy…”

“Oh my… You have a truly troubled past, don’t you?”

“You don’t even know.”

“What about now?!” Kotone asked, completely engrossed in the fortune telling.

“I’m getting there,” the teller frowned, flipping over the first one. “Ah, a good omen! The Fool, meaning-”

“The start of a journey,” Makoto sighed, rolling his eyes.

“A symbol of infinite potential,” Kotone said with her best Igor impression. “Like the number zero!”

“Do you want to read the fortunes, or can I do my job?” the teller frowned, evidently tired of being interrupted.

“Go on…”

“Ahem, thank you. Now the next one, The Devil, reversed. In recent times, you have found yourself in control of your life, and able to rely on others for physical and emotional support. Your bad habits are being broken as we speak, and you’re taking great strides to do better.”

The woman flipped the last card in the row.

“And The Star. A sign that against all odds, you hold hope and optimism for the future. Your past wounds will be healed, and filled in with new love in the present.”

“Aw, that’s so cute,” Kotone teased. “Who’s your lover, Makoto?”

“I don’t have the patience for this,” he groaned, flipping over the last three himself.

“Wait!” fussed the fortune teller. “I…”

She looked down at the cards with a furrowed brow, looking quite worried. It was bad enough to spook even Makoto.

“What is it?”

“This fortune… The Wheel of Fortune; you are caught up in the gears of fate. Whether you come out on top or on the bottom is unclear, but there’s no escaping what destiny is setting up for you. The Hanged Man; when the time comes, you will have to make a great sacrifice to accomplish what has to be done. And then, The World… Complete fulfillment and absolution. Your growth will all lead up to that one vital moment…” The teller nodded her head. “This seems like a great fortune. Though you’ll have to make a great sacrifice one day, you will get exactly whatever your heart desires as long as you’re willing to pay the price for it.”

“That’s not ominous,” Makoto mumbled, getting up. Immediately, he was replaced by Kotone, who slapped down another 500 yen.

“Me next!”

“Of course…” the teller sighed, reshuffling her cards and laying a new set of nine down. She flipped over the first one to a familiar sight. “Let’s see… The Tower. In your youth, a great tragedy fell upon you, shaking you to your very core as a person. And over here… Judgement, reversed. You are uncertain about yourself, and past trauma has clouded your ability to see clearly. You’re constantly unsure of what the right path is, and rely upon others to be your guide, which plagues you with insecurity and self-doubt.”

“Hey, wait a second. That’s not-”

“Next,” the teller continued, completely ignoring her. “Is The Empress. After your trauma, you could not look inward and face yourself, so you project a motherly visage outwards. Though you take care of those around you and take great pleasure in it, these maternal actions are misplaced and are in place of prioritizing self-care and reflection.”

“Hold on, how can-”

“Your present,” the woman frowned, slamming a hand on the table to shut Kotone up. “Death, reversed. Even now, you cling onto what you have, relentless in your fight to never let anything go. You are stagnant and show no signs of advancing in life.”

“I-”

“The Sun, reversed. You fail to see the happiness you have right in front of you. Though you have the riches of the human experience in your grasp, you fail to appreciate it for what it is and retreat to a place of solitude and depression when you feel too warm.”

“Stop and-”

“Reversed Temperance! You are reckless! Impatient! Lack any sort of balance or awareness in your life, public or personal. You unnecessarily plant discord among your allies and inside your own mind, and lack any long-term vision or ambitions.”

“You’re not-”

“Your future! The Hanged Man, reversed. The future will be met with roadblocks at every turn because of your stagnation! You will be shut down romantically, financially, and academically! And you will be prone to needlessly attempting to sacrifice yourself, not for honor, but for-”

“I said stop!”

Kotone swatted all the tarot cards off the table, disturbing the fortune teller greatly and attracting the eyes of a few partygoers. Makoto could see the man behind the bar give them a look, which signified to him that they should make themselves scarce.

“Hey, let’s just go,” he advised.

“Yeah, you were right,” Kotone mumbled, getting up and starting to storm out of Club Escapade. “Getting your fortune read is dumb and stupid…”

Chapter Text

“I have a new request for you, my esteemed guest,” Elizabeth smiled, a trickster’s gaze dancing from behind her eyes. “Instead of you taking me somewhere, I ask that you accompany me to a place of my choosing.”

“Um, alright,” Makoto nodded. “Where?”

“Come, my guest,” she beckoned, taking a blue sheet off of one of the covered doors. “There are a few people whom I wish for you to meet.”

Makoto got up and followed the woman to the door before pausing. He looked at the closed azure door, then back at Igor. The man simply waved his hand in a shooing motion.

“I have no bearing over what happens in that room,” he warned.

“Are you ready, my guest?”

“Yeah…”

Elizabeth flung the door open and grabbed Makoto’s hand. Together, they walked blindly into the shining room. Makoto couldn’t even see for a moment or two after arriving, though he could hear the soft hums of a woman accompanied by a gentle piano melody.

“Welcome to the Velvet Lounge, esteemed guest.”

It truly was a lounge alright. Blue couches on blue rugs with a blue coffee table and blue chairs. Not to mention the blue chandelier that hung on a blue chain from the blue ceiling, casting blue light onto the blue walls. Lining those walls was an assortment of blue doors that likely led to other Velvet Rooms or something. And of course, what he heard when he walked in was the blue grand piano in the corner. Makoto had to ask the question. He couldn’t stave it off for any longer.

“Why so much blue?”

“It is a holy color for us,” she chuckled. “The best color.”

“I see…”

“Come, I wish to introduce you to my siblings and coworkers.”

There were many residents of the Velvet Lounge simply laying about. Likely waiting until they are needed by their respective guests. A much older and much younger woman than Elizabeth sat next to each other on a couch, each engrossed in their own books. In a chair across from them, a man in a bellboy uniform gently snored with his head back. It goes to say, of course, that all of their clothes were also a matching shade of blue. They all had the same silver hair and piercing golden eyes as Elizabeth too.

“You are already familiar with the bumbling visage of my younger brother, Theodore.”

“Sister, can you not bring your… pet into our place of rest?” asked the older woman, her gaze not averting from her novel.

“She kind of reminds me of Mitsuru that time I made her upset…”

“That would be my elder sister, Margaret. I must apologize for her abrasiveness. She is not as popular with her guests as I am with mine,” Elizabeth slyly and smugly proclaimed. It made Margaret actually look up from her novel and give her sister a glare.

“We’ve all heard of your excursions with your guest, Sister. Know that I don’t approve.”

“Your sentiments are heard and duly ignored, Sister,” she nodded.

“I hardly believe you were chosen to safeguard a grimoire,” Margaret scoffed. “Your demeanor is that of an unassuming child. Even more so than Lavenza.”

“Do not bring me into this, Sister,” the youngest asked, licking her thumb and flipping a page in her book. She was evidently Lavenza.

“Sister, you’re just jealous of my various charms,” Elizabeth chuckled. “And your grimoire is simply called Le Grimoire! It hardly holds a candle to mine. Le Grimoire de Coeur is unmatched in its power.”

“Do not test me. The last time you proposed such an obscene idea, I recall that you were bedridden for weeks.”

“Indeed, we thought you might’ve died,’ Lavenza nodded. “I told Theodore as such to see what happened, and he sobbed like a child. It was the best laugh I’ve ever had.”

“So you’re all siblings?” Makoto asked.

“Your guest isn’t the quickest learner, is he?”

“Do you all love each other?”

“What does that have to do with us being siblings?” Elizabeth asked, confused. After a moment, her, Margaret, and Lavenza all burst into chuckles though. “I’m only joking! Of course we love each other. It just does not match your mortal views of love.”

“I’ll just trust you on that…” Makoto looked around and was drawn to the piano in the corner of the room. There, a man and woman were sitting on the bench together. “Who are your parents?”

“Philemon.”

“Who?”

“Sister, don’t confuse him even more,” Margaret sighed. The woman put her book down and stood up, extending to be far taller than Makoto had imagined. She was certainly taller than himself and Elizabeth. “You’re familiar that the Velvet Room exists between mind and matter, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Our very existence is made of the same principle.”

“You’re made of the floor?”

“…” Margaret looked at her sister. “I’m off. A guest awaits.”

With that, the woman swiftly flung open one of the doors and walked through, closing it behind her.

“Do not worry, my guest, I would not worry about Margaret’s treatment of you. She is highly judgemental.”

“You know she only disapproves of your excursions and attachment to your guest,” Lavenza said.

“She disapproves of many things I do. Theodore mentioned that she called me a ‘party girl’ that exists in the human world.” Elizabeth turned to Makoto. “What is a party girl?”

“Someone who goes from club to club being wild and trying to pick up guys.”

“Intriguing… Is lifting the males a sort of ritual for the females of your species?”

“No, it…” Makoto sighed. There was no point in trying to explain it to her, but he could try. “It means they take the guys home or to a love hotel, make love for a night, and leave in the morning. And they do it every night.”

“I see…” Elizabeth scratched her chin. “I have been studying love, but I did not know there were whole establishments dedicated to the emotion. May you take me to this ‘love hotel’ sometime to study it?”

“Absolutely not.”

“How disappointing… Let’s move on.”

She dragged Makoto over to the piano, where two people sat on the bench. The man at the bench—the one actually playing—wore a blue blindfolded over his eyes and was dressed in a neatly-pressed deep blue suit. The way his hands danced across the keys mesmerized Makoto. And the woman beside him was sipping out of a martini glass, giving him a gentle smile as they approached. Her blue hair had two streaks of silver that stuck up like horns, and there was some blue makeup accenting around her eyes as well. And her blue and white dress seemed to accent every inch of her being. Even if Makoto wasn’t often swayed by looks alone, he had to admit that the woman was one of the most beautiful that he had ever seen.

“♪ Elizabeth, who is this little boy? ♪” sang the woman, gently setting her glass on the piano.

“This would be Makoto Yuki, my guest,” Elizabeth smiled, her voice brimming with pride. “He has agreed to accompany me to our lounge to introduce him to my siblings and coworkers. I thought it was fair since he has been showing me the pleasures of the human world and his own friends.”

“♪ Ah, the human worrrrld! ♪ Such beauty, such pain, such short refrainnn. ♪”

“Does she always sing?” Makoto asked.

“Yes, always. This is Belladonna.”

“Another sister?”

“Oh, no, she’s not. Believe it or not, she was once human. Her and Nameless,” she said, putting a hand on the back of the blindfolded man playing the piano. “Their art was so beautiful and stirred the soul so much that my master thought they’d be perfect to attend to the Velvet Room.”

“His name is Nameless?”

“Paradoxical, isn’t it?” the man asked, startling Makoto. In all honesty, he expected him to only communicate through piano notes. “Nobody can resist the way Belladonna and I put on a duet.”

“♪ We’re the perfect pair. ♪”

“Listening to Nameless and Belladonna perform is one of the few ways to calm Margaret from one of her bad moods.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve been human…” Nameless sighed. “I don’t look back on it though. Our work in The Velvet Room is our best performance to date.”

Makoto looked aside and noticed a man painting in the corner of the room. A gruff man with long hair and a beanie hat was simply painting without the notice of anyone else. Makoto glanced at Elizabeth, as if asking for permission, who gave a nod in response. The boy approached the man and glanced at what he was painting. It was unfinished, but it looked to be a tall figure with coffins attached to a chain wrapped around its arm.

“Hey, kid,” the man grinned, not looking away from his work as he painted. A pair of sunglasses made it impossible to tell if he had even glanced Makoto’s way. “First time in the lounge?”

“Yeah,” Makoto nodded. “What’re you painting?”

“A demon,” he grinned. “Or maybe a Persona… They’re not so different, you know.”

“What’s your name?”

“The Demon Painter,” the man said, chuckling to himself. “Though, I know who you are, Makoto Yuki.”

“You know me?”

“No, I’ve never seen you before. But like everyone else, I designed your Persona,” the man remarked. “Orpheus… One of my best works yet.”

“What do you mean you designed it?”

“The Demon Painter has been responsible for designing the Persona of every living thing on earth,” Elizabeth explained. “From you to Kotone Shiomi, to even your dog, Koromaru. He succeeded his predecessor, the Demon Sculptor.”

“Hm…” Makoto looked at the canvas again. “So this is going to be someone’s Persona?”

“That’s the idea, kid.” He stopped for a moment to look at Elizabeth. “I don’t mean to be a bother, but I’m tryin’ to work over here, and I get antsy when people lean over my shoulder.”

“Don’t worry, we were just going to return,” she apologized, grabbing Makoto’s hand. “Come, let us be on our way.”

Elizabeth walked Makoto out of the Velvet Lounge, and the boy took one last look around. Lavenza looked up from her book for a moment before resuming her reading. A small smile crept across Nameless’s face as Belladonna gave a small wave and blew Makoto a kiss. And finally, as he disappeared into the blue light, Makoto could spy the Demon Painter smirking and holding a finger to his lips.

When they reappeared in the Velvet Room, Igor was missing, leaving the two alone together. Elizabeth gave Makoto’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you for accompanying me to see my coworkers and siblings,” Elizabeth said, letting go of his hand. “I look forward to our next excursion together.”

Chapter Text

“What about you, Kotone?” Fuuka smiled. “What’s your secret?”

“My secret?”

“Yeah, we’ve all shared ours!” Yukari giggled. “What about yours? This whole time living at the dorm and being in S.E.E.S., what’s something you haven’t told anyone?”

“Well…” Kotone nervously fiddled with her hair. “Give me a second and I can show you. Just… a moment, please. I need to go grab the box. I think it might still be under my bed, but…”

Kotone left Mitsuru’s room, and the rest of the girls began to giggle and speculate. This was officially the new exciting topic of the sleepover.

“Do you think Kotone has some kind of memento of our fights?” Mitsuru asked.

“Perhaps she has a box of her world famous banana muffins,” Aigis suggested. “She often keeps them both secret and in boxes.”

“I have an idea…” Fuuka lowly whispered. “Remember how Shinjiro-senpai left Kotone his…”

“You don’t think Kotone really keeps that hidden away, do you?” Mitsuru asked.

“An embarrassing secret box of objects under a girl’s bed?” Yukari smiled, giving a sly look as she covered her mouth with a hand. “Girls, it can only be one thing, right?”

“Affirmative, Yukari-san. I already declared it to be muffins.”

“It’s not muffins, Aigis.”

“You do not have conclusive data to confirm that.”

Before they could argue any more about banana muffins, Kotone came back with a large closed cardboard box. She closed the door behind her and took her spot in the circle back, setting the box down in the middle of them.

“Any last guesses on what’s in here?” Kotone sighed. “I know you’ve probably been talking about it.”

“Banana muffins.”

“Some secret objects.”

“A memory of Shinjiro-senpai.”

“Some memento of our journey together.”

“Well, I think Mitsuru had the closest guess,” she shrugged. Mitsuru put on a small, satisfied smile upon hearing that. “Here you go, though…”

Kotone reached into the box and slowly pulled out a set of twelve masks, each styled wildly different and each engraved with a roman numeral from II-XXI.

“What the…?”

“Kotone, you didn’t…” Mitsuru gasped.

“I… did. I thought they would make fun keepsakes when this was all over,” she admitted. “But after the situation with Ryoji-kun… It didn’t feel right anymore. I thought we could wear them and have some fun, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” asked Mitsuru of all people. She picked up the silver mask with a gold trim around the edges and a “III” etched into the forehead. Mitsuru put the mask on and looked at her teammates. “So how do I look?”

“Um…” Nobody wanted to tell her how weird it was.

“Very whimsical, Mitsuru-san,” Aigis said with a thumbs up.

“Thank you, Aigis.”

“Was that a good example of ‘sparing their feelings,’ as they say?” the robot whispered to Yukari.

“Perfect.”

“M-Maybe Mitsuru-senpai is right,” Fuuka nodded, picking up the plum-colored mask with a small “II” etched onto one side. She put it on and looked at her friends. “Do I look alright?”

“Very whimsical, Fuu-”

“Not the time,” Yukari interrupted. “This is still weird, isn’t it?”

“Come on Yukari, join in,” Mitsuru beckoned.

“I… Alright, fine…” Yukari picked up the one with a sad face on it and a “VI” on the forehead. After putting it on, she looked around and shrugged. “Somehow this doesn’t make me feel better.”

“I shall join in as well,” Aigis declared, picking up the yellow mask with the big eye hole in the center of it and placing it on her face. The “IX” on the mark seemed to glow. “This does bring me a certain amount of satisfaction.”

“Your turn, Kotone.”

“Yeah, c’mon, you’re not going to be the only one who doesn’t do this.”

Looking at the remaining masks, Kotone picked out a simple one. Pure blue, and simply depicted a woman frowning. The only real distinctive feature was the “XI” engraved into the mask’s forehead. This was one of the masks she took home on that night… That horrible night… Hesitantly, Kotone put it on and looked at her fellow girls.

“So what now?”

“…”

“Let’s pack them away into the attic.”

“Thank god,” Yukari sighed, tossing her mask off. Everyone else followed her in action.

“I didn’t want to say it, but I hated that,” Fuuka admitted.

“I agree. Let’s put these memories to rest,” Mitsuru advised.

Chapter Text

“Kotone-san, are you present?”

Aigis jingled Kotone’s door to find it locked, but that’s a small issue that’s never stopped her before. In just a couple minutes, Aigis was opening the door and looking down at Kotone in bed. She had headphones in, but no music was playing. Her arms were wrapped around a Pyro Jack plushie while she curled up her body and stared off into nothingness. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the grieving, and around her neck was an old pocket watch hanging from a gold chain.

Kotone didn’t even so much as look in Aigis’s direction when the robot intruded on her space and closed the door behind her. She just couldn’t be bothered to care anymore.

“Kotone-san, I am here because Makoto-san has requested I provide you with emotional support,” she informed. “I understand that you are still processing the death of Shinjiro-san, are you not?”

“He didn’t die…” Kotone sniffled, speaking below even a whisper. Her voice was raspy and cracked, like she hadn’t drank any  water in over a day. “He’s waiting at the hospital… He’s going to wake up…”

“My condolences, Kotone-san, but Shinjiro-san is not going to-” Aigis stopped for a moment and thought about her directive. “Shinjiro-san would not like to see you in such a state.”

“…”

“I take your silence as a quiet agreement? Or a mute denial?”

“…”

“It is okay, you do not have to talk,” Aigis said, sitting on the bed beside Kotone’s head. She put a finger to the girl’s left temple. “Your heartbeat is resting at 61 beats per minute. That is considered healthy, but still rather low.”

“…”

“Akihiko-san said something about names that rather intrigued me. He said that when people pass away, if you do not say their name again, they die twice.” 

As Aigis cocked her head to the side, Kotone could hear the shifting of pistons and hydraulics. 

“A rather curious claim, don’t you think?”

“…”

“I’ve also noticed that the timepiece around your neck isn’t functional. If you’d like, I can easily repair such a device.”

Still saying nothing, Kotone clutched the watch to her chest. The girl shook her head and tried to curl up to shrink even further. Aigis didn’t quite understand what the gesture meant though. She put a hand on Kotone’s head and started to stroke her hair, making her tense up.

“When Shinjiro-san did this, your emotional state would regulate, correct?”

“…”

“If it displeases you, I can-”

As Aigis lifted her hand, Kotone reached out and grabbed it. Silently, she pulled it back down to rest in her hair. Relieved, the robot girl kept running her fingers through Kotone’s hair. She took her own headphones off and put her head on Aigis’s lap, just like he would let her.

“Speak in your own time, Kotone-san. We will be here to listen.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, everyone’s in position, right?” Kotone asked, looking around the dorm lobby. Makoto and Yukari hid behind a couch while Akihiko and Junpei remained concealed behind one of the walls. “I think we’re ready for the birthday queen! When’s she going to show up anyway?”

“It’s already 9PM…” Junpei said, looking at his phone. “She’s gotta be here soon, right?”

“If she shows up at all…” Yukari quietly scoffed.

“Of course she’ll show up. I asked her to be here at a very specific time,” Kotone said, moving over to the table. On it was a large, regal chocolate cake that had been carefully and intricately decorated with royal icing, chopped strawberries, and cookies. “Who wouldn’t want to spend their birthday with friends?”

“I’m sure she’ll show,” Junpei reassured. “Just gotta wait a bit longer.”

And so the members of S.E.E.S. waited. Minutes turned into hours, but Mitsuru never showed up. While the rest of the group accepted that she wasn’t going to make an appearance, Kotone paced around the entire first floor, anxiously awaiting her senpai to come home. It made everyone quite sad to witness.

“Kotone… come sit down,” Yukari said, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulders and guiding her to the couch. “I think we just have to accept… Mitsuru’s not coming back tonight.”

“She… promised…”

“I’m heading out,” Akihiko finally decided, grabbing his coat.

“Senpai!” Yukari frowned. “You can’t-”

“I know where she is,” he interrupted. He reached behind the front desk and grabbed a spare Evoker, fastening it around his waist and covering it with the tan trench coat. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Akihiko ran out of the dorm, and Kotone started to tear up as her friends all surrounded her.

“Maybe I went overboard and scared her away…”

“No, no, you were fine,” Yukari sighed. “Mitsuru-senpai is just… I don’t know what her deal is. But it’s her loss. If it was my birthday, I’d be crying with joy.”

*     *     *     *     *

Mitsuru sat on the rocky shore, on Hirose Point just east of Iwatodai’s southern industrial zone. Normally, most people might have to evade security guards or jump some fences to get to Hirose Point. Then again, most people’s fathers didn’t own the southern industrial zone. Even so late at night, she could spy the monorail dropping students off at Tatsumi Port Station. If she squinted hard enough, she could even see Gekkoukan High.

“What am I doing out here…?” she sighed to herself. “The others are probably worried about me…”

The girl watched the monorail halt to a sudden stop. The sky turned a sickly green as the moon grew ever so prominent in the sky; just a day or so shy of being completely full. Mitsuru could feel a slight tremor as she watched Tartarus erect itself in the distance. The ever present reminder of what they were all chasing… Her gaze went back to the moon. She couldn’t help but feel like it was an ever-present eye watching her every move. Scanning her mistakes… Cold and distant… That cold, watchful eye she was always trying to appease…

“I can never decide if it looks pretty or creepy as hell when it starts to get full.”

Mitsuru glanced behind her with a gasp. Akihiko rested his bike right beside her motorcycle and sat next to his friend, letting his legs hang over the small cliffside. 

“Everybody’s waiting for you back at the dorm.”

“I figured…”

“Shiomi even made you a cake,” he chuckled. “It's a chocolate cake topped with icing, small cookies, and strawberries.”

“That sounds… delicious,” Mitsuru admitted. “Part of me wishes I had gone back home now.”

“You can still go back.”

“…Do you know why this place is called Hirose point?”

“Is that a trick question? ‘Course I do. Everyone around school knows about the girl who threw herself off the cliff decades ago.”

“About 40 years ago, a boy and a girl would meet here every Sunday and profess their love to each other. One day though, the girl was late, and a storm was on the horizon. Even in a downpour, he waited loyally for her, knowing his love wouldn’t let the mere rain stop their passion. When she finally did appear, the boy tried running to her side, but slipped on the and fell into the churning sea. Almost immediately, the waves bashed him against the rocks below and killed him.”

“Mitsuru… What-”

“The girl wouldn’t emerge from her room for ten days and ten nights. Until one night, another storm came to Iwatodai. Without saying a word to anyone, the girl went out to this very point and threw herself into the churning sea to be with her lover even in death. And so this place is named Hirose Point after her, Kokoro Hirose.”

Mitsuru turned her head to face Akihiko, a deep sadness plastered all over. He knew that’s the only reason she would have come out this far. Nobody other than him and Shinjiro knew about her love of this place.

“An awfully beautiful story, isn’t it? It reminds me of something from the works of Shakespeare.”

“…” Akihiko let out a sigh and looked up at the moon with her. “Any word from him?”

“Kikuno delivered this in person this morning.”

Mitsuru handed Akihiko a plain, white envelope with Mitsuru written on the front in careful, neatly-constructed kanji. 

To my daughter,

My daughter, I cannot express in words how thankful I have been for your progress in the last year of research and combat against the Shadows and Dark Hour. The last few years have been filled with strife and hardships, but I believe a turning point is near. You have grown into a proud and fine leader and I believe that you and your S.E.E.S. club have pushed the Kirijo Group forward in certain important ways.

Keep with your training and stay a proud fighter. When the fight is finally over, I look forward to finally showing you the easier sides of life. Until then, do not waver. We still have much ahead of us.

With great pride,

Takeharu Kirijo

Akihiko nodded and gave the letter back to Mitsuru.

“It’s more than he wrote last year.”

“Is it selfish to wish that my father could have told me in person?” she sighed. “Or to tell me happy birthday in the letter given on my birthday?”

“What about your mother?”

“She called me earlier today. I just…” Mitsuru let herself fall back and look up at the sky, laying in a bed of her own hair curls. “Everyone in school and the dorm treats me like royalty, but to my family… I feel so small.”

“You know they love you though, right?”

“Yes, I do,” she sighed. “Unfortunately, showing it isn’t a strong family trait. Something that it appears I’ve inherited.”

“Well, none of us can do anything about your folks,” Akihiko admitted. “But there’s a party waiting back at the dorm with your friends and a cake I know you’d die for. So what do you say?”

“Alright,” she smiled, letting her friend help her up. In a quick movement, she threw her arms around Akihiko in a hug. “And thank you, Akihiko.”

“Anytime, Princess.”

“Have I been demoted from Ice Queen?” she playfully bantered, unparking her motorcycle and hopping on.

“I thought you hated that name.”

“I don’t think I mind when it’s you saying it,” Mitsuru smiled. “I’ll race you back.”

“Your motorcycle versus my bicycle?” Akihiko gaffed. “Sure, sounds fair.”

“I’ll give you a ten minute headstart.”

“Oh, well in that case, see you there,” he joked, taking off down the dirt road at breakneck speed.

“Heh, or maybe on second thought…”

Mitsuru roared her bike’s engine before taking off after him. Her hair flew in the wind like a red banner. In the quiet and gloomy Dark Hour, one young woman’s carefree laughs could be heard echoing through the streets.

Chapter Text

“Let’s head back,” Makoto decided, looking down the gloomy hall of Tartarus. He took out a bandage and wrapped it around a small cut on his calf. “Fuuka, can you hear me?”

“I copy!”

“Can you guide us to the nearest extraction point?”

“Give me a moment and I can give you directions!”

“Copy.”

“Hey, Shinji,” Akihiko coughed. “You got a drink on you?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, taking an energy drink out of his coat. “It’s-”

“You were going to save that Mad Bull for me,” Kotone huffed, looming behind the man. She folded her arms and cast a bitter glare at Shinjiro. “You said you would carry it into Tartarus just for me! Or was that a lie?”

“Tch, gimme a freakin’ break,” he grunted. “I’m not your butler. I’ll give the drink to whoever I feel like, whenever I feel like.”

“Oh please, won’t you give me the Mad Bull, Shinjirocchi?” Kotone asked, crossing her legs and batting her eyelashes. Shinjiro looked at Akihiko with a helpless eyebrow raise.

“Just give her the drink,” Akihiko insisted. “I’ll survive until we get back to the dorm.”

“Tch, you’re like a brat who always gets what she wants, you know that?” the gruff boy said, handing Kotone the drink.

“I know!” she chirped, opening the Mad Bull and gulping down a quarter of the can at once. “And don’t worry, it’s only with you.”

“Hmph. Lucky me.”

“Follow me,” Makoto announced. “Fuuka’s going to guide us to an extraction point. She said we should hurry up anyway.”

“Finally. I’m gettin’ exhausted,” Shinjiro sighed.

Everyone ran down the hall with Makoto, ready to finally end their night. Per usual though, the simple plan was made infinitely more complicated. Kotone looked to her side and saw an Opulent Hand scurry away.

“Just one coin and I wouldn’t have to worry about money for like a month…” She gritted her teeth and bit her knuckle. For the great or good, she knew what she had to do. “Shinji!”

“Huh?” He stopped and turned around. “What is it?”

“Just letting you know that I’m going to chase after that Opulent Hand that ran down the hall! Just letting you know so everyone doesn’t freak out when I’m gone!”

“What are you-”

“I’ll meet you at the entrance!”

“Hold on!” Shinjiro shouted, drawing the attention of Makoto and Akihiko back to him. “Urgh! Goddamn pain in the ass tomboy!”

“Where’s she going?!” Akihiko asked, gritting his teeth.

“To get herself killed! You two go back to the entrance. I’m going to get our pain in the ass and bring her back.”

“Wait!” Makoto shouted. “We don’t have time!”

“The hell do you-”

Shinjiro’s words were cut short by a spine-chilling rattle echoing through the floor. Like a thief panicking at the arrival of the owner, the members of S.E.E.S. began to panic. Breath was snatched from their lungs, and adrenaline was pumped directly into their veins. The sound of those chains could only mean exactly one thing. The Reaper was upon them.

“Shinji, you know what-”

“Yeah, I know what it means,” he growled. “I haven’t forgotten the last time I saw it. But that damn girl is shit out of luck if it finds her before I do.”

“Don’t-”

“Bring her back safely,” Makoto asked. Akihiko gave their leader his first look of shock and doubt. Shinjiro simply glared at the young man.

“Tch. You don’t have to ask me twice, genius.”

As Shinjiro ran after Kotone, Akihiko gave Makoto a grave glare.

“You know what he’s charging at, right?”

“Of course.”

“And you think he can beat it?”

“Obviously not,” he said, shaking his head. “I think he’ll bring her back safely though. Now come on, we need to make it out.”

Akihiko followed Makoto’s orders and continued heading towards the extraction point, but worry and doubt plagued his mind.

“Shinji, you bastard… You’d better not do anything stupid…”

*     *     *     *     *

“Koto-chan, what’re you doing?!” exclaimed Fuuka in Kotone’s ears. “You’re supposed to be heading towards the extraction point!”

“I’m just… pursuing a sidequest,” she explained. “I’m just going to kill this one Shadow and you can reroute me to the extraction point.”

“No, Koto-chan, you don’t understand! You’re out of time! You need to get out of Tartarus NOW!”

“What’s the big de-”

Kotone rounded the corner, expecting to find a golden gloved enemy to skewer and take a valuable coin off of for a pretty profit. Instead, the sight before her was that of a phantom wearing a bloodstained, bullet-riddled coat. The one eye that remained visible from the ripped clock sack over its head gave her a paralyzing glare, and the chains that hung around its body dragged across the ground with a sickening screech.

“Oh my God…”

“Koto-chan, RUN! PLEASE!”

She wanted to run, but just couldn’t. The visage of death stood before her, and the girl didn’t have any willpower to even move an inch. Kotone stared down the barrel of The Reaper’s gun and realized that this time her own greed would be the thing to finally get her killed. The Shadow roared and pulled the trigger. 

BANG!

“Gah!”

Kotone flew backwards, being slammed with a large object. On top of her, a groaning Shinjuro clutched his chest. All too late, the gears in Kotone’s head started to turn and her eyes went wide as she realized what happened.

“Shinji!” Kotone put her hands on his chest. “Did you seriously-”

“Calm… down…” Shinjiro grunted, opening his coat to reveal the bulletproof jacket that he had on underneath. “I thought it was freakin’ stupid when Yuki gave me this thing to wear… I think I owe him dinner now…”

“Don’t do that to me!” Kotone fussed, hitting his chest. Shinjiro let out a massive groan of pain.

“I’m not bleedin’, but I still got shot. Gimme a goddamn break.”

The Reaper let loose another roar and took aim at the pair. This time though, the girl had no fear. In a flash of movement, Kotone yanked the Evoker out of her holster and let loose a shot into her right temple. 

“Pixie!”

A small sprite materialized in the midst of the blue fog and mischievously chuckled as she swirled around Kotone. She gave the girl a tap on the nose and hovered in front of her.

“What can I do for you, hun?”

“Trafuri!” Kotone howled as The Reaper took aim again. “Now, now, now!”

In a blinding flash of light and a high-pitched giggle, Kotone and Shinjiro disappeared from The Reaper’s sights. Frustrated, the bouncer of Tartarus fired multiple warning shots into the ceiling and floated away, attempting to sense its next prey.

*     *     *     *     *

In a tucked-away corner of Tartarus, Kotone held Shinjiro’s head in her lap. She had taken his beanie off and ran her hand through his messy, unkempt hair, tangling her own fingers in the process. If the young man hadn’t felt like he’d just been pushed off a three story balcony, he might’ve put up some kind of protest. As it stood now though, just talking was enough to make his chest ache.

“I’m so sorry, Shinji…”

“Stop actin’ like… I’m dead…” he coughed. “Gimme a sec and I’ll be back on my feet…”

“You know…” A small, mischievous smile crept across Kotone’s face. The kind of smirk someone gets when they’re about to say something wildly inappropriate. “You look a lot better when you’re lying down, Shinjirocchi.”

“Heh… Hahaha!” Shinjiro began madly laughing on the floor, wincing from the pain in his chest. “God, you couldn’t be more of a freakin’ idiot. It’s almost funny enough to kill me.”

“It’s all your fault, you know. I know so it ‘cuz I know you’ll swoop in and save me.”

“So I’m the one who spoiled you rotten?”

“Mhm, that’s right,” Kotone nodded, her face burning up at the thought of what she was about to say. “In fact… You’ve spoiled me so bad that… You’ve tricked me into thinking you might be mine, Shinjirocchi.”

“Then I guess that makes you… Shiotenba.”

“Hehe, you gave me a nickname! I thought you didn’t like those.”

“I’ll make an exception… For you.” 

With a painful groan, Shinjiro pushed himself up to his feet and braced himself against the wall. He snagged his beanie and covered his hair again, staring at Kotone, who was madly smiling and fighting off giggles.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to get out of here and check into the hospital before I go a second round with the ghost of Clint Eastwood.”

“Fuuka-chan!” Kotone called out, covering her mouth to hide the wide, wide smirk that she couldn’t turn off. “We’re ready for that extraction now!”

Chapter Text

“I’m surprised you had time to come see me,” Yukari admitted, chuckling. “You’re not known for slowing down.”

“Yes, well, we all have a change of heart sometimes,” Mitsuru smiled.

Yukari had to admire just how much more beautiful she got every passing year. Of course, they hadn’t seen each other in person for about a year and a half now and had each changed in their own ways. Mitsuru had let her hair naturally curl a bit more as it matured from a clear red into a deeper maroon. She didn’t wear makeup because of her primary job, but Yukari could still spy some cherry-red lipstick coating her lips.

“Am I forgetting about some special occasion?” Yukari asked, giggling. “You don’t normally show up out of the blue to take me to dinner. Actually… It's been a while since we’ve talked at all. Our last call was…”

“Seven months ago,” Mitsuru finished with a shameful nod. “I wish I had reached out sooner, but… I’m afraid I get caught up in my work so easily.”

“I understand that one,” her friend groaned, leaning her whole body on the table. “Stardom is not what I thought it would be when I was a kid.”

“So, Featherman R, huh?” Mitsuru chuckled. “If I recall correctly, Ken and Koromaru would sit in front of the dorm’s TV every Sunday to view that program.”

“Well, he would’ve seen the original Featherman, not the one I'm in,” she smiled. “But yeah, you’re right. Every once in a while, I send him a piece of Pink Argus merchandise.”

Yukari paused for a moment and scratched her chin.

“Is it narcissistic to send him my own merchandise? I never thought about it before.”

“Your heart is in the right place, and that’s what matters,” Mitsuru insisted. “Are your studies still going well?”

“Even outside of school, you act like my same old senpai,” she tiredly smiled. “It’s tough, but yeah, my college life hasn’t fallen down. Though, between schoolwork, modeling, and being an actress now, I hardly have time to make friends. Not to mention all the guys throwing themselves at me. They make Junpei look actually competent, which is a real achievement. Last week on set, my co-star, Yusami, had to get a prop from…”

Mitsuru only half-listened while Yukari talked, more so paying attention to the passion and fervor which she complained with. It was one of the reasons Mitsuru enjoyed her company so much. When so many people spend their day trying to appease you, it’s nice to have someone who would be willing to slap you across the face. Such an odd thought, but one that was true enough. She hadn’t even noticed when Yukari had stopped talking. Her friend sighed and wistfully looked at the woman. She was staring so intensely that Mitsuru started to feel anxious. 

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s just… I enjoy seeing you like this.”

“Like how?”

“Happy. Smiling. If you had asked me just three or so years ago, I would’ve said that you were too stuck-up to smile or laugh.”

“I probably would’ve said the same about myself.”

“Oh, I heard that you got Fuuka a job at the Kirijo Group. Is that true?”

“Truth be told, I keep tabs on all the former members of S.E.E.S. and I felt that her talents were rather wasted on coding systems and making spreadsheets for a banking firm,” she said with an odd sense of pride. “So I came to her apartment myself to offer Yamagishi a lab and resources at the Kirijo Group’s Shadow Operatives R&D department. And a fair salary too, of course.”

“So you were just looking out for a friend?” Yukari slyly smirked. “Nothing more to that story?”

“And… Working with a friend has not been so bad either.”

“I was more right than I thought. You really are still my same old senpai,” she hopelessly shrugged. “Still not honest with your feelings.”

“You always seemed to know what I was thinking… Both you and…” Mitsuru sighed and looked over Yukari’s shoulder. “I can at least afford to take excursions like this now that I got an assistant to do my scheduling and take my calls.”

“You seriously went almost 3 years as the head of a joint division of the police and Kirijo group without a secretary?!”

“It seemed impractical to give someone else the tasks when I knew I could take care of them myself, but now that I have one, I see the appeal.”

They both shared a laugh, enjoying the sweet sound of happiness with each other once again. Yukari looked at her former senpai, batting her eyelashes.

“I’ll cut to the chase then, Mitsuru, I know you didn’t ask me to dinner just to catch up on old times. What’s this all about?”

“I suppose I should come clean. Kikuno is the one who organized this dinner, not me.”

“I’m… confused then. Why did she want you to have dinner with me then?”

“She said that between schooling and the Shadow Operatives, I’ve been too absorbed in my responsibilities for pleasure or leisures. Both her and Mother have worried about me greatly over the past few months. I got on a plane with the story that I’d be going to a conference to meet multiple military figureheads, but it was just a ruse spun by Kikuno.” Mitsuru let loose an eye roll that Yukari rarely ever saw the refined Kirijo do. “Of course, the dinner was Mother’s idea…”

“So… why me?” Yukari laughed, grabbing Mitsuru’s hand. The Kirijo’s entire body shook as she nervously gulped.

“Because…” Mitsuru bit her lip as her face involuntarily began to rise. “She knew you would make me smile again.”

Chapter Text

“Ohhh, is this that girl you came in the other day with?” Bunkichi chuckled, spinning his pipe in his fingers. 

“Grandpa Bunkichi…”

“Hm? Hmm… Actually, she had glasses and brown hair, didn’t she?”

“A girl the other day?” Yukari asked, folding her arms and glaring at Makoto. “Is this just a recycled date idea then?”

“All I did was buy her a book that she wanted.”

“Were you planning on buying me a book I wanted?”

“Do you want me to buy you a book?”

“No,” she huffed, opening her purse. “I can pay for it myself.”

“Which book were you looking at?”

“T-That’s none of your business!” Yukari fussed, her face turning red. She rifled through her purse even more and began to look worried. “Where is it…?”

“What?”

“My wallet isn’t in my pocket, so I thought maybe I put it in my purse, but…”

“Oh dear, I’d get used to it,” Mitsuko sighed. “Misplacing things only gets worse with age.”

“I don’t think I mis-”

“Thank you, Grandma Mitsuko,” Makoto said with a bow. “We should go look for her wallet though.”

“Goodbye, Makoto-chan!”

“Bye bye, Makoto-chan! Stop by next week if you can!”

“I’ll make sure to,” he nodded, escorting himself and Yukari out of the bookstore. “Sorry… Old people will talk forever if you let them.”

“Oh, that’s no problem… Makoto-chan,” giggled Yukari, dramatically fanning herself while she wore a mischievous smile. “I sure hope Junpei and Koto-chan don’t catch wind of that name.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh wouldn’t I?” she chuckled. With a sigh, Yukari rubbed her chin and leaned against a signpost. “Where’s my wallet… I had it when I got off the train and pulled out my ticket at the station…”

“What about that guy who bumped into you? Could you have dropped it then?”

“Well… Oh! Yeah, actually, you’re probably right!” She closed her purse and put her hand out. “You wait here and I’ll be back in a flash. I’ll just look around the station and look through lost and found.”

“You sure? I really can-”

“-let your perfectly capable female friend take care of herself,” Yukari finished. “I can take care of myself, pal. Like I said, I’ll be back.”

Yukari ran away before Makoto could even get another word in.

“I guess I’m waiting then…” he sighed, sitting on a bench and watching the passing residents of Iwatodai.

*     *     *     *     *

About five impatient minutes later, Makoto had enough waiting and thought he would just go help Yukari look for her wallet. Sure, she’d make a fuss, but everything would also move faster. He walked across the street and down to Iwatodai Station. When he did though, the station was desolate except for four figures: Yukari and three punks that had cornered her against a vending machine.

“What the hell did you call me?!” one of them roared. “Looks like this bitch’s got a mouth on her, huh? We should fix that.”

“How ‘bout we take her back to our place?”

“Make her feel right at home!”

“I’d rather kill myself than go home with you trash!” Yukari sneered, spitting on one of their shoes. “Go to Hell!”

“If this bitch is gonna be like that, then fine,” the leader snarled, popping his knuckles. “I think I’m gettin’ tired of askin’ for your cooperation anyway.”

“Get away from her.”

Makoto stepped forward, hands still in his pocket. His gloomy demeanor might’ve not intimidated them, but the gall he had to say anything pissed of the leader.

“What was that, dickwad?!”

“I said get away from her,” he repeated. “Don’t make me say it a third time.”

The leader backed off from Yukari and approached Makoto to size him up. All things considered, Makoto was a pretty small person, so when the leader approached him with his chest out, Makoto didn’t look like much. After fighting hundreds of Shadows at this point though, it was hard to let one man actually intimidate him.

“Walk away, emo. If you wanna get hurt, stand in front of the monorail. This ain’t your girl. She called us names and spit on my shoes, so for tonight she’s ours.”

“Wrong,” Makoto leered, his ice-cold glare taken straight from the playbook of Mitsuru. “She doesn’t belong to either of us, so get away from her and go home… Oh, it looks like you made me say it a third time, didn’t you?”

“Now you’re pissing me the hell off!”

The leader swung his fist at Makoto, but it wasn’t even a competition. To Yuki, the man might as well have been moving in slow motion. The boy swiftly dodged with ease before retaliating with a firm crunch to his opponent’s nose. As the leader went down, Makoto kicked him in the mouth, dislodging a tooth. On his face, Yukari caught a look of genuine anger contort his features into something that looked so alien and unnatural for him. Or maybe it was disgust that he was expressing. She couldn’t really tell.

“Gah! C-C’mon boys!”

The punks all ran away in a trio of cowardice, trailing blood behind them. Makoto almost hoped they tried to go to Kurosawa about being assaulted. He’d love to tell the cop the full story. The man would probably even be proud of him. Slowly, Yukari approached him. Makoto’s face was back to the usual apathetic, hard-to-read expression.

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” he asked.

“N-No, they didn’t… Thanks…” Yukari took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “You got a little carried away, don't you think?”

“Yeah, I guess so… I only did it so they wouldn’t come back to harass you.”

“B-But, why’d you come after me in the first place?” she asked, the apparent displeasure growing across her face. “I told you to wait, didn’t I?”

“I waited a while and you didn’t come back. And you needed some help, so it was fortunate I did come over here..”

“Do you think this is funny or something?!” Yukari asked, stomping. “I got my wallet back all on my own and I would’ve dealt with those guys too! I don’t need you to try and act like some white knight!”

Yukari was literally shaking at this point, and at first Makoto assumed that it was with anger or annoyance. Though, the tears she was blinking out of her eyes told another story that made him realize something. She was terrified.

“Maybe this time… I spare her feelings and pride. Just this once.”

“…” Makoto looked off into the distance. “Maybe you’re right and you didn’t need my help… But I came after you for my sake more than yours. I just wanted to let myself know that you were okay.”

“I… Really…?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Couldn’t help myself when I saw those guys talking to you like that… We can still walk around the strip mall and catch a movie later if you’re up for it.”

“…Sorry, but… Can we just go back to the dorm? I’m kind of not in the mood to stay out. We can reschedule for another day or something, but… the mood is kinda dead for me now.”

“Don’t worry,” he nodded. “We can walk together.”

“T-Thanks… Makoto-chan.”

“…”

Chapter Text

Makoto entered the Velvet room, just to be once again met by solely Elizabeth, standing beside her master’s seat ever-dutily. As soon as her guest sat down, Elizabeth covered her mouth, blushed, and let loose a chuckle.

“Oh my… What an unexpected awakening within you, Makoto Yuki.”

“Not interested,” Makoto grunted, tossing down five masks covered in a thick, icky tarlike substance. “I completed your request. Those Shadows put up a fight, but I got them.”

“Ah, wonderful! These will make great additions to the selection for the next Velvet Masquerade,” she grinned, taking the masks and making them disappear in a snap of her fingers. “Are there any other of my services which you are in need of?”

“Any more requests?”

“Let’s see…” Elizabeth took out a notepad and crossed a line off before scanning her eyes down the paper. “Oh, yes! I wish for you to bring me one of your world’s famous ‘melon breads’ please. I wish to know how they bake bread with melons.”

“That’s not…” Makoto stopped himself and sighed. “I’ll do it.”

“Great!”

Makoto got up from his seat without another word and started to make his way back towards the door. Just shy of it though, he stopped in his tracks. Ever so slightly, Makoto glanced over his shoulder back at Elizabeth.

“Is there a service which you require me to provide?”

“What were you saying when I walked in?” he asked. “About something unexpected within me?”

“It’s just that I’ve noticed the awakening of Mara within your soul,” Elizabeth smiled, unable to hold in a chuckle. “I believe it fits you. It makes you feel so manly.”

“Hmph, whatever…”

“Until next time, dear guest~”

Chapter Text

“Aigis-chan!”

Kotone leapt forward and hugged their robot friend, completely wrapping her arms and legs around her to take them both to the floor. Kotone had fully expected Aigis to dodge it like usual, but was gladly surprised when the gesture actually fully went through this time.

“Good evening, Kotone-chan,” Aigis greeted. “Would you please unbind yourself from my body?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” she giggled, getting off of her friend. “I was afraid that our last visit to Tartarus would take you out for good…”

“Do not worry, my body may be destroyed as many times as you’d like, but my consciousness can still be uploaded into a new vessel.”

“Still! It scared the hell out of me!”

“If you would grant me the privilege, Kotone-chan, I would like to enter your room and engage in a private conversation,” she asked. “We could talk in your doorway, but I heard that to some people, that would be particularly disrespectful.”

“OH! Then come in already!”

Kotone dragged Aigis into her room and locked the door. Tossing the robot to the edge of the bed, the girl sat down as properly as she could and cleared her throat.

“So, a private conversation, huh?” Kotone said, clearing her throat. “What did you wanna say?”

“I have been thinking about the day that you and the rest of your… of my friends made me see that I was more than a machine… What Mitsuru-san said about me having a mind… What Fuuka-san said about me having a soul… And what you said about me having a heart…”

“Of course you have all of those things,” Kotone sweetly smiled, grabbing her cool hands. “You’re not having doubts, are you?”

“No,” Aigis shook her head. “I merely wish to… It makes me feel a certain way to ask…”

“Hm? Good? Bad? Neither? Both?”

“I think this is… shame? But, I do believe that what I am feeling is wrong. It is just simply… difficult for me to admit it to you, Kotone-chan.”

“Are you… embarrassed?” the girl questioned, squeezing Aigis’s mechanical hand. “Embarrassment makes it ten times harder to say anything in our mind.”

“Kotone-chan… the day I told you that you could not be my primary directive… The day I said that we were incompatible on a fundamental level… I wish to apologize.”

“Aigis-chan… If it’s how you feel, you shouldn’t have to-”

“I was wrong,” she interrupted, this time being the one to grip the girl’s hands. “Kotone-chan, when I was inactive… Normally I am in a state of suspension. The time between going offline and activating again is near instantaneous. This time… I felt conscious. I could think. And the last thing I saw was all my memory banks would show me the entire time.”

“Aigis… you mean…?”

“Yes,” Aigis nodded, showing a smile more genuine than Kotone had seen on some humans. “It was you, Kotone-chan. Allow me to be selfish in asking, but… I would like to keep on thinking of only you. I know my body and emotions may not be completely compatible with yours, but if you would allow me… I’d like to navigate the ordeal regardless.”

“YES! YES! A thousand times, yes!” Kotone cried, throwing her entire body at Aigis in a giant hug, sending them both tumbling onto her bed. “God, this is the best day of my life.”

As they hugged on the bed, Aigis pressed her ear to Kotone’s chest, making her tilt her head in confusion.

“What’re you doing there?”

“I wish to never forget the beat of your heart, Kotone-chan… Never again.”

“Oh, then listen away! My heart’s your stereo.”

Chapter Text

“Aigis?”

Kotone closed the door to the dormitory roof behind her, locking it for good measure. There were no cameras on the roof, and nowhere for anyone to hide. It was the one place in the whole dorm that she was certain nobody could peep or listen in on. Aigis was looking out into the sea, turning around upon hearing her name. 

“Kotone-san…”

“What’s up?” she asked, skipping her way towards the robot. “I was kinda nervous when you said you wanted to talk, but… I realized that I need to tell you something too.”

“You do?”

“Yep! Oh, but you should go first since you called me here.”

“Are you sure?” Aigis asked, tilting her head. “Your heart rate is rapidly increasing and sweat has already stained your blouse.”

“Huh?” Kotone looked down and started to fan her blouse to get the sweat out. “I-I guess then I’ll go first then and get it over with…”

Kotone took both of Aigis’s hands in her own and squeezed them. The girl took a deep, shaky breath and looked her friend in the eyes.

“Aigis… I’ve enjoyed our time together, and I hope you have too.”

“I’ve taken much pleasure in our time together, Kotone-san.”

“That’s good to hear… We don’t know what’s going to happen to S.E.E.S. after we defeat the last big Shadow next week and with the Dark Hour gone, there’d be no reason for us all to stay together as a team… but I don’t want to leave you Aigis. I-I… I want to spend as much time with you as I can, even after we don’t have a reason to keep working together.”

“Are you referring to being ‘BFF’s’ as they say?” Aigis asked, tilting her head. “Yukari-san has told me of such a concept.”

“No! Argh, don’t make me say it out loud!” Kotone whined.

“I’m afraid I do not understand.”

“Argh! Aigis! I love you!” the girl blurted out, tears filling her eyes as her face blushed hard. “I love you, alright?! I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I want to hold you and be held by you! Every time I’m around you, I want to live life to the fullest! You make me feel things that I’ve tried so hard to never feel again! And… And… I want you to let me be selfish and keep you for myself! I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours…”

By the time she finished her whole speech, Kotone was panting and sweating more than before. With a nervous gulp, she wiped her eyes. Aigis was giving her that signature blank stare that was impossible to read.

“A-Aigis…?”

“I… do not know how to respond to such a confession,” she admitted. “However, the likelihood that I will remain after the eradication of the twelfth shadow is very small. Without the Dark Hour or Shadows to fight, my purpose will be complete and I shall be decommissioned.”

“De… commissioned…?”

“Yes. Taken apart piece by piece and either put into storage or destroyed.”

“What?! N-No!” Kotone cried. “Stay with us! Stay… with me! I don’t want you to go, Aigis!”

“…”

The robot gave another blank stare and looked into the distance. Truthfully, she was attempting to figure out what the best course of action was for this conversation. Kotone thought that she was just trying to understand what she was saying.

“Aigis… Even if you don’t understand love, I-”

“We should not entertain the thought, Kotone-san. I… cannot feel,” Aigis said, taking her hands back and putting Kotone at an arm’s length. “I cannot cry; I can only simulate tears. I cannot feel emotion; I can only react as I am programmed to or how I observe I should. We could never be compatible on a physical level; I am not flesh and blood.”

“Don’t say that!” Kotone frowned, tears welling in her eyes. “Aigis, I know you can feel just like I can! We can make it work! And if that means-”

“There is one more thing… Why I cannot say yes…”

“W-What…?”

“Right now, I exist to protect Makoto-san,” she said, cold and sharp. “This is something I feel to the very core of my mechanology. That is to say, you are not my primary directive, Kotone-san. No matter how much you wish to be.”

“I… I…”

“I am sorry Kotone-san, but we are incompatible on a fundamental level. I insist you accept this fact and not speak upon it again. It will prevent any future recurring pain.”

Kotone felt a welling in her chest as the girl held her hand to her heart. It was like she couldn’t even breathe. Was she sad? Was she angry? Upset? Kotone couldn’t tell. She didn’t feel anything. Tears blinding her vision, Kotone threw open the roof’s door and ran down the dorm’s stairs, her sobs reverberating throughout the entire dorm. 

(The Aeon social link has been broken! There is a widening distance between Kotone and Aigis…)

Chapter Text

Yukari pedaled that bike down the streets of Iwatodai like her life depended on it. She would’ve been worried about all the cars that almost ran her down on the way, but more important things were on her mind. Like the wellbeing of her senpai. Mitsuru… She had to get to her, no matter what it took. As soon as she made it to the station, Yukari practically tossed the bike at the rack, not even bothering to lock it up.

At a distance, three men watched Yukari, spying through a set of binoculars from separate vantage points. Their sleeves were branded with the symbol of the Kirijo Group.

“Target 04 has entered the station premises. This has been her first sign of activity in the last while.”

“Where do you think she’s heading?”

“I assume she’ll be on the next train bound for Port Island.”

“Is her destination Tartarus?”

“Without her allies? I don’t see a reason why. Perhaps it’s the school itself? Or Tatsumi Memorial Hospital?”

“But she knows at all those places we have-”

“Hey, she’s not on the platform anymore!”

“What?!”

All three men scanned Iwatodai Station from their positions, but the one who exclaimed was right. There was no trace of Yukari at the scene. More mysteriously, the Port Island train hadn’t even arrived at the station yet.

“The next train bound for Tatsumi isn’t arriving for another three minutes!”

“Somebody, what was the destination of the last outbound train?!”

“Did anyone get a good look at it?!”

“Negative, I’m sorry, sir. I’ll go ask the ticket master right away.”

“Grr… Scan Iwatodai for Persona waveform activity! If the girl’s still here, then we’ll track her by the target’s Persona! Don’t let her slip away at any cost, or it’s our heads on the line!”

*     *     *     *     *

“Woah!” 

Yukari caught herself on a seat as the train took off from the station. She had just barely managed to buy a ticket and dive onto the train before it departed, but she had done it. The girl listened to the soft hum of the train as she watched the scenery of Iwatodai pass by her. Exactly like when they went on the field trip… She was going back to that place… Putting a hand on her chest, Yukari felt her heartbeat while she worked on calming down and slowing her breathing.

 “I somehow managed to squirm my way in, but man was it a snap decision…” Yukari took out her phone and looked at the call history. Her eyes settled on the last number that Mitsuru had used to talk to her. “There's no way I'd forget this kind of number… It has to be close to…”

Yukari took a deep breath as memories overwhelmed her. Better memories of a better time… When her father was still alive and her mother was so happy… Yukari pressed the redial button on the number to try and talk to Mitsuru one more time, but almost immediately the call failed.

“Huh? What do you mean out of range?! What’re service providers even good for anymore?!” she frowned, putting her phone away. “I’ll try to call again as soon as I get to the station. Senpai… Just hang in there, please…”

Yukari sat down and closed her eyes, knowing that spending the next couple hours worrying on the train wouldn’t do her much good. She drifted off to sleep, thinking about the Kirijo Group, her senpai, and going back home…

*     *     *     *     *

A flock of birds landed on a nearby tree, chirping and ruffling their feathers while watching the people below. A trio of women walked out of the Kirijo Estate, whispering to each other as if the wind itself would carry their secrets away.

“You know who I just met again? I haven’t seen her in a long, long time.”

“Who?”

“Isako-sama! She’d been absent for so long that I thought she left Kirijo entirely!”

“Isako-sama… Oh! You’re talking about her?!”

“Mhm!”

“I know her family already has close ties with Kirijo, but I heard she’s been away because she married a scientist. Oh, what was his name…?”

“OH! Was she the one who married Takeba?!”

“That’s the one! Then she went and had herself a daughter too!”

“A daughter? Aw, I bet she’s adorable!”

“She is, but…”

“But?”

“The poor girl hardly resembles her mother. You wouldn’t even know they’re related unless you asked. She’s the spitting image of her father though.”

“Quite a shame. Her mother is a real beauty. Almost like a goddess on earth.”

“Isako Takeba, huh…? Let’s hope she’s more attentive than the Kirijo’s are!”

“Ohohoho!”

In the trees of the Kirijo Estate, a little redheaded girl cowers. Shaking, the little girl hugged the tree’s body and kicked a branch below her.

“Go away!” cried the little redhead, attempting to scare off the snake that was wrapped around a branch just below her. Tears flowed from her eyes as she sniffled and hugged the tree tighter. “Get out of here, Mr. Snake!”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

The redheaded girl looked below to see another girl close to her age with brown hair. The girl looked up at her with curiosity, simultaneously confused and intrigued.

“I was just climbing a tree!”

“Why?”

“I-I was picking a kaki from this tree to give to Mother and Father…”

“…” the brown-haired girl tilted her head and gave a blank stare. “I can’t hear you!”

“No!” the redhead cried, stretching her hand out. “Don’t come any closer! There’s a snake coiled up on a branch below me!”

“Oh, I see it!” the other girl said with a grin. “Hi, Mr. Snake!”

“A-Aren’t you scared?!”

“Scared… Nope! It’s a bit gross, but my daddy studies animals all day, so I’ll be okay!” The brown-haired girl picked up a large stick. “Should I poke it away?”

“No! I-It’s dangerous… If it bites you, you could get hurt or die!”

“Oh… Oh! I’ll go get Daddy! He’ll know how to poke the snake away safely!”

“Please don’t…” the redhead asked. “You’ll get us in trouble if you do… If you rely on someone else to fix your problems, all you do is trouble them instead… I have to handle this myself.”

“How are you going to climb down then? If you go up, you’ll get nowhere, and if you come down, then Mr. Snake will bite you and you’ll die.”

“I-I don’t know…” The redhead began to start crying again, feeling completely helpless and stuck.

“Just don’t be so stubborn!”

“H-Huh…?”

“Just don’t be so stubborn!” she repeated. “It’s easy to get down!”

“B-But… I-I don’t k-know what to do…”

“Hm?”

“W-What do I do…? T-There’s no way out of this tree… I’ll have to live up here forever until I die anyway, won’t I…?”

“Not if you stop overthinking!”

“B-But I can’t think of anything…  My head is so empty… What should I say?”

“Well, that’s easy! Just look down and say ‘help me!’ Then I’ll come save you and we can pick fruit together! My Mommy and Daddy would want some fruit too!”

Fighting the urge to break out into full sobs, the little redhead’s lip trembled.

“H-H-He…”

*     *     *     *     *

Mitsuru jolted awake, stirred by the ringing of a phone on the other side of the room. She clutched her head, blinking hard as she tried to remember where she was.

“That’s right… Home…” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“Wh- How is somebody calling this line?!” exclaimed Kikuno, picking up the phone just to immediately hang it up. “This is supposed to be an underground line!”

“Kikuno,” Mitsuru yawned. “Who was that?”

“Sorry, I don’t know, Miss,” the maid apologized. “It could simply be a nosy reporter, though. You remember how ravenous they were outside.”

“True… I’m sorry, have you been here the whole time?”

“Not at all. I merely happened to be placing a change of clothes on your dresser as the phone rang.”

The redhead looked over at the window, noticing the pitch black sky outside. Shakily, she got to her feet and walked over to the curtains. Mitsuru’s stomach rumbled; she was absolutely starving. The waxing moon in the sky illuminated the Kirijo estate, giving Mitsuru a view of the rows of various fruit trees out front. 

“It’s still so dark outside…” Glancing to the side, her grandfather clock read a surprising time. “Nine in the afternoon?! Don’t tell me I’ve been sleeping all day!”

“Yes, you have. I believe you’re having what’s called an ‘exhaustive episode,’ Miss. Your body simply needs rest.”

“I had a fleeting dream…” Mitsuru mumbled, putting a hand to the window as she looked at those familiar trees. “It was a fuzzy dream like a distant memory… Or perhaps I was experiencing a distant memory as if it was a fuzzy dream… Even now, I can hardly remember its contents, but… it has put my heart at ease, Kikuno. I feel more assured now than I have in years…”

Chapter Text

The air was quiet and solemn through the halls of Iwatodai Dormitory. Their fight against the Hermit Arcana had ended in a success, but everything else felt so, so wrong. Strega’s control over them, Chidori’s complete betrayal of Junpei, and Shinjiro’s complete loss of control… The evening after the full moon that they usually reserved for celebrating was instead plagued with an oppressively heavy air. Not even the couple bottles of alcohol that Kotone and Junpei had to evade Kurosawa to obtain were enough to alleviate the mood. Everyone just sat around the dining room table, as if a better mood would just drop out of the sky.

“If this is how you celebrate, you’re shit at it,” Shinjiro grunted, standing up. “I’m goin’ to my room.”

Normally, someone might’ve tried to stop him. Only one person bothered to say anything to raise their spirits.

“Hey, wait!” Kotone said, grabbing his arm. “Don’t go just yet!”

“And what am I saying for?”

“Um…” Kotone looked at her teammates. “Guys?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought,” Shijiro grumbled, taking his arm back.

“C’mon, we had a bad day, but still won against the Shadow! Think about all the good things we did, not all the bad stuff that happened!”

“Hey, sunshine,” Shinji growled, poking Kotone’s ribbon. “It’s not all good, okay? Don’t lecture me on being positive when all you’re doing is trying to live in denial.”

“Well, what’s the alternative?! Sit around and wallow in our own depression?! I can do that alone, but how about we do something while we’re still together, huh? Am I wrong for wanting to do that?! Am I?!”

Kotone hardly ever raised her voice, and it was almost never to chastise her own team. Almost immediately, her face turned red and she bowed her head.

“I-I’m sorry… I just…”

Silently, Shinjiro turned around and moved back to the table, picking up and inspecting the two pieces of contraband that they worked so hard to take.

“Got any glasses?” he asked.

“There’s, um, some ceramic cups under the bar over there. This place used to be a hotel, so…”

Shinjiro gathered a cup for everyone minus Ken and Koromaru and sat back down; as did Kotone. Nobody spoke as he poured a bit for everyone and passed the cups around. Nobody drank, and hardly anyone even breathed. Not even Mitsuru was reprimanding them for the illegal activity.

“Y’know, normally people say shit when they sit around drinkin’ stuff,” he commented, taking the slightest sip. “I’ve spent a lotta time on the streets and in bars, and they always love a good song.”

“You’re a singer, Shinjiro?” Kotone asked.

“Of course not,” Akihiko denied. “Shinji’s the lousiest karaoke-”

“Yeah, I am,” he interrupted. “Not a good one, but fine enough to play the piano and earn my dinner for the night.”

“…You could have come back to me if you needed a meal…” Mitsuru said, looking at her warped amber reflection in her untouched drink. “I would’ve given you food… or money…”

“…” Shinji took another small sip. “Anyone know any drinking songs?”

“I think I’m done for the night,” Junpei decided, standing up. “This is actually mad depressing.”

“Junpei…” Kotone whispered. “Just a bit longer…?”

“Sorry Koto-tan, I’m just not-”

“You sit your goddamn ass down!” Shinjiro roared, making everyone jump. “She said sit down, so you’re going to sit your ass down, got it?!”

“…Fine.”

“How the hell have you all stayed together?” Shinjiro sighed, looking around. “You’re all lucky you’ve got your ray of sunshine here. Otherwise, everyone here would be stuck too deep in a shithole to even worry about Shadows. You’re all going to be the next victims of Apathy Syndrome at this rate.”

Chapter Text

“Kirijo-sama is in there,” the assistant said, pointing to an ornate door at the end of the mansion hallway. “Please knock before entering. Kirijo-sama is very easily startled while in her room.”

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll scare her,” Fuuka chuckled, walking to the end of the hallway. 

She hesitated before knocking, thinking about how much this seemed like something that’d happen in their high school days back at their dorm. Normally when Mitsuru called Fuuka, it was to her office, not her home. Though, maybe this was something even more secretive than usual? 

“Mitsuru-san?” Fuuka called out, rapping her knuckles against the door. “I-It’s Fuuka! You said this was an emergency, right?”

“Yamagishi?” said the muffled voice of her boss. “You’re alone, right? Nobody else is out there?”

“Nope, it’s just m-”

In the middle of Fuuka’s sentence, the door unlocked and a hand shot out. A set of red-nailed fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled the young woman inside Mitsuru’s bedroom and locked the door again in record time. As soon as Fuuka could orient herself, she set her sights on Mitsuru. To say she was transformed would be an understatement.

She had on a black and blue frilly dress with a black corset piece that pinched her waist. The black diamond earrings audibly jingled with every slight movement of her head and her makeup eventuated just about every feature of beauty on her face that it possibly could. The Kirijo’s crimson hair was surprisingly straight and fluffy looking, with only a single strong curl draping across her chest as proof of its original shape. Finishing it all off was a pair of blue velvet heels as well. Fuuka could hardly believe she was looking at Mitsuru. 

“D-Do you think it’s alright?” she stammered, pacing up and down the room. “I asked my stylist if I could pick out my clothes, hair, makeup, and accessories for my date tonight and I’m afraid I’ve strayed too far from what I normally look like.”

“It is… different,” Fuuka agreed. “But I don’t think it’s bad! Actually, the more I look at it, the more I think you look so natural in it!”

“Thank you, Fuuka. I just feel so odd… I’ve never been afraid of Yukari not being pleased with my appearance,” she admitted. “But now I have my doubts. Should I attempt to fix it before our reservation? I have an hour and a half to work with.”

“I think it’s a bit too late to go back…” her friend said, clearing her throat. “By the time you get the stylist back, find a hairdresser, and get ready…”

“Fuuka, can you help undo all of this?!”

“I-I couldn’t!” she yelped. “I’m nowhere near as good as Yukari at style! I think you look fine as is.”

“I hope so…”

“Excuse me,” the assistant said, leaning in the room. “Kikuno wants you to know Takeba-san is here.”

“Right now?!”

“Indeed, right down the hall, in fact. Staring at me as I speak.”

“T-Tell her I’m getting ready!” Mitsuru demanded, waving her hands in a shooing motion as she paced around even faster. Fuuka could see the red in her face deepening. “I-I’m having wardrobe difficulties! And I’m not feeling well!”

“Which should I tell her?”

“All of them!”

“Alright.”

“You sure do get flustered about these dates,” Fuuka chuckled as the assistant backed out of the room.

“Yukari is a full time student, a model, and an actress. Meanwhile I spend my time traveling the world with the Shadow Operatives while going to university in America with the social elite,” Mitsuru lamented, holding her head in her hands as she sat on the edge of her bed. “How often do you think our schedules align to be in the same place together? This has to be perfect. For her…”

Chapter Text

“You know, Ken-kun, I think you’ve been trying too hard to grow up,” Kotone commented, kicking her legs to make the swing go higher. Beside her, Ken wasn’t exactly trying to compete, but he was trying to at least keep up so talking wasn’t a pain. “I mean, being a kid should be a time to do what you want and have fun, not a rush to grow up.”

“I thought if anyone understood, it would be you…” he sighed. “I don’t get a childhood when you’ve seen what I have. Even if I’m just a kid, I have to be an adult. I don’t have a choice.”

“…” Kotone’s face shifted into one that seemed dangerously close to contempt. Enough that it scared Ken a bit. It reminded him of the face his mother would make when he did something he wasn’t supposed to. She slowed down her swing to look at the boy. “Since you want to be treated like an adult and I can respect that, I’m not going to sugar coat what I’m about to tell you, okay?”

“Um, okay,” he nodded.

“It’s a bunch of shit,” she frowned. “Right now, you have a bunch of people around you who are ready to love and support you. I know what trauma and grief can do to a person, and I’ve been the victim of it. But when I came out the other end, I had nobody to fall back on. For the past few months though? You’ve had a family all around you. It’s not that you don’t get a childhood… You just don’t think you need one, right?”

“…If you could kill the people who killed your parents, would you?”

“Without a doubt, yes. And I’d enjoy every second of it,” she nodded, surprising Ken with how bold and extreme of a claim that was. “But you’ve got every chance to be better than that, so please don’t waste your childhood on revenge for your mother, or penance for Shinjiro…”

“But he-”

“Would have wanted you to be better,” Kotone finished. “I knew Shinji. I… I loved him. Remember what he said to you? On that day, October 4th…”

“…” Ken closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Don’t waste your breath, Ken… It’s too precious to take for granted…”

“Then follow that, Ken-kun. Take that advice and let it guide you.”

After a moment of silence, the boy looked over at Kotone.

“I realized a little while ago that I used to be so protective of you because you remind me so much of my mother… But I think it’s time that I stop thinking of her when I talk to you.” Ken put on a warm smile. “How does ‘big sis’ sound instead? Because after all we’ve been through… You’re all like my family now.”

“Oh, I… I don’t know what to say…” Kotone gasped, taken aback. “I’d love to be someone’s big sister! But don’t think you won’t still just be good old Ken-kun to me though!”

“Thank you,” the boy sighed. “I don't think I could take being constantly called ‘little bro’ or something…”

Both of them gave a hearty laugh as day started to transition to night in the shrine. A red and black butterfly fluttered between Kotone and Ken, flying away into the evening sky as the two watched the sunset. It was beautiful; it was peaceful. It was like the world’s perfect tribute to him.

Chapter Text

“Fuuka-san, please, take me apart,” Aigis begged, holding the girl by the arm. “Please! Piece-by-piece if you must! With every passing day, in my memory banks… Another moment I shared with him fades away and corrupts! My own diagnostics haven’t been able to diagnose me, and I need to know what is wrong with my system!”

“Aigis…” Fuuka slowly removed the robot’s hands from her arm. “Aigis, we’ve gone over this… If the Kirijo scientists couldn’t find anything wrong, I wouldn’t be able to either.”

“But Fuuka-san… When you give me maintenance, you observe me as a person, not a machine. I believe that… if it were you who were to open my internals… you might be able to figure it out…”

“…” Fuuka looked aside. “To me, you’re describing something more psychological than mechanical. This sounds like a job for her.”

“I couldn’t ask…”

“She could help a lot better than I could.”

“I do not wish to burden her with such requests. To bring up memories of him would be to resurface a pain in her too terrible for me to bear witnessing.”

“But-”

“Please, Fuuka-san, please just try again…” Aigis pleaded. “I am asking as a friend. If you cannot diagnose me, I wish to have my memories copied onto a separate drive.”

“Aigis, you know that copied memories will lose detail,” the girl said. “Even if all of your memories are backed up, they might still be fuzzy or muffled.”

“It would be better than them being gone…” Aigis took a minute to compose herself and took a deep breath like Kotone had taught her. “You have been able to recover lost and corrupted files from computers in the past. If you can do nothing else, I wish for you to attempt to recover my missing memories.”

“That, I can do,” Fuuka smiled. “Okay, let’s go to your room.”

*     *     *     *     *

“Aigis?” Yukari called out, walking through the vacant dorm. “Aigis, are you here?”

The young woman creeped throughout Iwatodai Dorm, nervously searching around every corner. She knew that Aigis should be home, but knew that something could easily be up. After all, the Kirijo Group did break into their dorm once. Who’s to say they wouldn’t do it again with the wrong direction? Her fears were quelled when she heard mechanical whirls and clicks coming from Aigis’s bedroom though.

“Oh, she’s just doing maintenance on herself,” sighed Yukari. As soon as she opened the door though, Yukari screamed and jumped backwards. “Oh my God!”

Aigis was laying down in her maintenance bed with her chest split open. Tubes and wires spilled out from her internals, all hooking up to a large terminal. Yukari could see the blue butterfly-shaped object that acted as Aigis’s power source on full display; it pulsed and shimmered with power. Fuuka, who was sitting at the terminal, looked over at Yukari, surprised.

“Oh, Yukari-chan! I didn’t know you’d be back so soon!”

“I-I decided to return early… Maybe I should’ve stayed out for longer.”

“Don’t be alarmed, Yukari-san,” Aigis asked. “My pain receptors have been overridden, so this won’t put me in any distress. Fuuka-san is merely un-scrambling my brain, as they say.”

“Huh?”

“Aigis has been complaining that some of her… important memories are becoming corrupted,” Fuuka explained. “She wants me to try and recover or fix them.”

“Oh, like that time you recovered the video of my father from Ikutsuki’s computer, right?”

“R-Right, but…”

“Fuuka-san believes my memories are too complex to recover,” Aigis sighed. “It is quite disappointing…”

“Aigis’s systems are so complex… Trying to decipher how they work is almost impossible,” the junior technician explained. “Aigis works like a living black box. She just… works. I can add things to her system, but understanding all of what’s already there could take me years; decades, even.”

“She just wants you to recover a memory though, right?” Yukari asked. “Why not just focus on that?”

“I’m not sure what you expected, but memories aren’t as easy to edit as a text file,” Fuuka frowned, showing a rare moment of frustrated sass. Likely from the hours of work with minimal to no progress. “They’re not conveniently labeled by date or what happened. And they’re so large that I can hardly tell what I’m looking at. I can only figure out what a memory contains by forcefully loading it into Aigis’s memory bank to make her relive it.”

“Can’t you just back it all up and examine it on another computer?”

“You can’t just copy her memories and expect everything to come out right!”

“Why not?” Yukari asked, confused. “It’s literally just copying and pasting, right?”

“How do I explain…? Have you ever made a photocopy of a picture?”

“Yeah.”

“And that copy isn’t as detailed as the original picture, right? There’s some detail lost.”

“Mhm.”

“And if you made a photocopy of that photocopy, the picture would be even less detailed, right? Even if you can discern the overall photo.”

“I think I see what you’re getting at.”

“Even when you copy and paste data on a computer, bytes of information are lost in the process,” Fuuka explained. “When you’re talking about memories, who knows what that could do? It could make you forget the tone someone said something in, where it happened, or even what people were there!”

“That does sound bad…” Yukari agreed. “So, what memories are you trying to recover?”

“Um…” Fuuka looked down. “Lately, Aigis’s memories of… him have been corrupting… A-And she’s very distressed about it.”

“I fear that one day I will come online and I will not remember the contours of his face… Or the touch of his hand… Or the feeling of his breath upon my cheek… O-Or the sound of his voice gracing my ears.” Despite not being connected to her system to allow her to cry, Aigis’s voice sounded choked. “If the issue cannot be diagnosed or fixed… I wish to be shut down and placed in suspension. That way, even if I cannot make more memories, I will not lose the ones which I hold dear…”

Chapter Text

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, not really.”

“You really should.”

“I’d prefer I…” Kotone looked away. “I don’t think I should.”

“…”

“I’m taking medication now,” the girl said, reaching into her side drawer and pulling out an orange-tinted pill bottle. “The cure for depression in the palm of my hand…”

“It won’t make the fact that you lost him go away.”

“…” Kotone looked at him with a spiteful glare. It was out of character enough to put even the stoic boy on edge. “I don’t want to be a jerk, so just leave, Makoto.”

“…I don’t think I should,” he responded, looking at Kotone’s lineup of various Jack plushes on her shelf. “You’re not alright.”

“You picked a hell of a time to actually care about how someone’s doing…”

“…”

“I-I want him back…” Kotone sniffled and wiped her nose. “The dorm feels so cold without him… Have you noticed that? It’s like his body was enough to keep us all warm…”

“Akihiko and Mitsuru-senpai said similar things,” Makoto nodded. “They said the dorm feels empty now, even though it’s just him that’s gone.”

“…I-I think what I hate most is that he didn’t even get to put up a fight… The Shinji I knew would’ve gone down swinging until the end… If it was some Shadow, he would’ve killed it for sure, but… This wasn’t right… He wasn’t meant to die like this.”

“We don’t really get to choose when life makes us pass on…” Makoto sighed, looking down. “It was just his time…” 

“It. Was. Not.” Kotone’s whole body started to quake with rage. “He did not pass on, he was taken. He was taken from me! And yeah, I want him back, dammit!”

“We all have to go eventually… You can’t act like the world owes you for taking someone you love.”

“What do you know?!” Kotone asked, her face contorting and scrunching up in preparation for tears. “You talk about your own parents dying without a hint of emotion! 

“…”

“Are you telling me you cared about Shinjiro?! You couldn’t have! Not like I did! Not like Akihiko did! Not the stoic Makoto Yuki, always playing it cool and collected! 

“…”

“Would you even cry if I died?! If Yukari died?! Would you?!”

“…” Makoto looked on at Kotone, not a hint of emotion in his eyes.

“Say something!” she howled, grabbing Makoto by the collar of his shirt. The girl shook him before collapsing into his chest, leaving tear stains on his shirt. “Say something… Please… Shinji… I want to hear him again…”

Wordlessly, Makoto put his hand on Kotone’s spine. Gently, he rubbed the back of her head with the other hand. Kotone would’ve been surprised by the tender gesture, but was barely aware of what was happening through her sobs.

“I would give anything to hear him call me a good-for-nothing troublesome tomboy again… He died with so many regrets… There was so much more he wanted to do… God, why do I have to care so much…? My heart hurts… It’s overflowing with anger and pain and sorrow… I want it all to go away… I’d rather feel nothing at all…”

“…But that’s not you. You don’t solve your problems by shutting everything out.”

“I wish I could…”

“But don’t bottle everything up either. It’ll make you rot from the inside out.”

“…” Kotone stopped crying, but rocked back and forth as she leaned on her friend’s shoulder. “Makoto?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m afraid… I don’t want to lose you or anyone else… Life being so fragile… Knowing we’ll all have to die sometime… It terrifies me. I don’t know if I can carry on.”

Chapter Text

“You know… When I call out Trismegistus, sometimes I think I can still hear her…” Junpei whispered, holding the Evoker in his palm and fiddling with the trigger. “If there really is somethin’ like that ‘sea of souls’ thing, I can tell she’s out there givin’ me strength. Even if I don’t know it…”

“Junpei…”

“Chidori-san had extreme love for you, Junpei-san,” Aigis said. “Whenever you were in the room, her average body temperature would raise approximately 4.2 degrees fahrenheit to 98.5 degrees.”

“Isn’t that, like, a normal body temperature though?” Yukari asked.

“Oh…” Kotone covered her mouth. “When she was with Junpei…”

“She felt truly alive,” Aigis finished with a nod. “She told me this fact herself.”

“Man… Chidori… I wish you could’ve told me all this yourself, ya know?” Junpei said out loud. “Or maybe you tried to and I just wasn’t listenin’ hard enough…”

“…” Yukari got up from her seat and sat next to Junpei, putting a hand on his back as he held his head in his hands. “She really did love you in the end… Enough to give up her life. I-I’m sorry I called your love stupid and rushed… I was the stupid one for not seeing it for what it was.”

“Nah, I don’t blame you,” he sniffled. “I-I would’ve called myself Stupei too. What’re you gonna do though? I… guess I didn’t know exactly what I had until it was gone anyway…”

“She’s not gone though,” Kotone said. She reached out and took one of Junpei’s hands into hers. “I think Chidori is still with you, even right now. Her blood—her life—flows within you now.”

“So I guess as long as I choose to keep on livin’ on… I’m also choosing to keep Chidori alive too…” Junpei clenched his fists and wiped his face clean. The somber expression melted away into his signature smirks of confidence. Though, it wasn’t cocky or mocking. Junpei was now a determined man. “I don’t know where we’re going, but all I know is that I’ll be followin’ right behind you all, and Chidori is comin’ with me all the way too!”

“That’s the Junpei we know and love,” Yukari said with a fond smile.

“Aw, you all love me?”

“Don’t push it.”

“Heh, so who’s ready to hunt down those Strega bastards?” he asked, jumping to his feet. “I think they’ve gotten way too many free swings at us. Without Chidori to hide those rats, I say it’s high time we ask Fuuka to play GPS, knock on their front door, and repay the favor.”

“For Shinji,” Kotone nodded.

“For Chidori,” Junpei grunted.

“For all those innocent people they killed with that website,” Yukari said, grabbing both of their hands.

“And for the emotional closure of the team,” Aigis added. “I believe their defeat and capture would aid the morale and mental health of S.E.E.S. greatly.”

“Let’s freakin’ go then.”

Chapter Text

“My high-school diploma,” Yukari sighed, walking back to the girl’s dorm with her friends. “So, are any of you guys gunning for university too?”

“You bet I am!” Yuko smiled, throwing shadow punches into the air. “I’m going to get that certification and finally become a personal trainer for all kinds of athletes!”

“I’m sure you will,” Yukari chuckled. “After all, I’m basically patient zero.”

“To be fair, you were already in shockingly good shape before you agreed to let me coach you,” the tanned girl pointed out.

“Hey! What do you mean ‘shockingly’?!”

“I’m just saying that I didn’t expect you to be so muscular! Sure, your back and arm muscles should be developed because you’re kind of the archery queen, but why are your legs in such good shape?!”

“I’m interested in knowing too,” Rio nodded, looking down at Yukari’s legs. “How do you keep them so slender, but strong?”

“Yeah how?!”

“Sorry girls, it’s my trade secret,” she slyly winked.

“Yukari-senpai, you have it all…” Chihiro sighed, trailing just a bit behind her. “You have such a fit body, a healthy diet, good grades…”

“Not to mention how flexible you are after our training,” Yuko proudly added. “Not to brag, but thanks to my help, Yukari here can officially bite her own toes.”

“Is that supposed to be something I’m jealous of?” Fuuka skeptically asked.

“I believe so,” Aigis nodded. “Though I do not understand the practical application of such a skill.”

“Back to my point… You don’t even need makeup to look pretty, Yukari-senpai,” the shy girl continued. “Meanwhile, no amount of makeup seems to attract any more boys for me…”

“Maybe try leaving the glasses off?” Yukari suggested. “You look so beautiful without them!”

“But… How will I see?”

“Is your regular eyesight really that bad?”

“I estimate a 88% increase in the chance of a workplace accident if Fushimi-san does not wear her glasses,” Aigis reported. “Perhaps even higher in dim environments.”

“Aigis-chan, maybe you should get a job at a science lab or something,” Yuko grinned. “With that kind of back-of-the-napkin math, you’d be a star.”

“No way! Have you seen her play sports in gym class?” Rio asked. “She’s so strong and has such a thin, light frame! She’d be perfect for a sport like soccer! Or maybe rugby.”

“I have not made a decision upon the matters of my future employment options yet,” Aigis admitted. “I am weighing my options though.”

“If we’re sharing our futures… I’ll be going to school for mechanical engineering very soon,” Fuuka chuckled. “I already got accepted to Kyoto University!”

“WHAT?!”

All of the girls’ jaws collectively dropped as they surrounded Fuuka and gave her giddy words of encouragement. Poor Fuuka could hardly handle all the praise.

“When did you know?!” Yukari asked. “How in the world could you keep it a secret?!”

“I wanted to wait until graduation,” she admitted. “It was my first choice, and- WOAH!”

In a spur of strength and teamwork, Rio and Yuko picked Fuuka up, placing her on their combined shoulders while giving whoops and cheers.

“Yamagishi for the win!” Rio shouted.

“She’s gonna make the first sentient robot!” Yuko added.

“Yukari-chan, I wish to correct our classmate,” Aigis privately whispered. “But I fear I may come across as rude. May I proceed anyway?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Yukari, what are you going to study?” Rio asked.

“Oh, well… I’m not completely sure, if I’m being honest. I might just do some general studies until I really hone in on something,” she admitted. “I’ll have to find a way to make some quick money while still studying though. Maybe something like modeling. People already stare at me for free; might as well charge by the hour.”

“I’ll buy every magazine with your ads in them,” Rio promised.

“And I’ll scrapbook it,” Yuko added.

“A-And I’ll archive them in the Iwatodai Library,” Chihiro smiled.

“You guys are just too much,” Yukari chuckled.

“Could you not simply ask Mirsuru-san for money if you fell upon hard times?” Aigis curiously asked. “Before she departed, she mentioned that if you ever needed anything at all, you could call her personal line.”

“Oooo, you have the personal line of the Mitsuru Kirijo?” Yuko mischievously asked, giving the girl a taunting smirk. “How positively privileged of you, Yukari. Do you talk every night? Or whisper each other to sleep?”

“Just because you and Rio do it doesn’t mean everyone else does,” Yukari said, rolling her eyes as Yuko and Rio rested their heads against each other. “Besides, her personal line is for emergencies. We haven’t talked in months… And we’re not in the fictional relationship that you’ve convinced yourself of.”

“You have to admit that it would make the perfect romance novel,” Chihiro dreamily sighed. “The fresh out of high school girl pleading for the help of the ice-cold corporate empress… thawing her heart in the process… I could write a book about it!”

“I’ve seen the manga you read. I don't need my life fantasized about by a fujoshi,” Yukari joked. “Besides, Mitsuru is all the way in America. She’s not coming home anytime soo-”

The girls all stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the one and only Mitsuru Kirijo standing in front of the girls dorm. Some students had surrounded her, but she ceased all conversation upon seeing the group. Her hair had gotten longer, redder, and curlier. She wore a black turtleneck with a luxurious white coat as well, and a pair of stylish red-tinted sunglasses.

“Yukari, Fuuka, good to see you all,” she smiled, taking off her sunglasses and folding them up. “I’m sorry I missed the ceremony, but I hope I can buy you dinner to celebrate and make up for it.”

Before Fuuka could answer, Rio and Yuko lowered the girl off their shoulders and whispered into her ears at the same time. Yukari didn’t like it one bit.

“Mitsuru-san! It’s so good to see you!” Fuuka cheered, rubbing forward and hugging her. “But I’m afraid Aigis and I already have other plans tonight with friends. Though, you and Yukari can still go without us.”

“Is that alright with you, Yukari?” Mitsuru asked, looking over at her friend. “I already made the reservation, so I need to know if I must cancel.”

“She’s got no plans, so she’ll be more than happy to go out with you,” Yuko said, answering for her.

“Très bien! I look forward to it!”

“Me too,” Yukari said, side-eyeing Yuko. “I’m glad I have such good friends who could let you know for me…”

Chapter Text

There she stood again, in front of his door. Aigis couldn’t get the urge to go in out of her head, but something prevented her from entering. It was as if the mere thought of such an action was against her protocol. Was it just a glitch? Was she broken? Was it something else? Fuuka couldn’t diagnose a problem, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t wrong. 

“You too?”

Aigis turned around to see Yukari standing just a small ways down the hall. She had her bags and suitcases in hand, ready to move out of the dorm. Aigis knew that she should be similarly prepared for moving day, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Not before resolving this.

“Yukari-san…”

“I’ve thought about going in a lot, but it’s never felt right,” she admitted. “I’ve never been able to get past the door…”

“Your programming is also flawed, Yukari-san?”

“Huh?”

“I-I’ve just assumed it’s my programming that’s kept me from going inside… Even Fuuka couldn’t tell me exactly what is stopping me.”

“Well, I think the answer is easier than you guys are trying to make it,” Yukari said with a warm smile. She advanced on Aigis and put her luggage down, grabbing both of Aigis’s hands. “I think it’s just grief and longing.”

“Grief…? I know of it, but don’t understand how it is preventing me from such a basic task.”

“It does that. It makes even the most basic of things hard to do… And when you can’t bring yourself to confront it, there’s a pain in your heart that you never knew was there, and it grows larger and larger until it just… consumes you.”

“You sound very familiar with this.”

“I am,” she nodded. “Too familiar…”

“Should we continue to our new dorm then? To move on from this ‘grief’ as you say?”

“No, I think there’s something we need to do first.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Come on honey,” Yukari painfully sighed, putting a hand on Aigis’s back. “Yuuka’s waiting for us in the girls’ dorm, so let’s get this over with…”

Yukari put her free hand on the doorknob and twisted it. The hinges squeaked and grinded with a lack of use before surrendering and opening completely. The whole room had a profound stillness to it, like it had been preserved in time, unchanged since that fateful January 31st. Contradictorily, dust had gathered on every surface, permeating into even the scent of the room and making it smell like one of the other unused bedrooms.

Aigis and Yukari stepped inside as if the floor was made of glass, tiptoeing as if they were afraid of waking something. Though, there was nothing in that room they would risk waking up. Not anymore. Makoto’s room was still relatively sparse and barren. Empty walls, empty shelves, and a lone desk with a lamp, some schoolbooks, and a laptop on display.

“According to my database, some cultures find it customary to open all doors and windows after a person has passed away…” Aigis whispered. “It is to air out death from inside the home… I think perhaps now I finally understand such a concept.”

“Yeah… me too…”

“Yukari-san?” Aigis noticed that her friend was beginning to form a fresh set of tears. “Is this too painful for you?”

“Yes Aigis, it’s really more than my heart can bear,” Yukari admitted, sniffling and wiping her eyes. “But that’s why I need to be here.”

“I don’t understand, I do not wish you pain.”

“Sometimes we all need a little pain, honey…” Yukari guided Aigis to the bed and sat them both down. The mattress was as hard as stone. She wondered if it had become like that due to the absence of its occupant, or if it had always been like that. “Remember how flustered I got when you said you wanted to watch him all night?”

“I do,” Aigis responded, giving a somber smile. “I did not understand at the time why you were so upset… How naïve I was.”

“I honestly thought you might accidentally kill one of us on a mission,” Yukari admitted. “I thought you were like a child with the power of a military tank… Now, I just feel like I was the childish one.”

“Do not be absurd, Yukari-san.” Aigis put her hand on her friend’s leg. “Junpei was the childish one.”

“Hah…” She let out a small chuckle. “Was that a joke?”

“Did you like it?” Aigis asked with an eager smile. “I have been practicing improvised witty remarks.”

“God, you’re so adorable when you talk like that,” Yukari sighed, shaking her head. “You’re going to make a certain someone very happy in their future.”

“Are your referring to-”

“That was rhetorical.”

“Oh, of course.” They let a moment of silence hang in the air. Both of them listened closely, as if trying to hear echoes of the past. “How was it, being Makoto’s ‘girlfriend,’ as they say?”

“At first, I hated it,” she admitted. “He swept me off my feet and got me to confess my feelings, but after we were together… I felt like nothing changed. He still treated me like the same old Yukari. And I felt hurt by it.”

“This makes sense,” Aigis nodded.

“Really? You understand?”

“Of course. When two people agree to a relationship, it is customary for both parties to treat each other with a certain degree of increased attention and show of affection. This includes such things as treating each other to dinner dates, giving gifts, engaging in special interests, and more to show that both parties are heavily interested and invested in each other.”

“Looks like you’ve got love down to a science. But, yeah, you’re right. One day I asked him if we were even dating. You know what he said to me?”

“What?”

“He said ‘If you want that kind of treatment, just say so. I thought you might be uncomfortable with it, given how you talk about your mother. I’ve been holding myself back the whole time.’ After he said that… he took me on a shopping spree that Sunday and bought me whatever I wanted, then we had a dinner date together… “ Yukari wistfully sighed and stared at the ceiling. “It was the best day of my life… I hoped it would last forever.”

“…That sounds like such a special bond…”

“It was… Once in a lifetime, maybe…”

“…I miss him, Yukari-san…” Aigis’s entire body began to tremble. “I miss his face… His voice… His scent… His mere presence…”

“Me too, honey, me too…”

Yukari embraced Aigis in a hug, pulling the robot as close as she could and engaging in the tightest hug she could muster. They were both shaking, but in a way that actually comforted them. They didn’t feel so alone, and it made something emerge in the depths of them both. It was om that moment of deep connection that the girls discovered something so profound and important. A shared pain treated can heal two wounds.

“Come on, Aigis, I think it’s time to go now…” Yukari said, separating from her friend and squeezing her hand. “Fuuka will be waiting for us…”

(Aigis established a new social link with Yukari Takeba! The Lovers (VI) Social Link has reached Rank 1!)

Chapter Text

“Fuuka-san, thank you once again for helping me with this hardware malfunction.”

“O-Oh, it’s no problem!”

Aigis had asked Fuuka to perform maintenance on her body, since she had booted up that morning with a few motor function errors after a particularly abusive night exploring Tartarus. Not inhibiting enough to prevent combat capabilities, but she wouldn’t be able to write that essay for Ms. Toriumi tomorrow if they weren’t repaired.

“Aigis, you should speak up if you’re damaged while fighting,” Fuuka mentioned. “We can let you rest and have someone else take your place..”

“That won’t be necessary. I am simply a weapon, Fuuka-san. My job is to deal with our enemies. Should I break, I can be repaired, so any damage sustained will always be trivial if I may fulfill my purpose.”

“I don't like it when you talk like that…” Fuuka mumbled, tightening a rod with some difficulty. “You talk about yourself like your well-being doesn’t matter…”

“It is rather trivial for an artificial being such as myself, is it not?” Aigis asked, not getting Fuuka’s point at all. “You can simply gather my parts and assemble me again.”

“What about your friends though? Do you think we’d like seeing you reduced to a bunch of metal and wires?” The engineer girl asked, visibly upset. “You’re our friend, Aigis. Not just a tool for us to use. Even if you don’t die, none of us want to see you hurt. If I had to reconstruct you from a pile of limbs… It would break my heart…”

“…”

Aigis silently pondered upon that fact for a moment.

“The effects upon the emotional condition of my comrades was not a factor I put into my consideration… Now I must run an additional check for if defeating an enemy will be worth the damage and crossed-referenced with how much emotional distress it might put each individual in…”

“Aigis? Your system is beginning to get pretty warm,” Fuuka observed. “Is everything okay?”

“Don’t worry, Fuuka-san. I’m merely running an intensive calculation.”

“Can you save it for later? Your chassis is solid steel, and it’s warming up really fast.”

“It will take only a moment longer.”

“It’s just- OW!” Fuuka recoiled back, holding her finger tightly after brushing it against a steel rod.

“Fuuka-san?!” Aigis cried out urgently. “I am extremely sorry, I did not mean for you to get hurt!”

“Fuuka? Aigis?” called out the voice of a wandering Kotone from the hall. “Are you two home?”

“We’re in here!” Fuuka shouted, putting her finger in her mouth to try and cool it down. It wasn’t anything worse than a first-degree burn, but that just made it hurt all the worse.

“Oh, there you-” Kotone paused at the sight before her. Aigis, with her internals opened up and tubes and wiring spilling out into the room while a wrench stuck out of her abdomen. “What’s, uh, happening here? If I can even ask that.”

“Don’t worry, Kotone-san, everything is fine,” Aigis reassured. “Fuuka-san is just in the process of ‘rearranging my guts,’ as they say.”

“That’s not what people say,” Fuuka clarified. “I’m just doing maintenance on Aigis’s internals, since our contact and resources with Kirijo is limited and I’m the only one here who has experience with building and repairing electronics.”

“O-Okay…”

“Speaking of which, could you go downstairs and bring the microwave up here?”

“The microwave?” Kotone asked, confused. “Why?”

“Well… it has a part I think I’ll need for Aigis.”

“Will she be able to heat my ramen afterwards or something?”

“I sadly am not programmed with ramen-heating functionality,” Aigis reported. “Though, I am sure that Fuuka would be happy to rearrange my guts more to accommodate-”

“You need to stop listening to Junpei,” Fuuka sighed. “For the sake of everyone’s collective sanity…”

Chapter Text

“Makoto Yuki, this is not a service which my master is providing,” Elizabeth smiled. “I will be issuing this on my own accord as my own final act of service.”

“Which is?”

“Giving you one more chance to finish your journey.”

Elizabeth opened her grimoire and began to wave her hands around before making a strong pulling motion. From Makoto’s chest, a simple card emerged. One depicting a man holding an open flame in one hand and a ritual dagger in the other.

“The Magician, cunning and clever,” Elizabeth announced. “The resourcefulness and tact to achieve any goal, no matter its loft.”

Next was a robed woman, surrounded by a crescent moon.

“The High Priestess, so wise and reserved! Though small and meek, she contains the wisdom and grace of a thousand men!”

A woman in lavish clothes sitting upon a throne. The symbol of femininity beside her.

“The Empress, standing so divine and sensual! The all-mother continues to grace us all with a stalwart beauty!”

A powerful robed man, sitting in a throne and holding a scepter in his hands.

“The Emperor, strong and firm! The power to stand strong, and the strength to seize power!”

A pope’s hat, surrounded by a twin set of keys.

“The Hierophant, ever staid in his old ways! He educates us and keeps tradition alive, teaching to not forget what has passed before!”

A man and a woman, coming into unison under a beating heart.

“The Lovers, o’ diving union of unions! Giving us the meaning of true companionship and what it means when two become one!”

A knight riding in a vehicle pulled by a set of twin sphinxes.

“The Chariot, riding straight and true! The ability to control thy own actions and dictate one's own outcome with ambition incarnate!”

A set of scales, balanced on a sword.

“O’ Justice, so honest and keen! Keep our mind pure and conscious clear as you clean our integrity upon the rivers of righteousness!”

A watching eye, looking out from within a cage-like lantern.

“The Hermit, reclusive but prudent. Isolation personified, asking us to retreat and look inwards for growth and self-assessment.”

A mighty sword in the center of a turning wheel.

“The Wheel of Fortune, ever turning, ever winding. A reminder of the ever-churning and unstoppable machine that is fate, but reminding us that we still steer such a ship with our own two hands.”

A brave woman walking side-by-side with a mighty lion.

“Strength, so cast-iron and resolute! Giving courage to seize the day and not let a moment go to waste!”

A woman riding a chimera, reins in one hand and a chalice in the other,

“The Lust, so deep and ravenous!” Elizabeth paused for just a moment to give Makoto a small smile and a wink. “The embrace of our cardinal desires, not in order to rule or to let rule us, but to explore to its fullest! An eternal hunger for life itself!”

A man suspended upside down by his ankle.

“The Hanged Man and his ever-evolving perspective! Reminding us that sacrifices must be made on the road to growth, for with nothing lost, there is nothing gained!”

A mighty, cold door safeguarded by a skull.

“Death, so cold but bright. Teaching us the dangers of stagnation, and delivering us to the truth that for one to live and grow, change must be faced without hesitation!”

A card divided into four quadrants. Water flowing into a cup. A mighty triangle. A dove. A pulsing square.

“Temperance, her waters so deep. She teaches us to walk not the path of light nor shadow, but find the dawn in all of its twilight brilliance!”

A man and woman standing before a ram’s skull.

“The Devil, so evil and debaucherous! A warning against all who would give in to their material desires!”

Lightning striking a crumbling tower, sending its inhabitants hurtling to their demise.

“The Tower, the ever-looming cataclysm! Our pride is our greatest enemy, and those would climb it are sure to fall in a power-drunken stupor!”

A content face plaster on a starry sky.

“The Star, and her shining beauty. She inspires hope and optimism, reminding us to run towards the future with faith in our hearts.”

A somber moon in front of a river, a lobster placed above it.

“The Moon, ever alluring, but ever deceitful. Our greatest secrets lie within, and what we see upon first glance is most often a cleverly-constructed facade.”

A smiling sun, emanating light in all directions.

“The Sun, with her rays of golden glory. The warmth of her light permeates all, inspiring joy and content upon the breast of all who bear witness!”

An angel coming down from above, blaring its trumpet upon a set of people surviving in a flooded land.

“Judgement, a blaring trumpet that pierces through all. Teaching us the importance of the self before our greatest ordeal. Upon our finest hour, we will find ourselves awakened with a renewed purpose!”

An Egyptian god surrounded by a wave of weaving hands.

“The Aeon, beyond human reach, but ever within our grasp! Helping us awaken to our true selves and look beyond our mere shells!”

All 22 cards swirled around in a glorious dance, combining one after another into a single one which radiated enough power for Makoto to physically feel. It floated in the air, perfectly between himself and Elizabeth. Upon it was the design of a beautiful woman holding two canes, surrounded by a lion, eagle, bull, and angel.

“The World,” Elizabeth said, breathless. “You now stand upon the apex, whole and fulfilled. The end to a journey and the embodiment of completeness.”

As Makoto reached out for the tarot, Elizabeth took it between her own fingers. The boy was surprised, but the Velvet Room attendant shook her head.

“But this is not for you.”

“Huh?”

“You still have one last arcana to give.”

Instinctively, Makoto realized what she was talking about. With a shaky hand, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out the last card. A man with a cloth and stick slung over his back. A loyal canine follows him over a set of hills into the horizon; whether the sun was setting or rising was anyone’s guess.

“The Fool…” Elizabeth whispered, her breath thinning. “The first and the last. The whole and the empty. Everything and nothing… The beginning of beginnings, he is the cycle started anew. No matter where his journey may take him, The Fool may become anything he wishes. The one, true Wild Card.”

The arcana floated out of Makoto’s hands, and The World did the same for Elizabeth. They clashed together in a brilliant display of blinding lights, forcing them both to cover their eyes for a moment. When all was calm, there was only a single card floating between them. Amidst a backdrop consisting of a sea of stars, one woman was depicted, guiding a serpent over her shoulders from one corner of the card to the other. The maiden herself was emanating rays of light as a single eye watched from behind her. In all four corners, the eagle, bull, lion, and angel now knelt before the woman in reverence.

“The Universe, so complete and final…” Elizabeth was shaking from head to toe as she tapped the arcana with her finger. It drifted through the air, landing in Makoto’s hands. “You now stand at the apex of apexes. The mountain of mountains. The final journey has been completed, and with it the cycle is broken. You’ve reached the pinnacle of power and fulfillment, endowed with the gift of everlasting climax. But beware, ultimate power has an ultimate cost.”

“So with this, I can…?”

“That is right,” Elizabeth nodded. 

“Then I understand what I’ll have to do,” he said, clutching the card to his chest. “No price is going to change what I’m ready to do.”

“Makoto Yuki…” The attendant somberly smiled. For the first time, he could see a profound sadness in her eyes. The most emotion he had ever seen from Elizabeth. “I wish we had more guests like you… It is a shame that our time here together is over.”

“Honestly… I would do it all again,” he said, a smile creeping the edges of his mouth. “But I think I have people waiting for me on the outside.”

“Y-Yes, you certainly do…”

Makoto started to walk away, but as soon as the boy got to the door he stopped for a moment and turned around. The attendant stood beside the empty chair of her master, ever faithful and ever attempting to keep her composure.

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t care if you live forever or not… Don’t let what you think you were made for keep you chained down… Metal or flesh, man or woman, musician or athlete, none of us have been made with one purpose in mind. And we shouldn’t be told what we were made for by anyone else other than ourselves.”

“I do not understand. Are you implying-”

“Go out and live,” the boy said, turning his back to Elizabeth. “That’s my advice. Go discover more questions… and find more Answers.”

With that, Makoto turned the handle on the azure door. On that day, for the first time in existence, the Velvet Room became stained with the tears of a denizen, and not a visitor.

Chapter Text

To my S.E.E.S. friends,

Tomorrow is not guaranteed, nor is it written. That is one of the greatest beauties I’ve come to discover. We each have the power to dictate our own fate, and nobody can take that away. We can only surrender it of our own accord.

I’ve come to discover a certain concept called yūgen「幽玄」while reading a book. It refers to a subtle, yet profound grace that the world may have. A reserved and demure beauty that gently encompasses all it comes into contact with. Yūgen is what I think about when I reflect on the time we all spent together. The movies, the cooking, the eating, the laughing, the hugging, the crying, the grieving, the growth, the regression, the bonds forged, the bonds broken, the bonds mended and made whole once again… I think of yūgen. Such a nostalgic, beautiful, gentle grace that lingers in my mind… It leaves me with no regrets.

I know that when you read this, I will have long left you all. I wish I had more time to appreciate what we were and had together. I’ve always held my feelings inside and at times haven’t allowed myself to feel at all, which is why I want you to feel a year’s worth of emotion through this paper. Though, I fear that I won’t be able to. I have so much to say that I’d rather speak personally to each of you.

Mitsuru, keep yourself as a free spirit. Don’t let any man, woman, or company chain you down into submission. It’s not your nature. It’s not how you’re supposed to be. As your father wanted, plant your own roots and grow your own legacy, untainted from the sins of your ancestors. Choose your own partner. Choose your own profession. Live your life on your own terms and never look back on what could’ve been. Let the sins of Kirijo be washed away with the Dark Hour. You are your family’s new dawn.

Akihiko, I would ask you to set aside the gloves, but I know you wouldn't be satisfied without a fight to keep punching towards. I only ask you to set aside the fight and look for fulfillment in other places as well. Fight for what you believe in, but learn when it’s time to put down your fists. And don’t blame yourself for all the wrongs you haven’t prevented. Look to what you can still protect, and fight for that.

Yukari, to you more than anyone else, I’m sorry I never said goodbye. You told me that our time together changed you for the better, but the truth is that you’re the one who changed me. Displays of love from people felt fake and superficial all of my life, but you shattered that trend. You made me feel things that nobody else had made me feel, and I did things for you that I would’ve never even considered before. I loved it all. Our dates, our gifts, our hugs, our fights… As I write this letter, I find myself cherishing and reliving them all again. And they’re so, so wonderful. And you, Yukari, deserve to live your life being unafraid of making more connections. Continue filling the hearts of others as you filled mine. I’m sorry I could never meet your mother like you wanted me to, but I hope you find someone who can. For the first time to someone, I can truly say these words: I love you. 

Junpei, don’t be so discouraged by the trials of life. Though I often acted annoyed with you, I have to admit you were one of the people who grounded me and kept me out of my own nihilism and cynicism. You’re a good guy, so try to not keep your heart of gold buried too deep for anyone to see. Because I had to dig pretty deep to get to it. Do me a favor and hit a home run for me someday in one of those huge yankee stadiums you’re always going on about. For your #1 fan.

Fuuka, you’re much, much more than you appear. When I first met you, I wondered why you let life trample over you. I wondered why you cared so much about people who kicked you while you were down. I still wonder, but I’ve accepted that I may never know. What I do know is how smart and wonderful you truly are, and how it’s a shame how little of it you see in yourself. I’ve seen the things you can make. Great, almost terrifying weapons. Wondrous little gadgets. Keep going on your path, Fuuka. You’ll change the world with what you make someday, I can feel it. But remember to get out of your room and pry away from your computer and machines. Human beings, both close and far, want to hear your voice and feel a touch only you can give them. 

Ken, don’t be afraid to enjoy your time as a kid. Mess up. Make mistakes. Be immature. Cherish your life and remember to not waste it chasing things like revenge and serving a penance. I liked our time watching Featherman together. It made me feel like for just a moment, I could let myself be a kid again. Thank you.

Koromaru, though you’re simply a dog, you were a loyal friend. Your heart is bigger than most humans, so stay close to the members of S.E.E.S. if you can. I need you to take care of them.

Aigis, thank you for not forgetting. Though you only watch from a distance, I can tell. I feel… content. Reassured, even, knowing that someone else remembers what we’ve done. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be human. You and I were not so different. Our hearts beat. Our minds race. We have fear. We are willing to do what has to be done for those we hold dear. I can tell you have your own journey ahead of you, and I wish you well. Remember, you have a soul. You have a mind. What you are cannot be programmed. You’re a true original.

I’m sorry I had to leave without a proper goodbye. Maybe this letter will provide some closure, or maybe it’ll just open up fresh wounds. Maybe I’m writing this for my own closure, so I can leave with a clean conscience… For the first time, I’ve felt true love, and it’s for you all. Everyone has made me a bit more human, I think. As of writing this, nobody but Aigis seems to remember who we really are and what we did. I hold hope that it doesn’t stay that way. I know we’ll come together again, all of us. It’s written into the stars and upon our souls.

As a final request to my friends in S.E.E.S. I ask only this: live. Live and help others live. And when you falter, lift each other up. Continue to inspire and hope and create. My time is running short, but… That’s what I want for everyone’s future. 

Be true and keep honest to yourselves,

Makoto Yuki

【結城理】