Persona B: The New Wildcard

by Biffposts

Forced to move to the Japanese suburbs of Mata, American transfer student Biff Chanum quickly discovers a shadow-filled parallel world known as The Dreamlands which manifests the dreams and cognition of humanity. Armed with the power of persona, it'll fall to Biff and the strength of his bonds to protect Mata from imminent destruction at the hands of an army of shadows.

10. Revenge of the Lunch at Georgie's

4/17, Tuesday

Biff's eyes snap open, and he finds himself once more standing upright by the light of a rapidly flickering bonfire. The velvet floor underfoot stretches its deep blue hue in all directions, fading eventually into the darkness beyond a dense treeline. Before him, the long-nosed master of the Velvet Room, Igor, silently sits with bridged hands, his assistant standing next to him.

For once, Igor forgoes the usual 'Welcome to the Velvet Room', opting instead to bask in the eerie silence, only broken by the crackling of flame. In this silence, it suddenly comes to Biff's attention that a terrible aura of foreboding seems to have permeated the Velvet Room, leaving everyone in attendance on edge.

Without waiting for a cue from her master, Safie stretches her hefty tome towards Biff, opening it with one hand and summoning the image of a Tarot card. Unlike previous incarnations, though, the light exuded from this hologram is a sickly crimson hue rather than gentle blue, and while Biff, unfamiliar with the Tarot, wouldn't realize, it's upside down. If viewing the holographic card right side up, one would see a depiction of a crescent moon with a human face on its side. Below it, several drawings of varied animals howl upwards, their eyes on the moon. Due to the card being flipped, these facts are reversed, causing the animals to be on top, howling down at the moon.

Safie finally shatters the silence, speaking very hesitantly. "Uh… through your… mutual 'connection' with the student named Boto, you um… have taken another step towards the realization of your destiny..." Clearly not sure whether she should really be sticking to the script here, Safie glances towards her master, looking for some sort of interjection-she doesn't get anything of the sort.

Biff takes this opportunity to interrupt, not much caring about his insubordination. "My connection?!" He scoffs, casting a hand to his side and stepping forward. "You call that shit show yesterday a connection?" After Boto asserted that he'd keep toying with Biff and his friends for fun at the risk of destroying the world, Biff can't help but get more than a bit heated when Safie puts it so casually.

Safie goes wide-eyed and turns back to Biff, still holding out the giant book and its Tarot card projection. "I-I... wait… um… connection is a… uh… very vague term." Biff relaxes a bit as Safie continues talking. After struggling initially, she seems to have figured out what she was trying to say, yet is very clearly trying to calm Biff down before he gets angrier. "Y-your bonds aren't as simple as just the people you like-they're your connections to everyone around you. While not all bonds are meaningful, those that hold a central place in your heart serve to fuel the flame of your passion, no matter how they manifest. Um… whether you like it or not, your rivalry with Boto will prove to be integral to the development of your heart." As she finishes the explanation, the slowly rotating tarot card begins to spin faster and faster before suddenly flying off into the bonfire, leaving a trail of slowly dissipating red energy. The card burns up upon impact with the fire and immediately explodes, infusing the orange flames with a burst of crimson, briefly causing the bonfire to grow much taller before dying back down to orange.

Though it's a bit petty, Biff feels an odd resentment at the idea of Boto inhabiting the flame of his heart. Or something like that. He's still not completely clear on how the bonfire thing works.

"So…" Biff starts, feeling his fists clench up by his sides. "I have no choice but to accept strength from my... bond with Boto?" He puts heavy sarcastic emphasis on 'bond'. "The special place in my heart for Boto will become my power or something? That's stupid. I don't want a handout from Boto; I want to kick his ass on my own."

"Uh…" Safie responds delicately, looking really uncomfortable, like dealing with Biff's attitude wasn't part of her job description. "I would recommend not thinking of it that way, but rather considering it as… harnessing your rage to put 'power behind your punches' so to speak."

"Nope," Biff states. "Not 'to speak'. I will literally be punchin' him. A lot."

"Y-you what…? Um… Mr. Chanum, you can't just… attack Boto." Though she knows it's not her place to interfere with a guest's decisions, Safie feels it would be more than a bit anticlimactic-and destructive for the world's future-if this Wild Card were arrested for assault.

Biff scowls and casts his gaze away. "I know, I just…" He sighs. "Damnit, I don't know what I'll do."

"A-and that's fine as well. You have a long journey ahead of you-the time for an answer will come eventually."

As silence fills in the gap after Biff and Safie's exchange, Igor speaks up, his creaky, wisened voice ringing astoundingly loud for a man of his apparent age. "So the encroaching darkness has finally arrived. That certainly makes things more… complicated. Hee hee…" Igor's wheezy laugh seems oddly out of place to Biff when discussing Boto, but he tries not to read too much into it.

Biff remains quiet for a moment longer before suddenly tensing up, the cogs in his brain turning. "Wait a minute… you knew about Boto, didn't you? You Velvet Room folks clearly know a whole lot more than you tell me-why the hell didn't you fill me in?"

Igor rests his nose atop his bridged hands, his wide smile shrinking to a neutral expression. "As I've told you before, Mr. Chanum, it is not our place to interfere directly in your destiny. Our role is simply to…"

"I know, I know-'To guide me in the development of my heart.' You've said it about a dozen times." Biff pauses, scowling. "Ya know, I'm gettin' real sick and tired of this vague mystical bullshit."

"It has been an exhausting day for you, hasn't it, Mr. Chanum? Hopefully, in the future, you will be able to understand the limitations of our intervention."

Biff lets out a deep breath yet doesn't say anything in response. Yeah, Igor's definitely right-it has been a long day. And spending the evening in the Velvet Room rather than getting a full night's sleep isn't going to help Biff get any less tired and irritable.

Igor speaks up once again, still maintaining his pondering position yet speaking with less professionalism and more casual address. "Time runs out on us; a new day dawns. But, before I bid you farewell, I believe there was something Safie wished to ask you."

Biff eases up a bit, not expecting Igor's change in tone. He turns towards Safie to see her give Igor a briefly startled look before composing herself and turning towards Biff, seemingly awaiting an address from the guest. "Uh… go ahead?" He says.

In contrast to Igor's lax in formality, Safie speaks awkwardly and professionally, her cheeks turning slightly red as she does so. "I… ah… have observed your world for some time now as an outsider looking in, but… um, if it's alright with you I would like to see it with my own eyes. In the past, one of my sisters took such… 'excursions' with the Wild Card she attended to, relying on him as a guide for the real world. Even though I was a child at the time, her stories of the sounds and smells and tastes of your world seemed so fantastical compared to the… uniformity of the Velvet Room."

Igor seems to offer no response to her assertion, but Biff can't help but find it a bit ironic for Safie to describe such a dream-like landscape as 'uniform'.

"May you possibly, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, allow me to experience your world for myself?"

Biff cocks his head slightly to the side, not understanding why she didn't just directly ask the question. "So you want to hang out? Sure." It seems very weird for an inhabitant of the Velvet Room to invite him to pal around, but considering how earnest Safie seems to be on the subject, Biff decides not to say anything.

"O-oh, um… alright. But while we're on the subject… I also would like to meet your fellow Persona users. I… uh… feel it would be beneficial for the fulfillment of my duty if I could witness your bonds for mys-"

Interrupting her, Biff cuts to the chase again. "That's fine, too. I doubt Hidi and Marquis'd mind. Oh, yeah, and Miho now... I think. When were you thinkin'?"

"I…" Safie trails off. It would appear she hadn't thought that far ahead. "...will come to you when the time is right."

"Wait, that's not how hangi-"

Igor interrupts Biff once again. "Dawn has broken, and our time has come to a close. Until we meet again."

"What? No, hold on I-"

And Biff feels his eyes slowly opening. "Damnit," He mutters, rolling out of bed.

Biff and Hanae trudge to school side-by-side, the former still feeling a bit of residual saltiness after his Velvet Room encounter. It's a particularly dreary day-very overcast with trickles of rain. It's not enough to be troublesome or miserable, but is, in fact, the perfect intensity to be mildly annoying.

Though Hanae being silent is nothing unusual, Biff can't help but notice how fidgety and anxious she looks, as though she has something she wants to say but is reluctant to do so. "You look like you wanna talk," Biff says bleakly without turning his head. Realizing how irritable he sounds, he puts up an attempt at a kind smile before continuing. "What's up? No need to be afraid."

Hanae tenses up for a moment before cautiously responding. "I uh… was just wondering where we… um… and your friends were going to…" There's a really long pause as she searches for a suitable word. "...hang out…?"

Biff turns away from Hanae in an attempt to hide his surprise. Damnit, I forgot about that. Uh… Grinning nonchalantly, Biff addresses Hanae once more. "Oh yeah, you've heard of Georgie's, right? I'm thinkin' we ought to head there today after school, is that cool with you?"

Hanae gives a slightly pleased smile as she tries to respond coolly. "That's fine. Though I never get much of a chance to eat there since Mom cooks so often, I really like their salads."

"Salads?!" Biff cries with a bit more bravado than is necessary. "Their burgers are where it's at! It's an American-style burger joint, after all-you're missin' out."

Hanae goes wide-eyed in surprise, the rise in voice catching her off guard. "B-but… I'm a vegetarian… I…"

Shit, I forgot about that, too. Biff scolds himself internally, gritting his teeth. "Oh yeah… uh, sorry about that. Salads are… um… fine too."

Sending a dubious glance Biff's way, Hanae slightly changes the subject. "And both of them said they'd be there?"

"..." Biff hesitates for a moment, reflecting only momentarily on the fact that he never mentioned any of this to any of his friends.

Thinking Biff doesn't understand what she meant, Hanae clarifies. "That Hideo boy and, um, Marquis?"

"Oh, uh, I know. Sorry about that-lost my train of thought. Yeah, they said they'd love to meet you. Just find us at the entrance after school."

"No, Hidi, you don't get it. I'm making you come along." Biff knits his brow as he stares menacingly at Hideo, assuming a broad-chested stance of intimidation.

"B-but I have to work today after school. I already asked my boss for the last couple days off so we could fight the Shadow King…" Hideo takes a step back, clearly feeling the effects of Biff's pose.

"Then call in sick or somethin', I'm classifying this as official MIFAS business. You have to attend out of obligation or you risk losing your rank-the title of my second-hand man will be given to Miho."

"But I thought I was your second-hand man!" Marquis whines from the side, stomping on the floor and balling up her fists.

"You're a woman," Biff retorts casually before turning back to Hideo. "Marquis is going to Georgie's, come on."

"Oh, yeah…" Marquis' defiant stance laxes. "Wait! Why can Miho be a second-hand man and I can't?!"

Biff shrugs.

"Ok, ok, I'll go." Hideo drops his arms to the side and lowers his head in defeat." But if my boss breaks my legs or something because I canceled then you're footing the medical bill."

"I'll just put you out of your misery, then."

"Wait, what?"

Before Biff can elaborate, the door to the class slams open, and a dozen cheerful greetings-all variations of 'Miho!', 'Good morning, Miho!', or 'Hey, Miho!'-ring out. The three members of MIFAS all turn in sync to catch the sight of Miho Fuiji walking in and merrily greeting her circle of followers as well as anyone else who hails her.

"Mornin', Ali!" Miho says to one girl in particular. "How'd it go with the, ah, confronting your ex?"

"Oh, Daishi?" The girl responds, her thin veil of casualness barely covering how excited she appears to be upon being addressed by Miho. "We ended up getting back together."

"O-oh, is that so?" Though Miho can't say she's surprised, she's taken a bit off guard at how fast they ended up reconciling this time around. Instantly replacing her shock with a reassuring yet concerned smile, Miho places a hand on the girl's arm. "Well, if any-" Miho falters for a minute as she starts to encourage Ali getting back together with her cheating ex. The highly emotional events of yesterday all come back at once, and she decides to answer a bit more directly. "No… no that won't do. You're a good girl, Ali. What is this? The third time he cheated on you? You don't deserve that treatment. If you need a guy, find one that won't treat you like garbage. I know you can do a hell of a lot better."

A wave of awestruck silence passes through Miho's circle of friends before the girl, Ali, recovers from her astonishment and responds. "Y-you… I… you really think so?"

Miho nods, removing her hand. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Don't let yourself get hurt again."

Ali's form shrinks a bit and she sits down on top of a desk, clearly thinking back through the whole situation. Everyone else begins praising Miho for how 'genuine she is' or how 'she's so smart', and as usual, Miho tunes the praise out. That is until one guy around her says something that stands out. "Ya know, Miho, you seem… I dunno… lighter than usual, if that makes sense." Miho gives the boy a quizzical look, prompting a hasty anxious response. "N-not that you aren't light usually, I just-"

"No, you're fine, Hiroji. Sorry for staring, got lost in thought for a second. I guess I must just be in a good mood today." Miho gives her trademark smile-slightly awkward in a relatable way with a whole lot of heartfelt caring, but this time, it's genuine. The boy instantaneously turns a shade of red most similar to a beet.

Biff, Hideo, and Marquis watch the exchange from their post at the back of the room. "That's our Miho," Biff quips, stretching his arms. "Right back to it without even missin' a beat."

"She's so incredible…" Hideo mutters unconsciously, albeit loud enough that Biff and Marquis can hear, prompting them to both give him skeptical glances.

"Keep your lovestruck rambling to yourself, Hideo," Biff says with a contemptible glare.

Marquis simply mumbles, "Ew…"

"Wh-what?" Hideo stutters, waving his hands in front of himself. "I-I meant since she's up and at it after awakening her Persona. Th-that takes a lot out of you, ya know?"

"Mhm," Biff retorts dismissively, turning away to see Miho herself walking towards them. With a sudden change in tone, Biff greets her enthusiastically. "There's our girl!" As he says this, he can't help but notice almost everyone in class 2-F casting side-eyed looks towards him and his friends, seemingly shocked-and slightly jealous-that 'The Miho Fuiji' would rather talk to the weird transfer students.

As Miho approaches the trio, she maintains her trademark smile up to the point that her back is facing the rest of the class' prying eyes. Her smile drops an in instant, replaced by an exhausted grimace, and Miho raises a hand to rub against her temple. "Hey guys," She mutters, speaking softly to attempt some privacy while the entire class is intently listening in on their conversation.

"I almost forgot you're the idol of our entire school," Biff quips, the silent onlookers making him feel more than a bit uncomfortable. "Almost." He doesn't bother to lower his voice.

Never much of one to pick up on context clues or exercise subtlety, Marquis blithely jumps up and does a little hop-step to approach Miho. "Hey there, sport! How're you feeling after yesterday's… eheh… excursion?" She asks, slapping Miho on the back in an attempt to be playful. Rather than actually coming across as playful, though, she ends up seriously misjudging her swing and hitting Miho hard enough to stagger her and make a very loud 'clap!' noise. "O-oh, geez, sorry. Guess I don't know my own strength."

The classroom immediately bursts into hushed whispers of '...excursion?' and 'Did she just say…?"

"Shit, Marquis," Biff mumbles.

Opting not to make a big deal of it, Miho catches herself in her stagger and stands back up straight, "You… you're fine. But thanks, I'm… uh…" She lowers her voice even further, casting her eyes off to the side. "I'm doing better than yesterday, that's for sure."

"Well, you're doing a good enough job at hiding the exhaustion-Marquis here passed out for the entire day after fighting her Shadow. You're back to your charming self as far as I-and anyone else-could tell." Biff nods towards Miho's circle of friends, making eye contact with a particularly envious-looking boy who averts his gaze as soon as they meet.

"That's… not what I meant." Miho's voice sounds totally and utterly drained as she whispers. She runs a hand along her ponytail, drawing it to the forefront of her body. "I meant more along the lines of... ah… emotional exhaustion."

Hideo, who has been quiet up to this point trying to figure out how to introduce himself into the conversation (talking to Miho here at school makes him feel a hell of a lot more anxious than in the Dreamlands for some reason), speaks up. "I feel you." Suddenly realizing that saying only that is really awkward, Hideo tries to play it off, attempting to act casual by running a hand through his hair and leaning back on the desk he's sitting on.

While it doesn't work to make him look casual, it is successful in lightening Miho's mood. Noticing his graceless mannerisms, Miho can't help but crack a smile and shake her head. "What're ya doing there, Hidi?" She asks, feeling it's an appropriate time to use Biff and Marquis' nickname for him.

Biff glances back at Hideo once more, giving him a disappointed glare before turning away. "He's tryin' to act cool."

"Wh-wha-?" Hideo cries, scrambling to his feet. "You...I-I'm not trying to be cool!"

Feeling a bit sassy, Marquis stomps a foot and attempts to posture up against Biff. "Yeah! He IS being cool!"

Biff and Hideo both go silent and stare at Marquis. "Uh… thanks?" Hideo says hesitantly, pushed even further off guard.

"Shut up, Hidiot," She replies instantly, eliciting another giggle from Miho.

Hideo pauses for a moment before deciding to change the subject. "...Hey, Biff. Why don't we invite Miho to Georgie's? You think Hanae would mind?"

"Great idea, Hidi." Biff turns to Miho and gives her an expectant look. "Well, how about it? My uh… well… the daughter of the people I'm stayin' with really wanted to hang out with the three of us, and I'm sure she'd be more than happy if you showed up. What do ya say? Up for…" Biff turns and faces the camera. "...Lunch at Georgie's?"

"Ah! Damn," Miho swears under her breath before giving an uneasy-though attempting at reassuring-smile. "I love that place, but I, uh… can't make it." She hesitates, unsure whether to explain herself further. Miho steps closer to the group and lowers her voice to a barely audible whisper, very much not wanting anyone in the class to hear what she has to say next. "After fighting my Shadow yesterday, I… decided I should actually make an effort to grow closer to my... friends. So after I wrap up some student council work, I'm going out with some girls to go do… something. They didn't exactly tell me what." Miho rubs her eyes with both fists, trying to rid herself of the exhaustion clinging to her lids. "Eheh… I'm just a bundle of sunshine today, aren't I."

"Ah, you're fine," Biff says casually with a wave of his hand. "Just don't push yourself too hard, alright?"

"Yeah, Miho," Marquis chimes in. "Don't pass out. Actually, wait." She stoops over and begins rummaging through her tote bag, eventually coming out with an energy drink in hand-evidently, a relic left over from the other day's binge. "Here, I found this tucked away in a side pocket last night, it'll keep you up for, like, ever and it also tastes really good and also I love them."

Miho takes the drink and knits her brow looking at the health facts. "...Monster Bull… Three hundred milligrams of caffeine per serving? And there are two servings per can? How can you even drink this without going into convulsions?" She hands the can back to Marquis, evidently disgusted.

Marquis looks down at her treasure and frowns. "But… it tastes good."

Hideo makes a choking noise as Miho reads the health content. "Three hundred milligrams? And didn't you drink a twenty-four pack?"

"...What...?" Miho's jaw drops as she runs the numbers. "That's… fourteen thousand four hundred milligrams... Marquis, that much caffeine should have killed you. How are you not dead?"

"No, don't worry," Marquis says dismissively. "I only drank twenty-three of them. This one's the long-lost twenty-fourth." A briefly conflicted look passes across her face. "And it's been a couple days so I'm good to go." In one swift motion, she cracks the can open and begins chugging.

Miho and Hideo exchange a horrified look before turning to Biff, clearly expecting him to say something. Biff just shrugs. "Maybe Shadows metabolize differently?" He says.

Marquis chokes on her Monster Bull and looks like she wants to say something. While still in the process of chugging, she seems to muse on the notion of her being a Shadow, but instantly forgets when a rush of energy spikes through her body and she shudders, her eyes taking on a slightly dull tone as she loses focus. She appears to be in this trance for only a matter of seconds before she jostles out and the luster returns to her eyes.

"Great," Hideo mutters. "Now she won't shut up all day long."

Miho narrows her eyes and looks at Biff, her lips pursed. "A… Shadow. Is she…?"

"Probably," Biff responds casually, glancing at the oblivious Marquis before back to Miho. "She doesn't remember anything beyond wakin' up in the Dreamlands a few weeks back, and based on the whole yellow eye thing, Shadow seems to be the best guess."

"Geez…" Miho mumbles. "She's completely amnesiac?"

"Ol' Marquis here's had it a lot tougher than she'd let you believe."

Miho suddenly feels quite a bit worse about that time she confronted Marquis on the school roof.

After Marquis drains the Monster Bull in one go and raises it overhead with a cheer that sounds more on the edge of a battle roar than anything, Miho decides to finish what she was going to say earlier. "But anyways," She begins, shifting her dubious expression away from Marquis. "I still very much want to talk to you all; there's... a lot we need to go over. Are you all willing and able to come to my house Saturday after school? I shouldn't have anything going on, and I have no doubt I'll be fully recovered."

Hideo immediately goes bright red and begins to stutter an answer. "Y-you- I…"

In an act of mercy, Biff cuts in, speaking as casually as ever. "Yeah, that works for me and Hideo. Marquis?" Hideo simply nods behind Biff.

"Saturday? Well I'd have to clear my busy knife-polishing schedule, but I th-"

"Ooh, we having a Persona party? Am I invited?" A particularly snide-yet familiar-voice rings out from Biff's side, prompting him to immediately whirl around and face the addressor as soon as he recognizes his voice. The eyepatch-clad smirking face he meets instantaneously fills Biff with a flood of bitter anger.

"Boto…" Biff growls, his hands clenching into fists.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Boto says, his grin growing even further.

"What do you want?" Miho asks, feigning as much of her typical kindness as possible, though a particularly in tune viewer could easily spot the menacing intonations.

"Ah, I'm just visiting to make sure you all haven't forgotten I exist." Boto's voice drops to a harsh whisper. "And to make sure you never forget that I'm always watching, that I'm always right behind you, and that I will always… always be top dog. Hee hee… Remember that time I kicked your asses?"

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face, you son of a bitch," Biff says in that same low growl, ignoring Boto's attempt to psyche them out. "Why I ought to-"

Boto cuts in mid-sentence. "Ought to what? Punch me? Kill me? Come on, Biff; you aren't gonna do anything. Resisting me is hopeless-but that's what makes the game fun."

Hideo glances towards Marquis and sees how suddenly uncomfortable she's gotten-more specifically, her body language clearly shies away from Boto and there's an expression of mild fear across her face, only thinly veiled by false bravado. "Why you-" Hideo starts before catching himself and lowering his voice. "You… just quit it, Boto. Ok? Your damn game's enough to make us miserable, but leave us alone otherwise. Please, I… damnit, just stop."

Boto pretends to think on the subject for a moment. "Hmm… no." His lips curl up into a despicable sneer once more. "Because that right there is exactly what I want. You can feel it, can't you, Hidi? The fear of what's to come? The anger and annoyance and pain of me making your every waking moment miserable? Well, that's just music to my ears-and it means I'm winning the game."

Biff's fingernails dig into his palms as the rage begins to make his head feel hotter and hotter. It's taking every shred of his willpower to avoid punching Boto in the head right here and now. "I swear on my life, Boto… One of these days I'm go-"

Relishing how easy it is to infuriate Biff, Boto interrupts him again. "Yeah, yeah, kill me or something. You've been very adamant on that." Boto turns around towards the exit, waving a hand over his shoulder. "You should really seek anger management… heh, maybe it'll work this time."

Biff takes an impulsive step towards Boto but is stopped by Miho stretching her arm out and catching him across the chest.

"Well, ta-ta," Boto says indifferently, making his way towards the classroom door. "I've said all I need to and perhaps a bit too much. You lot have fun… if you can." As he makes his way past the students in class 2-F, many of them greet him or give him hi-fives.

"Hey, Boto!"

"Boto! My man!"

It would appear no one's paid enough attention to notice the violent undertones of the Persona-users' conversation.

Creeping out of her self-imposed shell, Marquis approaches Biff from behind. "Biff…" He turns around to face her, his teeth gritted and unrequited fury in his eyes. "We'll get him eventually. We just need to… to keep fighting..." She sounds like she's trying to convince herself as much as she is Biff.

Biff silently walks past her, Miho, and Hideo, and sits at his desk. He remains silent for another moment, his fists trembling violently before he places his palms flat against the desk to try and get the shakes to subside. "I know," He says finally, his voice never shifting from a barely contained growl.

Eventually, school ends for the day and the flood of students begins spilling into the hallway. The three members of MIFAS say goodbye to Miho and follow the wave out. Biff's anger from before has all but subsided since he had a chance to cool off, and he does his best to push off what little bit remains so as to not spoil the day for Hanae.

Chatting idly, the trio makes their way down the stairs to the first floor and immediately spots Hanae looking particularly meek sitting alone on a bench by the exit.

"Hanae!" Marquis cries despite never meeting the girl before. A couple of nearby students give Marquis annoyed looks either due to her loud shout or the twintails smacking into them (or both) as she rushes towards Hanae. "Hello! I am Marquis!" She says with a grandiose gesture, towering high above the timid girl. "Welcome… to meeting me!"

While Biff had described Marquis as 'excitable', Hanae wasn't expecting someone so… odd. And considering that on top of the single glowing yellow eye, Hanae is left rather stunned as she fails to come up with a way to react.

"Is that 'welcome to' thing how you greet every new person?" Hideo says with a sigh, approaching Marquis and Hanae from behind.

"Nah, I didn't do it to Miho since she was too busy yelling at me."

Hideo sighs again and leans around Marquis to look at Hanae, conjuring up a toothy-yet awkward-smile. "Hey there, Hanae. Hope Marquis didn't spook you too bad. She has a habit of doing that." Hideo punches Marquis in the shoulder, eliciting an 'ow' from the latter.

Hanae turns her head to Hideo and stares blankly for a second before blinking hard and recovering. "H-hello, Hideo. Thank you, I'm fine…"

Biff approaches as well, shaking his head as he walks up to Hanae. She looks visibly happy to see him and eases up significantly on the tension. "Howdy, Hanae. You ready to take off?"

Hanae silently nods and rises as the group makes their way toward the exit. The four of them talk amongst themselves as they head to Georgie's, Hanae speaking almost exclusively when spoken to.

"So, Hanae," Hideo begins, his hands in his pockets as he struts in line with the three others. "What do you like to do for fun?" A response is delayed slightly as the group gets separated while maneuvering around the crowd of students gathered at the foot of the school's hill.

"I mostly like to read," Hanae states plainly once they're all reconvened.

"That's so cool!" Marquis cheers, pushing Hideo out of the way and securing the position next to Hanae. Hanae goes briefly on guard, thinking that Marquis is making fun of her by reacting so enthusiastically, though the look of awe on her face says otherwise.

"Th-thanks?"

Idly swinging a twintail in her hands like a flail, Marquis continues. "Man, I've never read a book before. I love watching movies, though."

"Y-you've never read a book in your life?" Hanae is extremely unsure what to make of Marquis at this point, as everything she says seems to have some double connotation-it's proving to be exceedingly difficult to tell whether she's mocking her or is just plain scatterbrained.

Hanae suddenly flinches as Biff gently nudges her on the shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about her-she's harmless."

"Nope! Never!" Marquis says proudly in response to Hanae, pointing to herself with her thumb.

"Can you even read?" Hideo asks rather bluntly but with genuine curiosity.

"Of course I can read! It'd be depressing if I couldn't." Marquis turns to Hanae and gives her an expectant look, as though she thought she'd back her up on this.

Hanae nods hesitantly and then blushes a bit, suddenly becoming aware of how woefully unprepared she is to carry on conversations. "So… uh," She starts after a moment. "You've actually never… immersed yourself in a book?"

Marquis internally debates as to whether or not she should take up reading as a hobby. Eventually, she comes to the conclusion that sitting around and reading a book isn't nearly as thrilling as killing stuff in real life, and why should she read books when she can get her entertainment delivered via TV. "I lead a fairly action-packed life if I do say so myself-so not really."

"Oh…" Hanae trails off.

"Hey Hanae," Marquis picks up again. "You ever play with a knife before?"

"MARQUIS!" Hideo cries.

"What?!"

"Biff specifically told you to keep the knives away." He leans his head around Marquis and Hanae to catch sight of Biff. "Are you just going to let- hey, where'd Biff go?" Seeing that they've lost Biff from their formation, Hideo stops and turns in a circle, spotting Biff about ten meters back, staring blankly at mid-air.

"Ah, don't worry about her-she's harmless," Biff says, nudging Hanae and chuckling. He lets the conversation continue for another moment and is about to make fun of Marquis for never reading when he notices a door-sized rectangle of pure blue energy just sitting along the side of the street.

"The hell…?" Biff murmurs, stopping and facing it. He looks around himself and sees that none of the other students seem to notice the oddity. As he continues to stare at rectangle's sapphire hue, an inexplicable urge to enter it washes over his body. While it's nothing overwhelming, like the rifts leading to the Dreamlands, the sensation is more than enough to pique his interest.

"Well, the last time a shimmerin' portal urged me to walk into it pretty cool stuff happened. How bad can it be?" With a shrug, Biff strolls headfirst into the blue rectangle, not even considering the fact that he probably ought to bring it up to his friends.

Biff's senses are immediately overwhelmed by bright white light and a slight feeling of weightlessness. Though the blinding glow remains, the weightless sensation is quickly replaced by an even odder one. For a brief second, it feels as though he straddles the line between sleeping and waking-you know, like the moment when you're just barely about to fall asleep, but you linger in an intermediary state of semi-consciousness. As suddenly as it started, this sensation gives way as well and dissipates as Biff comes back to his senses… in the Velvet Room.

"Hello," Says the familiar voice of Safie as soon as Biff becomes aware of his surroundings.

Biff remains silent for a moment as he turns in a circle to examine the Velvet Room and its endlessly dark forest. While he finds it certainly unnerving that he's been summoned here while fully conscious and in the middle of the day, what's even odder is the fact that Igor seems to be missing. The only silhouette in front of the raging bonfire is that of Safie, standing upright next to her master's now empty seat.

"What the hell… why am I here?" Biff asks, letting none of the uncertainty he feels creep into his voice. "And where's the old man?"

Safie lowers her head and clutches her unwieldy tome to her chest. "Igor isn't here, it's only me for the moment."

Biff looks around the Velvet Room once more. "Not here? The hell's that supposed to mean? There's not exactly a bathroom or anything 'round here."

Deciding not to elaborate more, Safie cuts to the point. "I've summoned you here myself because I ah…" She pauses mid-sentence. "... I think it's the ideal time for me to accompany you. I just need to prepare myself then I'll meet you in your world."

Biff goes wide-eyed and raises both hands, his palms facing her. "Hol' up, hol' up. What? I'm kinda in the middle of something. Me and my buddies were takin' Hanae to Georgie's."

Despite most of her face being completely silhouetted by the fire, Biff can see Safie's cheeks go bright red. Her professional posture recedes inward slightly as she tries to figure out what to say. "But… I ah…" It would appear Safie came terribly unprepared for this response and is suddenly very conscious of how awkward it is to have summoned Biff to the Velvet Room in that case. "...Please excuse my impertinence." Trying to salvage any reputation she can, Safie gives a short bow and begins speaking very hastily. "It was not my place to have imposed myself in such a manner and I… uh… I was very out of line."

Seeing the normally competent Safie suddenly get so embarrassed, Biff's heart melts, and he decides to take pity on her. "Well… the more the merrier, right?"

"Huh?" Safie murmurs, looking up at Biff from the down position of her second bow.

"Screw it, you can come along," Biff says with an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Hideo and Marquis love new people, and, uh… I'm sure Hanae would like to meet you, too.." Biff kicks himself internally, unable to shake the feeling that this'll lead to a really, really awkward conversation. "I just hope they don't think too much about me pullin' a girl out of thin air."

Safie briefly gives Biff a dubious look as though to ask 'are you sure?' Evidently deciding not to actually push her luck, a slight smile pulls on Safie's lips, revealing the subtle joy which she desperately tries to hide. "Thank you, Wild Card. I ah… will meet you at Georgie's; I still need to prepare myself, so you don't need to worry about me appearing out of nowhere."

"Alright…" Biff says hesitantly. "And please, please call me Biff rather than 'Wild Card.'

"As you wish, uh… Biff." Safie puts an odd emphasis on Biff, looking a little uncomfortable with calling her guest by their first name. Setting her tome down on the table Igor generally sits at, Safie habitually plays with her one long silver braid as she bids Biff farewell. "I will see you shortly. As my master would say, 'Until we meet again'."

Suddenly it dawns on Biff that if Safie isn't coming with him immediately, he'll still be materializing out of thin air upon exiting the Velvet Room. "Wait, hold on, I-" But it's too late for him to ask any questions, and as blinding light fills his vision, he feels himself first begin to lose consciousness, then quickly regain it back in the real world, and the first thing he hears is:

"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIF"

Biff immediately steps back in surprise when he comes to his senses and finds Marquis right up in his face and shouting at him. Apparently, Hideo was behind him, and in stepping backward, Biff's head collides forcefully with Hideo's. Used to taking blows, Biff barely flinches beyond rubbing the back of his skull. Hideo doesn't fare as well, letting out a cry of pain and gripping his forehead.

"He's alive!" Marquis cheers. "We did it!"

Hideo would probably insult Marquis' blithe comment if he weren't completely disoriented and wallowing in his own pain.

Without offering Biff a chance to respond, Marquis steps forward, reaches up, and grabs him by the shoulders, trying her hardest to earnestly look him in the eyes. "Biff," She asserts. "Can you tell me your name? Is your brain broken?"

"Wha-?" Biff grunts, still confused by the flurry of events.

"I've got bad news, Hidi," Marquis says solemnly, lowering her head. "He's gone brain-dead."
"Wh-what?" Hanae cries from Biff's side. "He's not brain-dead…"

"I'm the doctor here and I say he's brain-dead," Marquis declares, placing her hands on her hips and turning to Hanae.

Having recovered, Hideo-still rubbing his bruising forehead-walks around Biff and pushes Marquis away. "Get out of the way. That joke was stupid." Despite Hideo only giving a light shove with his shoulder, Marquis exaggerates the impact and throws herself to the ground. Hideo sighs and looks back at Biff. "Biff? You ok, man? You were just staring off into space for, like, a full minute-and you didn't respond at all when we tried to break you out. We… uh, were kinda worried." In saying so, Hideo glances briefly at Hanae, who looks undeniably anxious.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Biff says, clapping the side of Hideo's shoulder before taking a half step back and running a hand through his hair. "I ah…" He briefly considers mentioning that Safie is going to be coming, but that would naturally lead to the questions of who she is, how they came to meet, and where she's from, and those are all questions Biff doesn't have a good answer to, especially considering Hanae's right here. So he decides to put it off. "...just am out of it, I guess. Y'know, we've had a pretty busy last couple of days." He gives Hideo a pointed look on that last line.

"O-oh!" Hideo's eyes widen as he stutters, trying to play off Biff's obvious reference to the Dreamlands. "Oh, yeah, that… uh… school work and stuff we did together… as a group…" He glances once more at Hanae, this time to check if she's buying it.

While Hanae does look a little confused, it doesn't appear as though she's going to ask any questions. Coming down from her anxiety over Biff's frozen state, she fiddles idly with her hands behind her back and waits for the group to take action.

Biff's teeth grind behind his nonchalant expression, and he silently vows to get revenge on Hideo for being such an ungraceful dumbass. "Well," He says, turning to Hanae with a short sigh. "Everything's all good. Wanna finally head to Georgie's?"

Eventually, amid the usual bickering of Hideo and Marquis, the group makes it to 'Georgie's American Style Burgers'.

"Hm…" Hideo mumbles, glancing from the unimposing, dark wood-framed shop to the exorbitant Big Bang Burger built right next to it. A long line stretches through the entirety of the neon-orange fast-food joint as countless people wait to get their processed burger. "It looks like no one's even paying attention to Georgie's what with the Big Bang Burger and all. I hope they stay in business…"

"It's all about advertising, Hidi!" Biff says with renewed bravado, pushing past his friend to reach the wood and glass door before holding it open for everyone else to enter. "As it is, this hidden lil' joint'll never draw in customers. I mean, just look at Big Bang Burger's cute burger mascot."

"...Thanks for the lesson in marketing…" Hideo mutters, uncertain how else to respond.

"I wish this place had a cute burger mascot," Marquis says with a pout as she strolls through the door. "Can we go to Big Bang Burger instead?"

"No," Biff responds immediately.

Everyone else enters Georgie's in turn and takes a short look around the mildly fanciful darkened establishment. The sound of clinking dishes and idle chat comes from a window to the kitchen which lies behind a diner-style bar to the right of the single dining room. A blonde, thirty-something American woman standing behind the bar-the same who waited on Biff and Hideo last time-greets them.

"Welcome!" She says with what sounds like very much feigned enthusiasm. Reaching into her black apron, she pulls out a small notepad and jots something down. "Can I get'cha a table for four?"

"Yes please," Hideo mutters without paying too much attention as he's currently taking in the oddly homely atmosphere that smells faintly of both grilled meat and lavender for some reason. Considering Biff's earlier comment about Georgie's not standing out, he can't help but notice the fact that only a few customers-all on the elderly side-litter the restaurant.

"Ah, actually, uh…" Biff stutters as Marquis, Hideo, and Hanae simultaneously turn to him as he objects to the table of four. "A, uh… table for five. We've got another comin'."

The woman nods and jots something else down. "Alright! Just follow me, please."

Hideo and Marquis exchange a confused glance before the former looks to Hanae and finds her to be just as befuddled.

"Uh… Biff?" Marquis says hesitantly. "Did Miho change her mind or something?"

"No, actually… you know, funny thing…" Biff gives a short chuckle as he turns to Hanae, trying to play it cool. "My other friend… ah, you don't know her… name's Safie, really nice girl. Uh… she found out we were going to Georgie's and… asked if she could go along."

Hideo dubiously raises an eyebrow. "And you're just now bringing this up?"

"I forgot, geez, cut me some slack." Addressing Hanae, Biff runs a hand through his hair and jostles it, attempting to look as nonchalant as possible. "Is that alright with you? I can text her to cancel if you don't feel comfortable." Since Biff can't actually text Safie, he is very much banking on Hanae to be cool with it.

Hanae looks a bit flustered to be put on the spot, but she nods after a moment of deliberation. "That's fine. What... is she like?"

While that's already a tough question to answer about anyone, Biff has an especially difficult time coming up with a response considering he has no idea whatsoever. "She's… very professional and uh… I already said nice, but nice."

Hanae considers this for a moment as well then nods.

"Here ya are," The blonde woman eventually says, gesturing to a round table for five as she places silverware in front of each of the seats. Biff loudly drags one of the chairs out and plops into it, accompanied by Hanae silently slipping into the seat to his right.

Marquis, who had previously been walking side-by-side with Hideo, spontaneously dashes ahead of him in an attempt to dive into the seat to the left of Biff. "Dibs on sitting next to Biff!"

Biff's hand immediately snaps over the seat, blocking Marquis from sitting, which she responds to with a distressed cry. "No no no," Biff says, scrunching up his brow. "Safie's coming and I'm not gonna make her sit next to some weirdo she doesn't know-like Hideo."

"Hey! I resent that…" Hideo grumbles, taking the seat to the right of Hanae.

"But… I…" Unable to come up with a valid protest, Marquis stomps her foot once in faux-anger, then continues stomping as she moves towards-and sits at-the seat to the right of Hideo. "Stupid Safie hogging the Biff seat and making me sit next to Hidiot," She mutters to herself.

"Y'know," Biff says loudly, grabbing the single laminated menu at the center of the table and leafing through it. "I can't tell you how much I've been cravin' some good ol' American food. It feels like it's been years."

Leaning his chin on his hand, Hideo responds placidly. "But we were here less than a week ago. And you kept complaining about how much you wanted to eat Japanese."

Biff squints his eyes slyly at Hideo. "It's been long enough for the cravings and homesickness to set in."

"Are you feeling particularly homesick, Biff?" Hanae asks from Biff's side, drawing everyone's attention. She visibly shrinks in posture when the whole table's eyes are on her.

"Mm… a little bit." Biff shifts in his seat. "Honestly, I don't really find myself feelin' too wispy over leaving my old town behind, surprisingly. Maybe I've just been so busy lately. Actually, one thing I do miss is speakin' English. It still feels weird to talk in you people's language all the time."

Marquis gets a sort of blank expression on her face and leans towards Hideo. "But… aren't we-"

Hideo puts a finger to his lips and hushes her. "SHHHHHHH." After drawing an irritated expression from Biff, he looks back up and tries to push the conversation forward. "Uh… well, did you not like your town or something? Now that I think of it, you've never told us much about America."

"Yeah!" Marquis chirps, placing her chin on both of her hands, her elbows propped against the table. "What's America like?"

"It's um… very free?" Biff says slowly, unsure of how to answer Marquis' odd question.

This seems to satisfy her, and she responds with an awed "Ah!"

"But no, Hidi, it's not that I didn't like my town, it's just… uh… I dunno how to put it, exactly. I guess I didn't have too much to tie myself there or anything?" Biff glances to his side towards Hanae. She appears to be very interested in the subject, a contemplative look on her face expressing that usual quiet intensity.

After making eye contact with Biff, she speaks up. "What is your town like? Is it anything like Mata?"

"Not really…" Biff starts, thinking how best to describe it. "It was smaller than Mata and wasn't exactly a suburb like it either. Somewhere in between that and rural. I know it's off topic, but you sayin' that just made me think, despite them being in totally different countries and everything, the people in Mata and where I'm from act pretty similar."

"How do you mean?" Hanae asks, cocking her head slightly to the side and sending her bow and ponytail jiggling.

"Well they've got their own ways of life and all, but there's still high school cliques, there's still bullying, there's still annoyin' fads that disappear as quickly as they show up, etcetera, etcetera. Ya get what I'm tryin' to say?"

Hanae nods yet doesn't say anything, as she has a bit of trouble coming up with a meaningful response, but as soon as she begins considering it the moment to respond has passed and she suddenly becomes conscious of her lack of social skills. And she decides to just stay quiet.

Hideo picks up where Hanae left off. "That's... an interesting way of looking at it. Uh, well, if you don't miss your town that much, were there at least any good friends you left behind?"

"Biff's friends…" Marquis mutters, losing focus and envisioning a whole gang of boys that look identical to Biff-shoulder-length blonde hair and a mean demeanor-standing in 'V' formation with their arms crossed. "Uwah!" Snapping out of it, she shakes her head and dismisses the image.

"Geez, Hidi." Biff raises an eyebrow as he leans back in his seat. "Asking the heartbreaking questions, eh?" He smirks devilishly. "Why? 'Fraid you've got some competition?"

"N-no, wha-"

"Not particularly," Biff interrupts without waiting for a further response. "My school was pretty medium sized, so it's not like there was a shortage of friends to make, I've just uh… never been too much of a people person. I never fit in with the geeky dweebs, and I had a tendency to piss off the high n' mighty popular kids more often than not. I did have a group of fellow… um… degenerates who I'd hang out with from time to time, but those guys could be serious dicks. I did have one good buddy, actually-this kid Eric. He was a snooty rich type, so if we hadn't known each other since elementary, I doubt we ever woulda talked. He's probably the only thing I really miss."

"Does he look just like you?" Marquis asks innocently.

"What?" Biff furrows his brow at her and places a hand on his forehead. "Nah, he, uh, was short and thin with a buzzcut. We were opposites in just about every way possible."

"Oh…" Looking undeniably disappointed, Marquis frowns and places her head sideways on the table.

Asking the questions once more, Hideo speaks up. "Well, how do you like Japan so far?"

"How do I like Japan...?" Biff muses. "Mata's got some pretty scenery and all, but it's a bit dreary sometimes. And everyone kinda just shambles about dead-eyed."

"Mata can be boring," Hanae concedes. "But at least it's close to Tokyo."

"Ah, boring's no problem," Hideo says with a smirk, crossing his arms. "We've been pretty good about keeping ourselves occupied."

"Hehe." Keeping her head parallel to the table, Marquis shifts her whole body to look at Hideo. "Yeah, Hidi. Persona-lly I like it here."

Not understanding the conversation's double meaning, Hanae raises her hands in defense. "Um, I didn't mean to say I dislike Mata. I just… uh... " And she trails off.

Hideo begins laughing while trying to come up with a pun of his own. "Aheh… uh… I 'See'-ay-guh… heh... what you're saying. Uh… Cyäegha… I uh see what you're…" And he fails miserably.

"That sucked, Hidi." Marquis gives Hideo a clearly disappointed look, pouting her lips.

"I know… but I just thought it could maybe work…"

Biff scowls at Hideo and Marquis and continues the conversation, speaking loudly to draw their attention. "Well, Mata's not all bad. I mean, after all, I met you lot here."

Marquis finally sits up in her seat, looking genuinely happy to have Biff say something kind. "Biff…"

"And you guys're a helluva lot cooler than most people I know." He turns to his side. "And you too, Hanae."

Attempting to stammer a response but finding no effective words, Hanae goes slightly red.

"And Miho, too!" Marquis chirps.

"And Miho, too, lately."

"Oh, you guys know Miho?" Hanae asks.

"Yeah…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Biff tries to figure out a good way to put it. "We uh… recently became acquainted."

"I talked to her once," Hanae says gently. "She ah… had asked me some questions about you, Biff."

Biff immediately tenses up, his voice instinctively jumping to an intimidating low growl that makes Hanae jump. "What…?"

"Ah! She uh… she was asking me what kind of person you were and where you disappeared to every day..." Catching the intense stares of everyone at the table, she visibly retreats in on herself and gets much, much timider. "I… I ah… didn't really know, so I… uh, just said you were nice… This was last Saturday."

All three members of MIFAS exchange long, mildly awkward looks before Hideo attempts a tension-breaking chuckle and tries to dismiss the hostile atmosphere. "Sorry for the reaction, Hanae. Before we got buddy-buddy with Miho, she uh… was oddly suspicious of us for no good reason. Everything's fine now."

Biff sits back silently in his chair, attempting to hide the bitter anger he suddenly feels welling up. The fact that Miho would try and go through Hanae to get to them greatly miffs Biff in an oddly protective way. But then something clicks. Biff lets out a soft sigh and dismisses any irritation when he remembers that the puppetmaster Miho who cared about no one, who lacked any empathetic perspective, is no longer the Miho that they know. As the emotional events of yesterday come back to him, he feels much more at ease knowing exactly how she's changed.

Rolling with Hideo's tension relief, Marquis places her hands on the table and leans towards Hanae. "You saw her pink hair, right? You think it's dyed?"

Hanae opens up a bit more, clearly grateful that everyone isn't on edge anymore. "Uh, I don't think so. Her father has donated money to the school before and has his picture on the wall-he has pink hair as well."

"Huh…" Marquis leans back in her seat and goes limp, the idea of genetically pink hair scrambling her brain.

Desperately attempting to continue the conversation in the only way she knows how, Hanae says the first thing on her mind. "Ah, but she's very pretty, though."

Without a moment's hesitation-as though she were waiting for this-Marquis snaps upright. "Yes, Hideo thinks so as well."

A startled choking noise comes out of the off-guard Hideo as Biff releases a hearty laugh and all lingering tension dissipates in a moment. Even Hanae giggles a little seeing how bright red Hideo gets as he flails about, denying all accusations of having a crush. As Hideo and Marquis break out into bickers, the blonde-haired waitress shows up and begins taking orders.

"Heya, I'm Georgie, I'll be takin' y'all's orders," She says, precariously balancing several dishes on a waiting tray while simultaneously using it as a platform to write orders on.

"The Georgie?" Biff asks with a grin, handing the sole menu around the table to his right.

"Aheh." Georgie gives a short, airy chuckle. "Yeah, I'm the owner. Ya know, it's not too often I get fellow Americans 'round here."

"Well, the name's Biff Chanum. A born and raised American," Biff says, offering a handshake to Georgie.

Setting her pencil and notepad flat against the tray, Georgie frees up her right hand and meets Biff's. "Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Chanum. Now, what can I get'cha?"

Georgie goes around the table taking orders. First Marquis, who claims she'll just steal part of whatever Hideo's having. Next up is Biff, who orders a plain cheeseburger with fries, then Hanae, who orders a garden salad (much to Biff's chagrin), and finally Hideo.

"One large order of fries," Georgie says, jotting down Hideo's order before looking back up at him expectantly. "And what'll ya have ta' drink?|

"Psst, Marquis," Biff whispers, hunching down and trying to catch a distracted Marquis' attention. For some reason, she was staring intensely at Georgie's shoes.

"Huh?" Marquis perks up and looks around, having heard her name called from somewhere. After a moment of triangulating the location of the voice, she determines it was Biff and hunches down as well, leaning towards him. "What's up?"

"C'mere."

Doing as she's told, Marquis swiftly shifts seats to the one next to Biff and puts her arm on the back of it. Rather than saying 'what's up', again, she just cocks her head and waits for Biff.

"Look at him," Biff whispers, flicking his head up toward Hideo. He glances toward Hanae to make sure she's in on this before turning back to Marquis. "Hideo's the type of guy to order plain water. Watch this."

Marquis snickers as she, Biff, and Hanae all stare directly at Hideo.

"Uh, I'll just have…" Hideo starts, trailing off as he sees everyone staring at him and Marquis giggling. He knows they're probably making fun of him, but he can't exactly call them out right now. "Um… just water, please."

"You want that plain?" Biff asks completely deadpan.

"Y- uh…" Hideo furrows his brow at Biff then turns once more to Georgie. "Uh… yes, plain water, please. No lemon."

"Alright, water with no lemon," Georgie says idly, jotting it down. "I'll put that in for y'all and I'll be right back with your drinks." And that said, she takes off, briskly walking while delicately balancing the tray of dishes.

Biff and Marquis immediately begin snickering and nudging each other, and even Hanae giggles a little, though she can't quite figure out why it's funny. Hideo only ordered water, after all.

Hideo goes slightly red when he sees everyone's reaction. "H-hey I didn't even do anything. I know you're laughing at me, you… uh… I don't know why b-but you better stop."

Amid laughs, Biff takes a deep breath and gives Hideo a wide smile. "Just keep doing you, Hidi. And enjoy that plain water."

Starting to get flustered, Hideo rubs his hand on his forehead. "Was that it? A-are you seriously laughing at me for ordering water? I swear I-"

"No lemons, right?" Marquis interrupts with a smirk.

And from there, she and Hideo break into another argument about the justifiability of laughing at him, and the parameters that ought to be set for doing so in the future. After almost a minute of this, Hanae leans over to Biff and nudges him.

"Uh, Biff," She says quietly, not wanting to disrupt Hideo and Marquis. "I have to use the restroom. Do you know where it is?"

"Back there." Biff points to the back-right of the building.

"Thank you." And Hanae stands and takes off, though Hideo and Marquis don't seem to notice due to being so preoccupied.

Biff sits back in his chair and silently listens until eventually a familiar-though oddly out of place-voice pulls his attention away.

"Hello, my apologies for being late, I-"

There's a pause as Hideo cries "Nonononono" in response to something Marquis said.

"Did I pick a poor time to arrive?"

Hearing the voice ring out, Biff sits up straight in his chair and turns around immediately. There, standing next to Marquis, is Safie, though dressed extremely peculiarly. While she retains the whole 'Velvet Room blue' aesthetic, her outfit appears to be as generic of a replication of the term 'street casual' as possible. She wears a deep blue baggy cardigan over a white crew-neck shirt and jeans of the same shade as her sweater. On the top of her head, Safie dons a Velvet Room-colored beanie inscribed with the golden initials 'VB', pulled loosely enough to allow her long silver braid to hang out.

Seeing Biff look her outfit up and down, Safie squirms slightly and impulsively runs a hand along her braid. "Is this outfit 'casual' enough? I attempted to dress appropriately for a high schooler of your age."

"O-oh, sorry, you're just fine. Got a bit distracted," Biff says cooly after the short delay. He casts a mean look towards Hideo and Marquis, who are still bickering, and clears his throat loudly. "*AHEM*, did you hear that, everyone? Safie's here."

"Safie's what now?" Hideo mumbles, turning away from his debate and looking around, eventually locking eyes with Safie. He looks startled for a moment before trying to play it smooth by saying, "Well, hello there…"

"Hideo!" Marquis cries, hearing his mildly flirtatious tone.

"I- what? I was just saying hi!"

Safie takes a side step towards Biff and speaks such that only he can hear. "They're just like this in real life, too…"

"Marquis, get out of Safie's seat," Biff says harshly, nudging Marquis away and sending her scampering towards the seat next to Hideo. Using his foot, he pushes the chair back from the table to allow Safie room to sit. "I ah… tried to save you a seat."

"Thank you, Wild Card," Safie says with a bow, sitting next to Biff.

Biff tenses and grits his teeth, glancing towards Hideo and Marquis to check if they heard. It would appear they weren't paying enough attention. "I told you to call me Biff."

Once Marquis is sufficiently settled in her seat, she extends a hand towards Safie, offering a shake. "Don't let ol' Hidi here leave a bad impression on ya. I'm Marquis! Just Marquis. No last name."

Safie gently meets Marquis' shake. "I know," She says, still maintaining her usual professionalism. "Though I've been hoping to meet you for quite some time."

"You… have? Uh…" Marquis shifts her eyes towards Biff and questioningly raises an eyebrow. "Biff, I guess you must've given me a glowing review."

Before Biff can even say anything to cover up Safie's next words, she speaks. "Oh, no. It is simply that my role as keeper of his heart requires me to supervise him in his journey."

If a record scratch noise were capable of playing, it probably would right about now.

"A… a keeper of his heart? Like… a… a…" Marquis goes bright red in a matter of milliseconds and braces a hand against the edge of the table. "You…" For once, she's at a loss for words, and oddly enough, looks terrified.

Hideo's eyes get as wide as they can possibly go, and he gives Biff a look that's a strange combination of genuine shock, awe, and a touch of admiration. "Biff, man… you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. 'Atta boy, you don't waste any time, huh?"

Biff makes a choking noise as he, too, goes slightly red in the face. "N-no it's not like that, she's just…" He freezes up, realizing that to explain who Safie is, he'd have to explain the whole Velvet Room, and they're kinda in a crowded restaurant. Not to mention that Hanae could come back at any moment now.

"Girlfriend?" Safie asks in the time Biff hesitates, looking more confused than shocked. "No, nothing of that sort. I meant that I watch over and supplement the growth of his Personas, as well as your journeys into the Dreamlands. Biff, you did tell them of my role, did you not?"

If a louder, more jarring record scratch noise could play, it probably would right about now.

Everyone at the table goes silent. Marquis looks like she's about to faint after the combined shock. Next to her, Hideo chokes up considering he has no idea what to say in response and the fact that he's put completely and utterly off guard. In contrast, rather than being shocked, Biff has his face in his hands, wholly dreading the fact that this went as bad as it possibly could have gone in a matter of seconds. And finally, Safie quietly gazes around the table, confused as to what could have elicited such a reaction.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asks Biff, already starting to look apologetic despite not knowing what's happening.

"No, Safie… damnit. You… you're fine," Biff sighs heavily and sits back in his chair, trying to gauge Hideo and Marquis' reaction and hoping it won't be too bad. Marquis still looks white from shock, but more concerningly, Hideo looks fairly pissed.

"No no no, Biff, that's not 'fine'. What… you… she…" Hideo stutters through his words as he casts a quick glance towards Safie, who meets him with an awkward smile, before furrowing his brow back at Biff. He lowers his voice before responding again. "Have you been telling her about the Dreamlands? What the hell, man? I thought we were keeping it on the down low."

"I... no, it's not like that, I didn't…" Biff pauses, then places a hand back on his forehead, rubbing it. "Ok, well I did, but not in the way you think. She's… uh… involved."

"Biff, who's this girl? I've never seen her before in my life and now she's just dropping…" Hideo lowers his voice even further. "Persona knowledge? What the hell?"

"I will explain, Biff," Safie says with an unexpected bout of confidence. "I created this issue… somehow… so I will remedy it." She looks intensely at Hideo and the paralyzed Marquis, the latter having started to come down from her freak out, now lying limp against the back of the chair, a hand over her heart. "I come from a place between dream and reality, mind and matter-The Velvet Roo-"

Waving his non-facepalming hand, Biff brashly interrupts Safie. "No, no don't give the spiel. I'll explain it."

"As you wish, Wild Card." As she calls him 'Wild Card', Hideo gives Biff a pointed look as though to once again ask 'are you serious?'

"Alright, listen up, Hidi, 'cause I'm only gonna explain this once. You too, Marquis… Marquis? You all good?"

Marquis sits back upright and gives Biff an uncomfortable sort of look. Despite the circumstances, she oddly enough doesn't look at all angry at him. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, I uh… just my, uh, weak heart, aheh… classic Marquis, right?" She looks around the room while laughing and pointing finger guns, trying to get someone to join her in order to alleviate the awkwardness. It doesn't work.

"Well, I'm glad you're fine. As I was saying, Safie here's from the Velvet Room."

Hideo purses his lips. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Biff musters as mean of a look as he can, considering. "I was getting to that if you'd let me finish." Hideo raises his hands in surrender. "ANYWAYS… the first night I arrived in Japan, when I went to sleep I woke up in this Velvet Room place. That's where I met Safie, here, and her master, Igor. He's this old dude with a long nose who barely talks in anything besides cryptic warnings.."

"He does have a long nose," Safie affirms, trying her hardest to be helpful in fixing her mistake.

"You're telling me Safie lives in your dreams?" Hideo asks dubiously.

Both Safie and Biff gives a synchronized short nod. "Hidi," Biff continues. "We've seen so much crazy shit, I think we're past the point of doubtin' much of anything anymore." Hideo shrugs in admission. "And now I show up in this Velvet Room every couple of nights. Safie and Igor's job is to, like, give me advice and help develop my heart since I've got the whole 'power of the Wild Card' thing."

"Your ability to control multiple Personas, you mean?" Hideo clarifies, actually looking like he's starting to believe Biff.

"Yup, you think I made that term up myself? Since they've got to be supervisin' my Persona-ing, they watch us from their magic Velvet Room. Hey, speakin' of that," Biff shifts his gaze back to Safie. "Shouldn't you have known I never mentioned the Velvet Room if you watch us all the time?"

"Sh-she watches us… all the time?" Hideo stutters, the pieces clicking together as he suddenly gets mildly self-conscious.

"Only when it's relevant to the development of Mr. Chanum's heart," Safie corrects, addressing both Hideo and Biff. "And I had foolishly assumed you would have brought it up in the time I was not observing you. All the past Wild Cards did within the first week. I am truly sorry to make this social encounter so awkward. I will make no such assumptions in the future."

Continuing off of Safie's statement before Biff can respond, Hideo speaks as well. "Yeah, wait, why didn't you mention this Velvet Room before? Especially if you were bringing her here?"

Biff hesitates for a moment, though he looks much less tense considering Hideo's no longer hostile. "I ah… honestly just forgot to. And I didn't find out she was coming until about an hour ago. That's what the whole me blanking out thing was: she brought me into the Velvet Room while conscious."

Hideo sighs and leans back in his chair. "I… don't have any good reason not to trust you…" He looks to Marquis and gives her a small reassuring smile. "Can you believe it? That this girl from Biff's dream can just enter reality?"

Marquis, who seems to have made a full and graceful recovery, waves both hands in an exaggerated dismissive motion. "Psh, Hidi, I'm from the Dreamlands. People being from dreams isn't even that weird to me. Plus, she's got the yellow eyes."

Hideo locks eyes with Safie and becomes cognizant of the fact that she does, in fact, have slightly glowing yellow eyes, identical to Marquis' left eye. "That's… right. She does have the yellow eyes. What's up with that?" He asks Safie, cocking his head slightly. "Are you… like… a Shadow…?"

Safie thinks about it for a moment, then definitively answers, "No. I was born this way. As were all my sisters."

"Born…" Biff mutters as he thinks for a moment before going wide-eyed. "Wait… is Igor your father…?"

"Uwah?!" Safie goes slightly red at the notion and shakes her head fervently. "N-no. No, the nose- er... master is not my father."

"But… where did you come from?" Biff pushes. "Are you… human?"

Strangely enough, Safie seems to hesitate, but not in a manner that suggests she doesn't know, but rather as though the question makes her very much uncomfortable. After a moment of shifting in her seat, she slowly responds. "I… would rather not delve into that if it's alright."

Slapping her hands against the table, Marquis commands everyone's attention. "Alrighty, Biff-boy. That's enough interrogatering for now-let the poor lil' lady relax. Us yellow-eyed gals need to have our secrets."

"Interrogatering…?" Hideo mouths, looking very confused.

Casually leaning back in his seat, Biff gives Safie his best attempt at a relaxing grin. "Hm…? Yeah, sorry about that, Safie, And no problem-you don't have to tell us anything you don't want to."

Safie simply gives a curt nod in response.

While Marquis is busy rising from her seat, making up words, and chastising Biff, Hideo can't help but notice the slightest glimmer of a cocky grin on her face. She looks very… satisfied with something all of a sudden. Considering how much of a handful Marquis is, what with the rapidly shifting dispositions, Hideo gives an internal sigh, meant for no one but himself.

Soon after, Hanae returns, looking particularly startled as soon as she notices the foreign figure now sitting at the table.

"Hanae, meet Safie," Biff calls with much chutzpah.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Hanae," Safie says, rising from her seat and giving a short bow before extending a hand to shake.

Despite finding it undeniably uncomfortable to be shaking hands with someone so new, Hanae does it anyway, and the two exchange an exquisitely delicate shake. "It's nice to meet you as well," Hanae responds softly. "Um…" Without much in the way of conversation topics coming to mind, Hanae asks the first thing she can think of. "Ah… do… you go to Makisini High? I've never seen you around."

Safie begins to speak in her same professional, emotionless-though somehow gentle-tone. "No, I'm actually fro-" She freezes up, seeing how Biff, Hideo, and Marquis are all staring ridiculously intensely at her. The attention makes her cheeks go slightly red, and as she meets Biff's eyes, he gives her a very slight, though very clearly intentioned shake of the head, silently communicating a simple 'don't you dare'. "A-ah, I'm uh… no, I'm not from Makisini, I go to um… uh... "

Picking up the slack, Hideo slides in with some improvisation. "Noshiro High, you said, right? On the other side of town?" As Hideo pulls her out of the hole she dug herself, Safie meets his eyes and receives an even more pointed glare.

Flustered and on the verge of clamming up, Safie tries her hardest to play it all off. "Y-yes… Noshiro High. I go there. My school."

"Oh, I've never been there," Hanae says idly, looking slightly disappointed that she can't relate. "Um… do y-"

"Here's ya food!" Georgie's voice rings out and makes Hanae jump, interrupting her mid-sentence and causing her to visually deflate. "Alright, now ah…" Shifting her grip on the tray of plates, Georgie pulls out her notepad and flips it open with one hand. After quickly looking it over, she appropriately distributes everyone's meals and drinks. Delivering to Biff last, she turns to Safie and gives her a quick look-over. "And can I get'cha anythin', honey?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine. Thank you," Safie says, attempting to sound as composed as possible, though still coming across as somewhat flustered.

"Mhmm," Georgie mutters, turning away and starting to walk off. "Let me know if I can grab anythin' else for y'all," She calls over her shoulder.

Slightly nudging Hanae with his elbow, Biff tries to goad her into continuing. "What was that you were sayin', Hanae?"

"Oh um…" Hanae hesitates for a second, but eventually recovers, giving Biff a grateful glance before turning back to Safie. "...Do you read often?" After saying this, she gives Marquis a brief, yet very uncertain look, recalling the fact that Marquis has never read a book in her life-and Hanae really wants someone to relate to considering neither Biff, Hideo, or Marquis (obviously) are reading types.

"Yes, I do," Safie says calmly, her emotionless response slightly startling poor Hanae. "There's not much for me to do… um…" Safie catches Biff once more intensely staring at her. "...where I live, so I spend all my time reading whatever I possibly can."

Hanae lightens up greatly, a very slight, though very pleased smile creeping its way upon her lips. "You do? O-oh, um… who's your favorite author?"

Safie ponders the question for a moment, then nods to herself. "I very much enjoy the work of H.P. Lovecraft and his disciples. The style of their horror is truly like nothing else."

Shifting in her seat, Hanae looks absolutely giddy for once, unable to contain a toothy grin. "Yes! Oh, I've never met anyone else who reads Lovecraft. While his uh… racism can be a little off-putting, I always find myself drawn back to his work. What's your favorite story of his?"

"Who the hell's H.P. Lovecraft?" Biff interjects. Despite intellectual discussion not being his forte, he still wants to contribute to the conversation-regardless of how abrasive he comes across as.

"He sounds like a nice guy," Marquis adds softly.

Hideo gives Marquis an exasperated look but eventually concedes. "His name's pretty cool."

"Cooler than your name, Hidi," She whispers with a smirk, attempting to rile up Hideo.

"Wh-what? Why'd you have to say that?"

"Because the name Hideo Kotchi just doesn't roll off the tongue. It's weird."

"And Marquis is any better?"

Hanae considers the best way to answer Biff's question for a couple of seconds before carefully responding. "He… was the one who devised such cosmic horror stories as… um… do you know what Cthulhu is?"

Biff goes wide-eyed and sits up straight in his chair. He, Hideo, and Marquis exchange partly concerned, partly very confused expressions before Biff slowly turns back to Hanae. "...No…?" It would appear none of them had even heard of the Cthulhu mythos before now.

Hanae nods, not looking very surprised. "Cthulhu is best described as… an ancient being of god-like power that slumbers on Earth until the day he awakens and destroys all of humanity. Lo-" She stops mid-sentence, noticing the intense looks from Biff, Hideo, and Marquis, and suddenly becomes conscious of how much of a geek she must sound like.

"Go on," Hideo says as an attempt to be reassuring.

"L-Lovecraft wrote about such beings in order to reinforce themes of hopelessness and cosmic insignificance." With the final point of nerd-out complete, she clams up, turning bright red and retreating in on herself.

"Well said," Safie states, smiling gently and turning to Hideo and Marquis. "And after his death, his legacy was carried on by many other authors, often referred to as his disciples. They're responsible for countless other stories and creatures, including, but not limited to, Cyäegha and Atlach-Nacha."

Both Hideo and Marquis pause for a moment and stare at her blankly before exchanging a blank look of their own. Eventually, Hideo speaks up as well. "That's… very interesting of you to say."

While the second Lunch at Georgie's is busy going on, Miho Fuiji is spending the first half of her afternoon in the student council room, silently counting the hours while working alongside vice-president Akito Takagi. The room, basking in complete and utter quiet save the tic-tic-tic-ing of the clock, would carry a certain awkward air if this weren't how every student council meeting ended up looking. The aforementioned tic-ing draws Miho's attention, and she's reminded to glance up and at the clock, silently praying that it's nearly time to go.

Akito's nasal, frankly annoying voice rings out next to her, making Miho jump as it pierces the veil of silence. "If you're going to waste time rather than review these student profiles, then feel free to leave. You're distracting me."

Though she's bitterly peeved by the fact Akito elected to chew her out for glancing at the damn clock, Miho tries to brush it off and not let it go to her head-she's not going to be the same resentful person that she always was. "Oh, sorry Aki. We're almost done, so I'll just stay and help wrap it up."

"Don't call me Aki. We're not friends," He mutters, not even looking at her as he adjusts his rectangular wire-frame glasses and jots something down on the paper he's currently examining.

Okay then, asshole. Whatever you say, Miho jeers internally out of habit. She can't help but kick herself for lashing out, but whatever. Now's not really the time to introspect on her Shadow and beat herself up-she's had plenty of that already. Now that she thinks of it, actually, she did resolve to try and be a genuinely better friend-and person-to those around her, so why not do so with Akito? While Miho's always somewhat enjoyed these meetings for the mere fact that Akito, unlike everyone else, never expected anything from her besides silence, if Biff, Hideo, and Marquis have taught her anything, it's that it's never too late to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Miho scoots her rolling chair slightly away from the table and turns towards her VP. "So, Akito, got any plans for later today?"

Akito doesn't respond for a moment. He simply places his pencil flat on the table perfectly parallel to his paper, then takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. After this gesture, still keeping his glasses off, he moves his chair back as well and turns towards Miho.

Seeing him with his glasses off is oddly foreign, but now that he's turned, Miho gets a full view of his figure. Akito seems to represent the generic image of a lanky nerd as much as is humanly possible. A perfectly combed-over swoop of jet black hair lines the top of his head, contrasting his long facial structure and fox-like features. As for his clothes, he remains entirely within the confines of the Makisini High uniform-the black blazer, pants, and tie complemented by a white dress shirt.

With a look of utter annoyance-and some semblance of incredulity-Akito speaks in such an assured manner that one would believe his words are facts. "I said we're not friends, Fuiji. You never tried your nice girl routine on me in the past, so there's no reason to start now; and anyway, I'm not interested in joining your cult of personality. I figured we had some sort of unspoken agreement to leave each other alone. Now, I'm not sure what's changed with you, but I'm not having it, so let's just get this done and leave like always, okay?" He places his glasses back on his face and picks up his pencil once more, returning his attention to the paper in front of him. "And yes, I'm meeting with Mr. Makanara after this, so like I said, let's just get this done and leave."

Miho's gentle smile freezes as Akito begins chewing her out, and it takes everything she has to avoid scowling right at him. After the room falls back into silence, she glances around at the empty chairs placed in front of abandoned folding tables, and for once really wishes that everyone who joined student council-usually for the opportunity to be close to Miho herself-wasn't soon driven out by Akito's distasteful personality. That is, she only wishes thus so she could get out of here faster-the silence provided is, of course, very nice.

She briefly considers asking Akito what he and Mr. Makanara, the principal of Makisini High, do in their frequent meetings, but decides against it, not finding it worth putting up with Akito's annoying voice again.

If it were any other combination of people sitting alone in this Student Council room, an air of awkwardness may begin to settle among them. But this isn't any combination of people, this is Akito Takagi and Miho Fuiji, so instead, the room simply reverts to the way it always is-silent.

The lunch party continues like this for about an hour longer, chock full of Hanae's awkward attempts at conversation, Safie's confusing naivety, and a constant stream of Hideo and Marquis fighting. Eventually, they all pay their respective bills-with Biff volunteering to cover Hanae-and they make their way out.

Marquis conjures up her best puppy dog eyes (a disconcerting maneuver considering he offputting yellow eye) and tries to give a cute pout that inexplicably doesn't work. "Will you pay for my lunch, Biff? Pleeeeease?"

"You didn't even order anything."

The group of five steps outside and into the sun, temporarily blinded by the influx of light after remaining in the gloomy restaurant for so long.

"Well!" Marquis chirps, briefly glancing down the main boulevard towards the direction of the train station. "This is my stop, so it looks like I'm getting off this party bus." She takes an exaggerated step away from the small cluster of people while still staying within arms reach of Hanae and Safie.

"Nice meetin' ya, Safie," She says, extending a hand for one last shake. "Never let anyone tell you that your yellow eyes are anything but beautiful. Never let them get you down. Promise me that."

"Um… thank you?" Safie responds tentatively, gently gripping Marquis' hand in a lax shake. "And it was nice to finally meet you as well."

As this exchange goes down, Hideo catches that same pleased smirk on Marquis' face from earlier. The best way he can describe it is that she looks like she just emerged victorious from something-actually, now that he thinks of it, it's just like her cocky grin whenever they win a fight against Shadows.

"And it was an honor meeting you, Hanae." Marquis holds her fist out towards the poor girl and looks at her expectantly. "Give me some skin."

Hanae slowly bumps fists with Marquis, the latter turning her lips up in a beaming smile. "I… uh, had fun today," Hanae stutters. "Th-thank you very much for taking me along with you."

"No problem, now I'll see you all around." Marquis locks eyes with Safie. "Even you, Ms. Velvet Room. I better see your cute lil' face again." Safie's face turns to a slight ruby hue and she averts her gaze out of instinct.

"Velvet Room?" Hanae asks no one in particular.

"Now I'm outta here!" Having said her goodbyes to everyone (except Biff and Hideo), Marquis throws up dual peace signs and saunters off towards the train station.

"B-but the housing districts are this way…" Hanae starts to say, but sadly her soft voice doesn't reach far enough, and Marquis keeps walking off.

"I'm… sure she'll find her way home," Biff asserts, starting to turn around and nudging Hideo to follow. "But speakin' of that, we should prolly head back, too. Asami and Eikichi'll be expectin' us home soon."

Hanae lingers for a moment longer, seemingly thinking something over. She turns to Safie, the only one standing next to her. "She's an odd girl."

"We know," Biff and Hideo respond in unison.

The group chats idly as they all make their way to their respective homes. Hideo eventually reaches his turn and says his goodbyes before awkwardly shuffling off down his street, leaving only Hanae, Safie, and Biff himself.

Biff walks Hanae to the door of the Ryleigh house, opening the door so she can slip inside. Once in, she steps to the side to allow Biff room to enter, and upon seeing him remain still, gets slightly confused.

"I'm gonna walk Safie home, tell Asami I'll be right back; it's only a short walk," He says, taking his hand off the doorframe and stepping back.

"O-oh, alright." Safie looks certainly disappointed at the news but nods her head nonetheless. "Um… Biff?"

"What's up?"

"...Thank you for today. I really enjoyed meeting your friends."

Biff gives an airy chuckle and can't help but allow a smile to make its way onto his face. "Anytime, Hanae. They seemed to love ya."

Hanae looks very pleased to hear that, and deeming the brief chat over, she hastily turns away and scurries off upstairs, looking somewhat flustered in those last few seconds.

Biff begins walking down the short pavement that leads back to the sidewalk, at the end of which Safie stands idly, taking in her monotonous surroundings-i.e. the rows of perfectly identical houses as far as the eye can see.

"Is that Velvet Room door portal thing still gonna be where it was?" Biff asks nonchalantly, slipping his hands into his pockets as he approaches the 'keeper of his heart'.

"Yes, it will," Safie says, bowing for some reason. "Shall we make our way there?"

"...We shall."

The two pace side-by-side down the sidewalk, Biff maintaining his gusto-filled, shoulder swaying strut, and Safie coming across as out of place as possible, unconsciously shrinking down by keeping her hands pulled behind her back. That, combined with her alien eye and hair color, truly makes her appear as though she doesn't belong in this world. Which she doesn't, of course.

"So," Biff starts, turning halfway towards Safie as they walk and giving her a calm smile. "Did'ja enjoy yourself as much as you expected?"

Safie thinks on the question for a moment. "Yes." Another moment passes, and just before an awkward silence is able to settle in, she realizes she ought to elaborate for the sake of human conversation. "I was very satisfied with how today turned out. Hideo and Marquis were… exactly as I recall, and Hanae proved to be very charming. She's quite the intense girl when she gets talking."

Biff chuckles to himself. "That's one way of putting it."

Turning towards Biff now, Safie looks up and tries to meet his eyes with her own. With their dim glow, looking at them leaves a slight floating visual sensation similar to staring at a light bulb. "Mr. Chanum, if fate should lead you to pursue a meaningful bond with Hanae Ryleigh, then may I offer you some advice?"

Biff raises his eyebrow dubiously. "This isn't the Velvet Room, ya know. You don't need to do this whole 'heart management thing'."

Safie gives a very slight nod. "I know, but this is coming from me, not from my responsibilities." Biff purses his lips and gives a nod of his own in response. "She has been through a lot more than one would imagine, so exercise caution. In growing to understand who she is, I would recommend you keep your guard up, she might just surprise you."

Biff sighs and turns away. "Cryptic as always. But thanks, I know my heart's development and all means a lot to you, though I've never gotten the chance to ask why you care so much."

As though it were the most obvious thing in the world, Safie responds as plainly as possible. "Because it's my duty." Falling back in line, she resumes her delicate walk, further affirming her sharp contrast with Biff.

Biff furrows his brow and shakes his head, sending his golden locks rocking back and forth. "Yeah, I get that, but why do YOU care? Do you actually enjoy being cooped up in that Velvet Room all day doing jack shit but stand next to Big Nose?"

"Hnk-" Safie makes a sort of choking noise upon hearing Biff's semi-accusation. Quite frankly, these are questions she's tried not to dwell on, though in the Velvet Room there's not much else to do. After a moment of grappling with the issue, she quietly responds, "No… it's dreadfully boring in there."

Biff gives a slow nod, pleased that the truth is coming out.

Her mood somewhat lightening, Safie continues with renewed vigor. "But I do enjoy viewing you and your friends' escapades. It's almost like that thing you have… um… television! It's always so much fun to watch."

"But why do you stay there? If you wanted to, couldn't you just run away and live in this world? Hell, that's practically what Marquis did."

Safie shakes her head fervently as though the idea was preposterous. "No… no, I couldn't… I…" She hesitates, thinking over the possibility of 'what if'. "No." She shakes her head again. "My whole life has been leading up to the point when I could help guide a Wild Card towards their destiny. My sisters before me all facilitated journeys of their own, and those that remained in the Velvet Room have helped build me up to this moment. It's… a responsibility by birthright, and it's one I wholeheartedly wish to fulfill."

Biff loosens up and shrugs. "I can respect that. I just wanted to make sure The Nose wasn't holdin' you in there against your will."

"No… but while the topic has been brought up…" Safie slightly fidgets while she walks, eventually reaching up and tugging off her navy blue beanie and wringing it in her hands. "Have I… been doing fine as a keeper of your heart?"

With a chuckle and a sort of incredulous expression, Biff responds hesitantly. "I'm… not really sure how the hell I'm supposed to answer that question."

"I just… um…" Safie's anxious hat wringing becomes a bit more intense. "I'm… not exactly sure what I'm trying to say, I just… hm..."

Biff deems it necessary to interject. "If you're asking if you've been helpful, I'd say definitely. I probably woulda died a couple of times already if you didn't introduce my new Personas, and if you weren't around, then who'd I have to wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me I made a friend?" With that last line, Biff swings his shoulder into Safie's, lightly nudging her.

Safie's face goes a dull red color as Biff musters some nice words for once. "Th-thank you… I'm sorry for asking, it's just… as I said, my sister's helped raise me, but when discussing matters of our duty, they'd never really tell me anything about what I should be doing besides 'helping to facilitate the growth of their heart through meaningful bonds by serving as a reference'. And, of course, they informed me about Personas and the world of cognition." She sighs, her grip on the beanie. "My eldest sister, Margaret, would always say, 'Safie, nothing we know can possibly help you. Every Wild Card walks their own path, and you alongside them. You will understand your duties when the time comes, but until then, you must wait.' And when the time for my duty did come, I was thrust into it still with only a vague notion of what I ought to be doing. I just… I really hope I'm doing it right. I could never forgive myself if…" Safie looks up and at Biff once more, locking eyes with him. "...If my incompetence ended up costing you and your friends dearly in the long run. And considering Master only ever speaks when you're there, I still have no idea if I'm doing it right."

Biff lets out a long, low whistle as he tries to figure out how to interpret Safie's opening up to him. "Well, uh… when you put it like that…" He purses his lips and shakes his head slightly, changing his method of approach. "I'm sorry to hear that your duty's so stressful. But as far as I'm concerned, you're the best keeper of my heart I've ever had. How about we promise each other this: all of us're learnin' a hell of a lot of new things these days, what with Personas and Dreamlands and all, so let's promise to just keep doin' our best. I have no idea how to actually stop that Boto guy, and you have no idea how to be a keeper of hearts, but we haven't quite failed yet so let's keep it that way. Maybe we'll find out what we've been trying this whole time was exactly what we ought to be doin'."

Safie steps in front of Biff and turns around to face him, causing Biff to notice that they are, in fact, in front of the Velvet Room entrance. Seeing her head-on, she seems to be thinking over his proposition. Biff doesn't have the heart to tell her that it wasn't actually a bargain so much as it was an attempt to reassure her. "Thank you," She says eventually. "In that case, I'll stick to what I've been doing in hopes that it will prove profitable."

"That's the spirit!" Biff says heartily, lightly clapping her on the shoulder. "And don't be afraid to hang out with us in the future. Tell Igor you're tryin' to develop my heart or somethin' just so long as it gets you outta there."

Safie starts idly fiddling with her hat once more, suddenly looking a bit more anxious as she hesitantly begins to speak. "I… know I'm woefully inexperienced in more ways than one, and my skills of self-expression are no different, but your words truly mean a great deal to me." For probably the first time, Biff doesn't detect any attempts at professionalism in Safie's tone-she genuinely speaks from the heart. "While I've watched you plenty from the Velvet Room, I see now, first hand, why you are the one that was chosen as a Wild Card-it's not a role just anyone could fill. And…" She tightly grips the beanie. "...I wanted to say thank you again for spending time with me. The Velvet Room can get lonely and… I…" She shakes her head, slightly panicking and instinctually performing a quick bow. "Th-thank you. I promise, I'll do everything I possibly can to facilitate the growth of your heart-I want to see the grand heights you reach, Mr. Chanum."

Biff feels a pleasantly familiar sensation of warmth spread through his body. While she's not particularly talented in regards to letting him know, he can feel her wholesome appreciation and respect radiating outward and inspiring him to keep fighting, if only to bring her aid in the fulfillment of her duty. He knows also that her dedication to guiding him doesn't quite come from a place purely of obligation but from somewhere a bit more heartfelt. As this thought crosses his mind, a sense of bliss replaces the warmth… and… Safie's voice doesn't call out to him.

Biff failed to notice that he had turned his head upward as his newfound bond had sprouted, but when the startling void of voice kicks in, he snaps out of it and looks down to Safie, looking slightly puzzled.

"Ah!" Safie cries, suddenly realizing what happened. "D-did we just… oh, I… I wasn't prepared for that to happen. Um…"

The confused expression on Biff's face lingers for a moment as he remains slightly out of whack. "N-no, it's fine, I just… kinda expected you to do the talkin' in my mind thing. It's almost like a routine at this point."

Safie takes a half-step back and goes wide-eyed. "Y-you did? Um…" After just expressing a concern for failing to fulfill her duties, the fact that she didn't affirm Biff's bond is, in her mind, extremely troublesome. "I can still do it if you want." Clearing her throat, she begins talking as calmly as possible (not in Biff's mind, but normally), but tragically begins to stutter.

"I-I am thou, thou art I…"

Biff waves a hand dismissively and raises his voice in an attempt to cut her off. "No, no don't do that. It's fine, really. It just felt… weird. But you doin' it now'd be even weirder, what, with us standin' right next to each other."

"A-are you sure?" She responds, extremely hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Desperate to change the subject, and still a little off-kilter, Biff hastens the interaction. "But I've got to get back to the Ryleigh's right about now. So I'll see you, what, in my dreams in the next few days? We just made a bond after all."

Safie seems to be lost in thought but quickly snaps out of it, going a bit red at the notion of 'forming a bond' with Biff. "Y-yes, I will see you then. Probably tomorrow or… actually, I think it'd be most appropriate Friday evening."

"Do I have much of a choice?"

Safie considers it for a moment "...No. Now, um… I must get back to Master as well. Goodbye, Mr. Chanum. And I truly thank you for today." That being said, she bows once more to Biff, then quickly paces into the Velvet Room, and with a flash of blinding light, disappears from sight.

Biff chuckles to himself as he takes a step back and pivots on his food, turning towards the street and staring up at the clear blue sky-the first nice day Mata's had in nearly a week. Looks like the dreariness of the morning has entirely cleared out, leaving the sun shining brightly in mid-air.

An odd feeling washes over him as his eventful day comes to a close. It's an eerie sensation that somehow combines an ominous foreboding with a dull hope, like he knows terrible things are yet to come, but knows just as well that he can take it on.

Biff shakes his head, turning away and walking down the sidewalk back to the Ryleigh home. "Why do I feel like I've got one foot in the door of hell…?"