Has A Beginning

Location: Tokyo, Japan. Kirishima Island, Narukami Dorms

Date: Fri, April 16th, 2182. Past Midnight Clear

The track field…..

"That's… death, huh." Ryuji quietly mused to himself and scowled. "I just hope that my mom never met that son of a bitch."

"You have it backwards." Ryuji about jumped out of his skin when Arya's blue crested head appeared seemingly out of nowhere before she stepped out into the light. "Sorry….but you have it wrong. Erebus is not death. Nyx was Death, Erebus is simply the wish for it, and the emotions associated with that wish."

"Well whatever, it's still messed up." Ryuji grumbled as he plopped himself down on the grass, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he spat onto the ground. A heavy sigh escaped him a moment later before he let his head drop so that his chin rested against his chest. "How can anyone wish for something like that?"

"Easy….they want an end to their pain, whatever that pain might be. Haven't you had moments like that?" Arya asked as she sat down next to him, her hands hanging over her knees as she pulled her legs beneath her in a lotus position. When Ryuji didn't immediately respond, she nodded, having expected as much. "It's...not something to be ashamed of, but it is something to be worked past."

"I mean… I get it if you have some sort of incurable disease or some shit like that." Ryuji muttered angrily and shook his head. "But seriously, pain is just part of life… it's temporary, you just have to keep on going, you know? You can't let pain stop you, otherwise you never get anything done."

"Not all of us are so fortunate to be so strong." Arya countered gently as she looked down to her right hand, which she turned upward before a small, swirling mass of dark energy formed on her open palm. "You're right, don't get me wrong, but far too many people, myself included, have let their pain get the better of them. As you….no doubt heard, I didn't even know what I was for the longest time. Oh I understood I wasn't human, that I was...different from most of the kids in my neighborhood, but I didn't know what it was to be asari."

"Heh… to be fair I'm still not sure what it means to be human." Ryuji admitted with a shrug. "There are always those that have some kind of expectation for you but for me… I don't know what I expect of me… you know?"

"If you'd have said that before I found those I shared so much with these past few years, I'd have likely slapped you upside the head with a Singularity by now." Arya replied as her blue cheeks turned several shades darker at admitting as much. "For the longest time, I was too caught up on the 'what' when I should have been more worried on the 'who', as you so uneloquently put it." She chuckled at that as Ryuji gave her a mock stern glare that morphed into an easy grin.

"Yeah yeah, I get it, I'm vulgar." Ryuji chuckled with an undignified snort. "The damn cat tells me that all the time. Still, I think I get what you're trying to say… before I met the guys I was just some dumb delinquent… now I am just… me, and I'm happy with that. Damn….maybe we're not so different after all?"

"No...we aren't. Alien or not, this much I know at least. We all share the same burdens at the core of our beings. The only difference between us is that I'm blue and you're a weird….pink color." She giggled as Ryuji stuck out his tongue and pulled down one eyelid before chuckling as well.

"Hey, at least I've got hair instead of whatever you have." Ryuji retorted cheerfully as the weight that had been on his shoulders began to disappear.

"So do apes." She shot back without missing a beat, a grin pulling at her full lips.

"Did Morgana put you up to this?" He doubted it, but he felt the need to ask anyway.

"No, though if she likes doing things like that she must be enjoyable company."

"He… and he isn't." Ryuji denied and paused for a few seconds. "Okay, yeah he is, but he's still a pain in the ass."

"Wait….is he that black cat I saw running around earlier?" Arya asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"Yep, that's the furry bastard." Ryuji confirmed with a nod and an almost inaudible growl.

"Huh….I've heard rumors suggest he can talk, and that Aigis can understand him no less. Although I've seen her speak to Kai so that shouldn't surprise me."

"Oh believe me, he can talk." Ryuji snorted with a scowl. "That thing loves doing it, especially in that conceited tone of his."

"Ugh...too many 'Matron' asaris I've come across love that damned tone of voice. Yes, you're over five hundred years old, that just means you're a wrinkly old bag, but thanks for sharing your 'infinite wisdom'." Arya retorted this time, before her scowl just as quickly changed into something far less annoyed. "….Well, except for Saera. She's one of the few exceptions."

"Matrons? Aren't they basically like your next stage of evolution or somethin'?"

"What?" Arya asked completely lost at the strange question.

"You know… Pokemon?"

"OH!" The asari grinned as she figured out what he meant. "Vezna has a bunch of those little action figures laying around her room. No, it doesn't work like that." Arya chuckled as she put a hand over her mouth to try and quiet herself. "You'd never know to look at her, but beneath that badass sniper vibe she's got going for her, she's a giant dork, as you humans are fond of saying."

"Sniper? She looked more fond of blowing stuff up with that space ship of hers." Ryuji commented with a confused look in his eyes. "Or does sniping mean something different for you guys?"

"No… it doesn't, but for Vezna, sniping and explosions are not mutually exclusive. I say it's too many of those animes she binge watches warping her brain." They shared another laugh before Arya slowly stood to her feet and dusted herself off with Ryuji doing the same. "Thanks, for spending a bit of time with me."

"Hey, I'm the one that should be thanking you Arya. You ain't half bad, for a bald headed squid lady."

"You aren't too bad yourself, for a hairless primate." When he registered the gleam in her eyes as she squatted down in all too familiar runner's stance, one leg stretched behind her with the other braced and ready beneath her, Ryuji grinned openly as he did the same. "Once around the track before going back in?"

"Oh you're so on! I used to be the track star back in my old school!'

"So was I." Taking off like a shot, Arya, despite her shorter stride, pulled just ahead of Ryuji. With a whoop of exhilaration and joy, Ryuji's feet pounded the track, leaving his earlier dark mood in their literal dust.

Dining Hall….

"Never anything to eat in this place." Hearing the angry, annoyed mutterings from the large, imposing krogan, a restless Akira and Morgana slowly walked into the dining hall as Razak did his best impression of a bull in a china shop. The scrape of chairs and tables being shoved aside as he made his way to the kitchen were broken up by his continued mutterings.

"Dude, you tryin' to get us in trouble?" Asked Shiro, who stood some distance away, his arms loose at his sides as he followed after his friend until he spotted Akira across the way. With a sigh, the blue haired youth put a hand over his face. "Yeah, it's about what it looks like. An hangry krogan is not someone you want to mess with. Believe me, I've made that mistake."

"Thanks for the heads up." Akira replied pleasantly, though his heart wasn't in it. His mind was occupied with what he had just witnessed. He wasn't entirely certain how he felt after seeing Erebus, though a part of him couldn't deny that he was both disappointed and angry. Centuries later and still humanity wished for its own demise, and the price was being paid by people like him, those around him, and Minato, who continued to seal the doom of all away. All these years, and apparently nothing changed. The same twisted desires he had born witness to as he had fought his way through the depths of Mementos were still there. He couldn't help but wonder, how? How could everything change so little?

He was aware that he was being somewhat hypocritical, after all he was just as human as any of them and thus susceptible to the same faults. Of course, Morgana had told them that Persona users couldn't have a palace due to their far superior control over their own emotions and heart, but a palace wasn't needed to become distorted. He just had to remember Akechi in all his madness shortly before his demise. The uncomfortable truth was that he was afraid of ending up the same way himself. He wasn't blind to his own desires, but he was afraid of encouraging them lest they became a twisted mockery of what they once were. When a balled up piece of paper slapped against his cheek though, Akira looked up to see Razak giving him the stink eye.

"If I wanted to tear your head off for ruining my midnight snack run, we wouldn't be talking, pyjak." Razak rumbled as he made his way back to their side while Morgana tried to make himself as small as possible behind Joker's shoulder. "And I don't make it a habit of eating furry….cat things, especially since rumor is you're able to talk. But let me give you two a bit of advice. Erebus is nothing."

"What makes you say that?" Morgana asked even though neither Shiro or Razak could understand him without being exposed to the Metaverse, or by spending enough time around him as Sojiro had.

After asking the same question for Morgana, the krogan harrumphed mockingly in return before waving a hand over one large shoulder. "Because while that bastard's come back for two hundred years, we've beaten it back every time since some female in blue allowed us take over the fight. Not once has that thing managed to do more than roar out both ends since."

"It's true." Shiro chimed in as he pushed away from the wall, his black leather jacket hanging over one shoulder. "While it always comes back, people like us have always beaten it down with very little trouble. There's been a few close calls, but overall, Erebutt isn't that intimidating with it having lost every time its appeared. I'm of the mind that, no matter how big it gets or how many times it pops up, even a big brute like my friend here could take it down on his own, given enough time."

"Bah, go sit on a landmine Shiro. Kalros and I are unstoppable and you know it." Despite the boast, or the insult, it wasn't hard to see Razak truly cared for the blue haired giant at his side.

It was made evident when Shiro just chuckled and said, "Right, I'll be sure to tell Arya you said that next time you and her get into it."

"Stop hiding behind the blue girl." The krogan growled out and narrowed his red eyes. "She always goes and annoys me to no end till she gets what she wants, I don't need you encouraging her."

"Is that why you make puppy dog eyes at her anytime you think she's not looking your way?" Shiro chuckled as Razak growled and took a half hearted swing at him a moment later. Despite being outclassed by several dozen pounds, Shiro caught the fist with a grin, the thick muscles in his arm pulling taut as he stopped it dead. "Now is that any way to treat a member of your future krantt Urdnot Razak? I seem to recall ya askin' me to watch your ass once we got out of here together."

"My krantt doesn't need smartasses." The krogan merely grumbled back. "Shut that mouth of yours and you'd make a fine krogan… a bit on the squishy side maybe, but still acceptable." Despite their bickering, the little twitch of the alien's mouth said something else to the perceptive pair of strangers as Razak jerked his fist free of Shiro's grasp. "Stupid….blue haired pyjak, making me soft you are."

"Yeah yeah, you care, you're just afraid to show it, which is ironic given who my grandmother was back in the day."

"Who was your grandmother?" Akira asked, genuinely curious, and not just about Shiro's lineage. He wanted to know what a 'krantt' was, but that was next on his list.

"What's a krantt?" Morgana asked just as quickly, to which Akira sighed before repeating his question.

"Which one do you want answered first?" Shiro asked next as he began to pull his arms into his black leather jacket. When Akira shrugged before letting his eyes flick towards the blue eyed cat on his shoulder, Shiro nodded towards Razak. "All yours buddy."

"Thanks." Razak grumbled, but he was just as quick to smirk, revealing row after row of sharp little teeth in his jaws. "Krantts are often a group of warriors, beholden to a single krogan. If you can inspire others to follow your lead, you're worthy of a krantt. Strength, I found, isn't enough on its own. It takes more than sheer physical prowess, something many of my kind have forgotten. Even my great uncle Wrex has forgotten this in his own right, but he's half the reason I've come as far as I have. The other half is this idiot I call a friend and sworn brother. Yes, you can get a big head now."

"I didn't know I needed your permission." Shiro chuckled and grinned widely, but was just as quick to put a hand on the krogan's large shoulder as he squeezed the limb as hard as he could. Razak barely felt it, but he nodded his approval all the same. "Razak's a good guy once you get past his rough exterior. Sure he's noisy, rude, and doesn't always have the best patience, but he's loyal, blunt, and doesn't take shit from anyone. You're either worth his time or you aren't. It helps we've saved each other's ass more times than I can count."

"Facing Margaret together was one of the best days of my life. We didn't win, but it was then I realized what should have been obvious." When he tapped at his armored chest, Akira and Morgana got the hint well enough. Razak coughed, the sound like two boulders rolling down hill, and quickly looked away, not quite fast enough to conceal the damp spots around the edges of his red eyes. "Ahem….now if you'll excuse me, I have a kitchen door to smash down."

"Dude, there're snacks in the dorm." Shiro called to Razak's back as he stomped towards the back of the large dining hall.

Without looking over one large shoulder, Razak said, "I want something I can sink my teeth into, not a puny potato chip."

"Then go fishing or something. There's plenty of woodlands out on this island." Shiro replied just as Razak began to reach for the metallic double doors he had since stopped in front of.

"...Fine." Razak grunted, his large, clawed fingers stopping just shy of digging into the metallic double doors in front of him before he turned around and stomped off the way he'd come.

Breathing much more easier, Shiro sighed and rubbed the back of his head before shooting the pair a grin. "What was it you wanted to know again? Oh right, my grandmother." Ignoring the startled look on Morgana's face and the slightly amused smirk on Akira's, Shiro waved them after him as he walked off, following the still angrily muttering Razak at a respectable distance. "She was an ace detective at a very young age from what my folks told me 'bout her. Naoto Shirogane, highly intelligent, perceptive, and a heck of a shot to boot. She's also the first of the family to manifest a Persona along the Wheel of Fortune Arcana. There've been others since, but she's worth mentioning because she was part of the team that took down not one, but at least four different gods, the last of which was Izanami-No-Okami herself. And that was just the start. But her and me are similar in that, for the longest time, she disguised herself as a boy."

"What why?" Morgana asked, while Akira simply cocked his head to the side. It was clear he had a few ideas, but he kept his counsel to himself for now.

"'Cause the jackasses in her time in the police department only saw a kid playing at dressup, yet they kept her around because of how good she was at her job, far better than those idiots. To make it worse, she was a girl in a man's world, or so they made her feel with their constant ridicule and disparagement, only letting her in when they needed her help."

"Hence why she decided it'd be a good idea to keep her true gender a secret." Akira mused, nodding his head as he put the pieces together. "I can't say I blame her for doing that with that kind of opposition. And if I understand, you're much more than you appear as well."

Shiro grinned but sighed as he let his arms drop to his sides. "I ain't a girl in disguise or anything, but yeah. I'm much smarter than I appear, like Naoto was in her day, but for some reason, when I hit puberty, I found it a hell of an easy thing to put on muscle like there was no tomorrow. It didn't take long for most people to assume I was just a blonde meathead with nothing between his ears, and proving them wrong didn't make me any friends either. So I eventually gave it up as a lost cause, and decided if they wanted to see me as a brute, I'd play into that false assumption. But a seemingly random turn of the wheel later, and I found myself faced with a Shadow getting ready to eat my mother for dinner. Too bad for that bastard, he drew the short straw when she summoned a Persona to kick its ass. It wasn't long after that I found out we had quite the family history, and that I had the same power she did."

"So you wound up here as a result huh?" Morgana replied through Akira, which Shiro nodded his head again.

"Unlike Seja, I didn't let it go to my head, but I was still pretty shaken up over it all." Shiro admitted as he stopped just shy of the edge of the forest, where Razak quickly disappeared. "But like a lot of people here, I had my issues to work past, but Michael and Razak were the ones most responsible for where I am now. I was too caught up on how people saw me when I shoulda been worried about how I saw myself. I'm a Shirogane, from a long ass line of detectives, bruisers, and Persona Users. My granddad and grandmother both saved the world, multiple times, but I'm sure they're proud of who I am. And if not, well, so long as I'm at peace with myself, that'll be good enough."

"So why join Razak's krantt?" Akira asked even as he offered the big man a smile and a nod of approval for what he'd said. The strength and certainty in his voice was reassuring despite having only just met him, but having been around more than his share of people who had reached a similar understanding, it made pushing aside his own doubts a little easier.

Shiro just grinned as he backed away into the forest, where Akira remained standing. "'Cause dude, Razak's the muscle, but I'm the brain of our little dynamic duo. People might see him first, but they won't see me 'til they try to put a knife in his back. They try that, I'll be there to curb stomp 'em into the dirt long before they get a chance to get that close. Looking like a brainless oaf has its advantages after all." Spinning on his heel, Shiro threw a thumbs up over his shoulder before taking off after the krogan. "Hey Razak! Better not be stuck in a hunter's noose trap again or I'll kill ya myself!" The krogran's bellowing laughter was the last thing they heard of the odd pair, but Akira felt right in wishing them the best even if neither of them heard the words themselves.

"Those two are downright bizarre, but I get the feeling they'll be fine." Morgana stated with a firm nod of his head.

"So it would seem." Akira agreed and looked after them, even though he could no longer make out their shapes. "Morgana… tell me, why do you think we're here?"

"Hmm? What do you mean Joker?"

"Why are we so important? They all have Personas, what do we have that would convince Igor to send us here?"

"We're Phantom Thieves." Morgana declared proudly. "Perhaps they need our skills in the future? They certainly aren't as stylish as us."

"That is one possibility." Akira allowed and sighed. "However, I wonder, are we here because of what we can do? Or because of what we are willing to do?"

"Uh… you lost me." Morgana admitted as his ears flattened against the sides of his head.

Turning away from the forest's edge, Akira stifled a yawn as he and Morgana began to make their slow way back to the dorms. "As you said, we're Phantom Thieves, we steal the hearts of others. I'm well aware that our methods are… morally ambiguous."

"Are you saying that what we did was wrong?" A startled Morgana asked as he tensed up against Akira's back, his tail sticking straight up in alarm.

"No, I don't, and neither do I regret it, but I can understand why others would condemn us." Akira was quick to explain, both to assure Morgana but also to answer the question. "Akechi had a point when he asked me what I would think if my friends suddenly acted completely different. We steal their distorted desires, and thus forcefully change their way of thinking… others would never commit such questionable acts, yet we do. Perhaps that is part of the reason why we're here?"

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you steal their hearts?" Aigis asked as she stepped out of the shadows of the grand front entrance that overlooked the double doors as they approached, her gaze immediately finding his. "It certainly wasn't for fun, and you're aware of the gravity of your actions. So why?"

"We weren't completely selfless." Akira admitted easily. "We stole the heart of Kamoshida, for example, at least partially out of the desire to avoid expulsion."

"I see, but that was not all I take it." Aigis stated as she invited him and Morgana to sit down on the stairs leading up to the academy. Nodding his acceptance of the offer, he sat down next to the all too human robotic woman with Morgana hopping down to sit on the stone walkway in front of them.

"No… we weren't that mature back then…" Akira told her with a grimace as he recalled how easily they fell for the trap that had been laid for them simply because they were so easily swayed by public opinion back then. "And it cost us, however there was a simple question that we asked ourselves before we decided to steal someone's heart. What if we don't act?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Aigis admitted, to which Akira gently nodded his head again.

No surprise, but Akira was happy to explain their reasoning for her. "We wondered what would happen if we didn't steal their heart. What if we simply leave them be? Let's take Kamoshida, since we mentioned him before, as an example. If we hadn't acted, what then? He would have continued to abuse the volleyball team, he would have continued to sexually harass, possibly even rape women outside of school if left alone long enough. The suffering would have continued."

"And to make it worse," Morgana began as he drew Aigis's attention his way, "the people in charge of Shujin were well aware of what Kamoshida was doing, and they didn't stop him. They were far more concerned with what he was bringing to the school with his accomplishments rather than the wellbeing of the students they were supposed to be protecting. Not only that, but most of the parents of the volleyball team also knew, making them just as culpable."

"Essentially, we saw injustice before our very eyes, and we had the power to act. We came to the conclusion that inaction would have been the greater injustice." Akira said darkly and shook his head. "If you have the ability to help, then why should you look the other way? What good is power if you refuse to use it for the right reasons? I know that many will claim that our reasons weren't as just as we make them out to be, but I am fine with that. I know what horrors they've committed before, we merely stopped them from doing so again."

"But don't you think it's cruel? To leave them in their own personal hell like this?"

"It's a hell they themselves built." Akira shot back with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, we don't kill, although it would have been easy to do so. They can atone for what they've done, isn't that in itself a mercy? If that answer does not suffice… well… we don't follow the law, we bring justice, and justice can be cruel."

"You don't have to justify yourselves to me, it is simply a different aspect to what I myself hold to be true." Aigis reassured them as she reached out to scratch between Morgana's ears, her eyes never leaving Akira's face. "Our circumstances are fundamentally different, so I should have expected as much from the start before I asked my question."

"It's alright." He replied easily and chuckled lightly. "We all view the world differently, it's just our cognition. I certainly wouldn't condemn your view or anything like that, it's just that I view the world my own way, as does everyone else and we have to respect that."

"Indeed." Letting her hand fall from the cat's head, Aigis offered the pair a soft, flicker of a smile before she looked down to her right hand. Summoning a familiar blue light to her hand as it took the form of one of her Persona's cards, Aigis slowly closed her hand over the card, dispelling it as easily as she'd called it forth. "Even after two hundred years, I don't know exactly how I gained the power I now possess. I do know though….I carry a part of Minato inside me, at least, that's what I believe to be true. It helps that I allowed him to touch my Papillon Heart before he closed his eyes for the last time, which might have been the physical catalyst of what I now hold, but the emotional….that came later, when my Shadow appeared and tried to kill my remaining friends in a misguided attempt to protect me from myself. Metis...might not have been my 'true sister', as Labrys and Gladius are, but she was still a vital part of my 'humanity' that I had discarded so I wouldn't have to feel anymore."

"I'm sorry." Morgana muttered and lowered his head. "I wish… we could have helped you, that we could somehow spared you all of that."

"Thank you… but as much as it might hurt me, even now, these experiences are a part of what shaped me. Without them, I wouldn't be here." The firm conviction and unshakable resolve in Aigis's voice, even as tears slowly rolled down her face, assured them both that she was alright. That she'd always be okay, no matter how much time passed.

While he was more than a little surprised to see a machine cry, it simply confirmed what he'd already assumed to be true about her and Labrys. "I see, you truly are admirable." Akira told her with a gentle smile. "And let me tell you something, never doubt your humanity, I don't know if it's due to Minato or not, but I can tell you this, you're as human as can be. I've seen your soul, I suppose you could say, and it's as beautiful as all the others here."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to win your way into my mechanical heart." Aigis chuckled but smiled appreciatively at Akira's words.

"That's my Joker for ya." Morgana was all too happy to point out, much to Aigis's continued cheer and Akira's only slight annoyance for his encouraging the idea he was some kind of shameless philanderer.

"Heh, no offense but no." Akira assured her with a laugh though it faded a few moments after, and a contemplating expression took its place. "I'd like to ask you a question, one Fool to another, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Aigis was quick to assure him. "You've been kind enough to answer all of my questions after all. It's only fair that I would do the same."

"Very well, tell me Aigis... have you ever been in love?"

With the startled look on her face as she stammered out, "W-what?" he was willing to bet she hadn't.

"It's a strange feeling is it not? Your heart beats faster in exhilaration by just being near them... you feel so happy... and at the same time... it's horrible. You feel so incredibly open and vulnerable, they can get inside you and mess you up... or you get inside them and mess them up... and I don't know which one scares me more." He told her with an uncharacteristically dreamy look on his face.

"Wait, I don't-"

"Everytime I see her in danger, I want to jump to her defense… but she wouldn't want that. If anything, she'd hate it if I were to treat her like some kind of fragile flower." He continued on, unheeding of the confusion Aigis was currently experiencing, as well as the annoyance on Morgana's face as he glared dubiously up at him. "And I don't know how to tell her, if I even should tell her. It's… complicated, I can't value her over the rest of the team after all, how am I supposed to make rational decision in the face of adversity when my heart tells me to just ignore everything but her? Would this be easier if we were just ordinary people?"

"I-"

"I find that hard to believe. Love is… terrifying, it confuses me, shrouds my mind, and at the same time I enjoy every second of it." He mumbled more to himself than anyone else. "Sorry, I've been talking this whole time and not given you a chance to say anything."

Despite her still blatant confusion and Morgana's deepening annoyance, Aigis shook her head at the apology before putting a hand on Joker's shoulder. "I won't lie, I've never truly been in love, not in the way you'd understand it at least, but I have….felt as strongly about someone as you so clearly do."

"Minato?" Morgana asked as his annoyance disappeared in the next moment, to which Aigis nodded her head again.

"I was the one responsible for Nyx's avatar inhabiting Minato in the first place when I faced her on the Moonlight Bridge ten years before he'd later join Gekkoukan High of his own accord. While I couldn't remember most of what drew me to him initially, the battle with Nyx having damaged me considerably before I managed to seal her away, I knew I needed to protect Minato, no matter the cost. But the more 'human' I became, the more those fledgling feelings began to grow, and while my main mission never changed, I began to care just as much for those Minato surrounded himself with as Minato himself. Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Ken, Koromura, Mitsuru, Fuuka, despite our differences at times, we all became a 'family', and while I am the only one left of the original group, Minato's love for them became mine in its own way. When we finally moved on from his loss, we did it together, so in this way, I know what it is you're asking. My advice?"

"Go on." Akira gently encouraged her as Morgana made it clear he was just as curious.

"Don't think too much about it. Just do. Tomorrow is uncertain. I might not know what your situation is, or what hers is either, but after two hundred years, I've seen what happens when people wait too long to go after what they truly wish for in life."

"Is it normal to be… afraid? That she won't return my feelings?" While it was strange to be asking a robot for dating advice, Akira wasn't thinking along such lines. Mostly because she seemed as human as he was, but the real reason was that she was a fresh perspective to an old problem.

"Heh, that is completely normal." Aigis told him with a smile and patted his shoulder. "Just remember, no one ever fell in love without being a little brave."

"Hmm…." Morgana mused as he scratched the side of his face in thought. "Just jump in both paws forward eh? Mwahahahaha, see ya Joker!" With that smug laugh, Morgana literally shot away into the night, all the while cackling like a maniac.

"Oookay." Aigis muttered slowly and scratched the side of her head, just in front of her 'headband'. "That just happened."

"Yeah, you just get used to it in time." Akira told her with a sigh and massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. "It's either that or you go mad. I'm still debating whether or not I've gone nuts myself." The self deprecating humor was received with another light laugh between them, before Akira slowly began to stand to his feet as he spotted a panting, sweat covered Ryuji and the blue skinned Arya walking up towards the pair. The easy going smiles on both of their faces said that whatever they'd been talking about, it had improved their moods considerably. "Looks like we aren't the only ones that's been having a heart to heart."

"Indeed." Aigis agreed as she too stood and dusted the hem of her dress off with one hand. "Did you two have a good run together?"

"We did. She lost." Ryuji was quick to point out before chuckling as Arya playfully jammed her elbow into his side. "Hehehe, oh quit bein' a sore loser. You're damn fast for such bein' so short. A few years, and you'd be unbeatable."

"I'm already fifty." Arya flatly stated, before she immediately gasped and slapped both of her hands over her mouth. "Shit! You didn't need to know that…."

"Huh… wait… does that mean you'll stay tiny forever?"

"Yes… yes it does." Arya moaned and let her head just fall forward. "Thanks for the astute reminder." With a groan, the asari let her hands drop about the same time she let her head fall. "Hairless, long legged donkey's ass, makin' a lady admit to how old she is."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did they all jerk their heads to the sound a window shattering, and a black ball of something sailing through the air to land on its four pawed feet with a screeching yowl, its fur standing on end as it visibly shook. "L-L-Lady Ann is trying to kill me!" Though confused at what happened, AIgis immediately began to translate for Arya's benefit.

Ann stuck her head out of the shattered window before she tossed a hairbrush down at Morgana. Her aim was spectacular as the handle bounced right off the center of the cat's forehead, knocking him out cold. "AND STAY OUT YOU LITTLE FURRY BASTARD!"

"Dude, for real? What did you do?" Ryuji asked flabbergasted, unable to remember the last time he had seen Ann as enraged as she was now as she uselessly slammed the window down despite most of it being scattered all over the ground where Morgana had landed.

"I must have done something wrong." Morgana muttered frantically and shook his head as a red knot began to appear beneath his paws. "I merely wished to confess my true feelings for her, I must have done something to enrage her."

"Yeah, obviously." Ryuji told him with a teasing grin. "So, what did you do? Too many cat puns? Scratched her? Ruined her favourite shirt? Or did you eat her food?"

"No!" Morgana hissed back at the smirking blonde. "I would never act so unbecoming in the presence of Lady Ann!"

"Oh yeah? Then what?" Akira asked while Aigis tried very hard not to giggle aloud at the absurd situation that was playing out around them. Arya wasn't so subtle as she snorted into one hand, her earlier embarrassment completely forgotten.

"I'm actually not sure." Morgana mumbled helplessly. "I wished to meet with her, but her door was locked. Thankfully I noticed that I could climb out of a window and enter through her slightly open one."

"Uh… you do know that usually there's a reason why the door is locked? Right?" Ryuji couldn't help but point out, all others present nodding in agreement.

"I see… so she didn't wish to be disturbed…" Morgana groaned as his ears flattened against the sides of his head again.

"I find it hard to believe that your friend would throw you through a window because you disturbed her." Arya noted with a raised eye ridge.

"Well… once I was inside I immediately began to confess my feelings to her, but…..she didn't seem to reciprocate them." Morgana said sadly and sighed. "Perhaps I should have waited for her to get dressed. But once I beheld her… I couldn't stop myself. I was… mesmerized"

"You what?!" Ryuji practically screamed into the night, while the others winced at the volume of the scream. None of them would be surprised if he were to wake all the other students, especially after the sheer volume Ann had produced just a few minutes ago. "What were you thinking, you stupid cat?!"

"I was just following Aigis's advice, moron!" He calmed just as quickly as he gave the woman a sheepish grin in apology. "Not that you're at fault for my own blundering Lady Aigis."

Aigis, for her part, was able to swallow back her bubbling laughter before she began to speak, "'Ahem'...it is quite alright Morgana, but in hindsight, it might have been smart for me to say there was an appropriate time and place for such things as this."

"Anyone could have figured that out." Ryuji grumbled under his breath and shook his head in sheer disbelief.

"Ahem…. Anyway I wish you more luck with your own confession, Joker." Morgana said mechanically, tail twitching. "I am sure Makoto will appreciate it."

"The hell?" Ryuji laughed and shook his head. "Makoto? Man, are you blind? It's obvious that our leader has a thing for Ann!" When he spotted Akira's surprised glance out of the corner of his eye, Ryuji just shrugged and smirked knowingly in turn. "Seriously? You aren't exactly subtle dude."

"Noooo!" Morgana whined and rolled on his back, yowling in despair.

"The hell? Is the cat broken?" Ryuji asked as he clamped his hands over his ears in an effort to block out some of the noise.

"It seems your friend has entered the denial stage." Arya noted with amusement and chuckled before plopping down next to the poor cat in question. "I'm actually surprised that your crude way of telling him the truth didn't get him kicked right out again."

A moment later Akira's omni-tool flashed with an incoming message. "Is everything alright? We can hear Mona howling." Yusuke's voice came from the device.

"Are we under attack?" Haru asked as well before another voice joined them.

"What's going on?" Futaba asked as her face appeared on a holographic screen. "Can someone reboot Mona? Also, you need better security, Joker."

"That'll be your job Oracle, as for Mona, let me see what I can do." Akira promised before turning his gaze to Haru and Yusuke's faces. "We're not under attack, Mona's just….having a rough night."

"Rough night, yeah." Ryuji agreed mischievously. "He peeked on Ann and got thrown through a window!" He cackled, one hand clutched at his belly as he doubled over in laughter.

"Mona-chan did what?" Haru asked in disbelief and shook her head adamantly. "No, I refuse that he would do something that horrible."

"He did." Ryuji promised her even as Makoto came running towards them. "He didn't get the hint and snuck into her room to confess his feelings to her or some shit like that."

"Vulgar as ever." Yusuke pointed out with exasperation clear in his voice. "Still, I wouldn't have expected Mona to act so recklessly nor so dishonorably."

"Oh apparently he was afraid that our leader would get the girl if he didn't confess first."

"So, Akira has finally decided to ask her out?" Haru asked for confirmation to which Joker sighed but nodded his head. There was no use denying it now that everyone seemed well aware of the obvious. "That's great! I am so happy for you!"

"Indeed, I have a feeling that Takamaki-san will be far more receptive towards your advances than she was towards Morgana." Yusuke noted, satisfied and chuckled lightly. "I was wondering if you would ever find your courage to do so."

"Does everyone know?" Akira grumbled as he could feel a headache coming at the mere thought of it.

"Of course." Makoto told him smugly, a grin pulling at her lips. "It was obvious to all who were watching. The way you would watch her, and the way she always stays close to you are quite obvious after all."

"We even made bets with Boss!" Ryuji told him with a smile and clasped his shoulder. "Though I think no one thought it would take you this long."

"I wouldn't say that." Sae told them as she came to a stop beside her younger sister. "If you ask Sojiro, there's one person that's still in the game."

"For real?!"

Sae smiled like the cat that got the canary. "For real, I interrogated him after all, it's important to get a picture of the one you are interrogating… and it certainly helped me in that regard."

"Wait, you're the one that's going to win this bet?! You dirty rotten cheat!" Ryuji growled and waved a hand defiantly in her direction.

Sae laughed but grinned victoriously even as she leveled her gaze on Akira. "That is correct, so please hurry up Akira. I would like to get my winnings soon. I promised Makoto that she and I would visit some hot springs, just the two of us."

Morgana, now that he had recovered some of his shattered dignity thanks in no small part to Arya fawning over him, perked up at this bit of news. "Truly? Then I suppose it's okay if Joker puts himself in the line of fire in place of yours truly."

"Why do you have to put it like that?" Ryuji asked Morgana and pointed towards the shattered window. "I doubt that she'd throw him through a window… slap him possibly, perhaps a good kick, but nothing beyond that."

"Thanks Ryuji." Akira drawled sarcastically and shook his head.

"No problem."

The sound of the double doors slamming open had all of them stiffening as Amanda's dark, menacing gaze settled on them all, one hand going to the slender fencing blade at her right hip. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear to all of you. If you do not wish to be executed where you stand, you will go to bed this instant. It is far too late for this level of sheer folly."

"Aww, come on teach, this was just getting good." Arya joked with a chuckle that apparently died when the glare turned to her. "Understood. Good night everyone." She said meekly and made her way to the dorms. Everyone else quickly followed her lead, gingerly pushing past Amanda as they filed past her one by one. Mona made it a point to cling to Ryuji's back as he shimmied past the intimidating woman as if she were covered in poison covered spikes before dashing down the hallway once he was sure she couldn't turn and skewer him.

The last to leave was Akira, but Amanda stopped him as her hard glare softened in an instant. "I had meant to show you something after….our confrontation with Erebus, but I fear I didn't think it through as well as I should have. You had only just gotten here after all, and you and your friends were already emotionally shaken, and yet I put you through more of the same without taking into consideration what should have been obvious from the start. For that I apologize….and I promise that it won't happen twice."

"I can't accept that. The way I see it there is nothing to apologize for. Yes, you made a mistake, yes you could have waited for a better time to show us this… but the truth of the matter is life isn't that kind, we have to be prepared to face its hardships whether we are ready or not." Akira told her simply and shrugged. "Sure, I would have preferred it differently, but at least it keeps us on our toes so that we don't get complacent. Perhaps you have taught and shown us more than you first intended with this lesson."

"I'm glad that my blunder did more good than harm then. Good night, Akira." Akira nodded his head as he passed, but not before giving Amanda a little smile, conveying more in that gesture than he could have ever expressed with words alone.

End Notes:

Nomad-117: Tada, part two of our socializing chapters. What can I say? We had a lot of fun writing them. Though we tried, tried being the key word here, not to get too crazy. That said, I am pretty happy how it turned out. What do you guys think?

Vergil1989: And yes, before anyone asks, we made a rude Naoto with our Shiro lol. Nomad had a good laugh about it when I first revealed just who the guy was, and in hindsight, the image of Naoto with the impressive physique of Kanji, complete with a black leather jacket and all that, was too hilarious to pass up once I realized what I'd created. Harkens back to the Drag Queen Pageant during the Persona 4 story in a way lol. Jokes aside, I agree with him, this and the last chapter were pretty good, all told, especially our less than subtle nod to Dick Grayson with 'Michael', as well as the far less subtle reference to Arya from Game of Thrones during her Faceless Men assassin arc. 'No one' indeed, but we hope you guys enjoyed all that we've put together thus far, and we apologize for the late update. We got caught up in a couple of other stories as well as RL in general, but we should be getting a few more of these out before Christmas if all goes well.

For our other stories, Nomad has recently uploaded the beginning of a revised story from me called A New Age: A Grey Beginning, a Young Justice and Dragon Age crossover although in the hopes of drawing more attention, we have it placed only in one of the fandoms since very few people have thought to combine the two. As for the rest, a Diablo and Mass Effect story called The Eternal Effect is another of our current projects, along with a NCIS and Mass Effect project called….Alliance Criminal Investigative Service. I really need to come up with a better name for that lol. Anyway, see ya folks, and as always, seize the day, come what may. D