Author Notes:

Xin Fyrrae: Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates lately. Anyway, I'm sick. Apparently this isn't stopping my parents from taking me on vacation, though, but I'll be back in about three days with more to come for Persona X. Please let us know how we're doing and what you think so we can update much faster too. Thanks!

Disclaimer: The original "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona" series as well as any other mentions of copyrighted material is not ours, and is copyrighted and owned by Atlus and/or their rightful owners. All material in this work that is not our own is borrowed for fair use and entertainment purposes.


Persona X
Chapter 11: Making the Right Choice


October 2, 2016
The Johnson Residence

"Hey, Hiro, you there?"

"...u-uh, yeah..." Hiro stuttered back, completely at a loss. He cleared his throat, making sure the receiver on the other end of this call was indeed the person he had in mind. "Nakamura-chan?"

"Hai."

Hiro blinked, still quite surprised. "How did you get my number..."

"Phonebook, under Johnsons."

"Oh, I see," Hiro replied, still not sure what to make of this.

Another pause. Then, Kyoko spoke up again. "Are you busy right now?" she asked.

"I was about to eat breakfast, but..."Hiro began looking around, feeling as though he was being stared down by his friends and aunt. "I don't think I can eat under these circumstances..."

"Understood." Then she added, "That is why you need to meet me at the coffee place near the school, we will talk more about the Shadows there."

Hiro's eyes flew wide open. "Huh, wait, what?!" he spluttered, reverting back to English as he gripped the phone. "What do you – ?!"

"Be there before 10:30," she simply stated.

With that, she hung up. All that was left heard in Hiro's ears was the dial tone as his mouth was left agape. What just happened right now? he wondered, blinking in dumbfounded shock.

"Hey, Hiro, who was that?" Marcus was the first to ask, looking up from the couch.

Lily nodded as she leaned against the couch back. "Yeah, was it anyone we knew?" she added. "Or a friend from Japan?"

Hiro placed down the phone as he stretched and walked back to his seat. "Oh, it was some girl I knew from class," he said, grabbing the bowl of cereal and placing it on Ai's place mat. "She just asked me out to the café near the school for now."

Luna nearly dropped the dishes she is washing, Lily's hazel eyes widened, and Marcus gives a loud groan as he belted, "Oh, COME! ON!"

Ai and Akira were blocking everyone out and were still glued to watching cartoons. Eric wolf-whistled from the sink as he raised an eyebrow. "Oooh, so who's the lucky gal?" he asked.

Lily blinked. "W - wow. Not even a week in school and he's already got a date?" she marvelled.

"I know! It pisses me off! ARGH!"

Hiro was about to argue back as he realized he might have said something wrong, when Luna suddenly turned off the sink and took off her gloves. She began walking up to Hiro. The long-haired woman put a hand on his shoulder with her head down, expression barely visible. It was then that Hiro's defensive instincts began to kick in as he looked up at her warily. Am I going to be in trouble...? he thought.

He did not expect what was going to happen next.

Luna lifted her head straight up, her eyes beaming and locking towards Hiro' eyes with a smirk, as though something great just happened. However, the tone of her voice and the next thing she said in original tongue...

"If you make her cry even one. Tiny. Tear..."

Hiro began to sweat a little. It was almost like there was a demon possessing her. Eric, however, broke the tension as he held his hand in a thumbs-up. "Well, whaddaya waiting for, Hiro?! Don't keep this mystery woman waiting!" he told him.

"Dude, who is it anyway?" Marcus asked, now leaning against the arms of the couch eagerly. "Is she hot? Do I like her too?"

Lily sat back down at the table. "Please tell me she's at least not a bimbo..." she sighed as she placed her head on her hand.

Hiro was now being bombarded by questions from his friends, his aunt, and uncle, and felt really uncomfortable at this point as he raised his hands. "I-it's not like that!" he protested.

Marcus shook his head and pointed at Hiro. "That is a lie, just like the cake," he simply argued back, further rousing Hiro's confusion.

Lily raised her head up. "Well, why did you say "asked out" then?" she wondered.

It suddenly dawned on Hiro. "Because...she asked me to go outside to go to the café ...?" he began, realizing the implications of his badly worded sentence from before. He groaned. "It's mostly just a acquaintances' meeting, it's not a date!"

At this point Hiro was hoping fervently that they would buy it and leave him alone. "Hiro, not to discriminate but...you know the word acquaintances and yet you realize that 'asking out' is slang for dating...?" Marcus pointed out, causing Hiro to further sink into his chair.

"Finally, you say something that sounds logical," Lily piped up.

Luna just sighed. "Alright, fine," she said. She turned back to her dishes. "Better get ready if she does want to see you for breakfast right now, I heard Rise and Shine's has good stuff until the afternoon."

Hiro looked at his aunt with disbelief. "Um, thanks, aunt. I suppose I have to get ready to go."

With that, Hiro went upstairs to get ready.

It was then that Luna suddenly pulled Eric close to her and began to whisper in his ear. Eric nodded in agreement, and they begin to whisper to each other very discreetly, rousing Lily and Marcus' suspicions right away. "What do you think they're talking about...?" Marcus asked first.

"How should I know?" Lily responded. She rolled her eyes. "Like, maybe one thousand things such as firstly, who this girl is and everything about her?"

"Damn Super-Hiro, why is he able to get girls so easily?" the blonde seethed.

Lily shrugged, not wanting to get involved. "Maybe they're just easy girls," she suggested.

This simply caused Marcus' irritation to increase. "Even I can't get easy girls!"

"That's because you fail."

"I hate you so much for that..."

Lily was about to give another wisecrack-styled rebuttal, when at that point Luna and Eric nodded. The two adults turned towards them, and Lily and Marcus immediately noticed right away how serious their gazes were.

"Lily, Marcus, even though we only knew you from the past two days or so, we know that you became Hiro's first two friends at school and welcomed him in your arms in Canada," Luna began.

The two teenagers froze.

"Oh! Um, thank you, Mrs. Johnson!" Lily replied.

"Yeah, no problem!" Marcus added.

"I don't like the sound of this already," Lily hissed to the side of her mouth.

"You think?" Marcus whispered back.

Eric was the next to speak up as he folded his arms. "We know that Hiro trusts you as friends, so that leads as to believe we will trust you as well."

"So, may we ask of you two a request?" Luna finally asked.

"Uh, sure!"

"Yeah, anything at all for Super-Hiro!"

"What do you want us to do?"

It was a question that Lily didn't need to ask; both realized even before Luna spoke up again exactly how screwed they were. "Well, it's a very small, tiny little favour..." she started as innocently as she could sound, beginning to twiddle her fingers.

"Yeah," Eric said. "Just spy on Hiro and his date and make sure home isn't hit."

Luna's facade was dropped as she glared right away at her husband. "Eric, your language?" she scolded.

"What, they're eighteen!"

Luna was now pinching Eric's ear at this time. Marcus and Lily sweatdropped, are trying to recover from the shock of the statement. "I - I expected that, but..."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah...same here."

"God, these guys need kids..."

They watched as Eric struggled against his wife's grip. "Gah, honey, stop pinching me out of your love!"

"Nice try, bud! You will not get out of this just from sweet talking me!"

Lily turned around to check on Ai and Akira. Both siblings continued to watch whatever was on. Wow, they are really into their cartoons, the dark-haired girl noted in amazement. I don't know how I could block any of this out...

Hiro chose to come downstairs at that moment, wearing white cargo pants and a black shirt with a gold crown in the middle. He looked at his uncle and aunt, then at Lily and Marcus. "Uh...did I miss anything?" he inquired hesitantly, not liking how this looked.

Everybody froze.

Hiro placed a hand at the back of his neck. "Oh, wait! I forgot my headphones." He immediately ran back upstairs.

Luna released Eric's ears and sniffed, closing her eyes as she placed a hand near her lips. "That boy is wearing some nice clothes he never wore before. This proves it's a date!" she protested.

Lily and Marcus looked at each other, wanting to comment on how casual Hiro's outfit looked, when Luna butted in. "Now then, if you succeed, we will treat you any time you need our treatment and care." She opened her eyes. "Do we have a deal?"

"I don't know..." Marcus replied, looking really uncertain about doing this, as did Lily.

It didn't stop Eric from adding to it. "If you do succeed I will add a day or two free pass to the computer café, unlimited use," he butted in.

Lily and Marcus exchanged looks again.

"Free internet?"

"Free Frosting and messaging."

"Free alcohol."

Lily's eyes narrowed and Marcus shrugged. "Wait, what is this I hear about free alcohol?" Luna echoed, her eyes narrowing.

Eric quickly waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing, nothing, I don't want you kids drinking so much," he quickly included.

Luna glanced towards Eric with her narrow-eyed look. "How do you know they even drink?" she accused.

"What, they're eighteen!"

"I will not allow it for they are still in high school!"

Eric quickly dodged her arm as it swiped towards his ear. "Anyway, you guys in?" he asked.

Lily appeared hesitant as she looked away, contemplating hard and very against this idea. Marcus, on the other hand, seemed to have changed his mind. "It's a deal," the blonde immediately agreed.

Eric and Luna grinned as they high-fived each other, before their hands grasped each other's and they stared off into each other's eyes lovingly, much to Marcus' and especially Lily's disdain. "One day, Marcus, we gotta talk about co-agreements..." she hissed.

At that moment Hiro came back downstairs, his headset now around his neck. He stopped when he saw his aunt and uncle again, as well as Lily and Marcus. This has to stop happening... Hiro noted as he sweatdropped.

"Oh, Hiro, do you need a ride there?" Eric asked, breaking off from his love-stricken trance. "I can drop you off." He wrapped his arms around Lily and Marcus' shoulders. "Me and your pals here are heading to the café just to grab some stuff I forgot, and we could drop you off."

"Um, it's okay uncle, I don't need a ride." He wasn't fully sure if he wanted Kyoko to run into his uncle of all people right now. "But do you think I can borrow some money? Just for this time only, please."

"Oh, of course!" Luna gasped. "Don't ever make the woman pay on a date, it's just common courtesy." She grabbed her bag from a chair and began to rustle through it.

Her nephew sweatdropped again. "I told you, this is not a date..." Hiro argued.

"Yes, but you NEVER make the woman pay."

"Um, okay..."

"Yes, did you forget you need to be a gentleman, Hiro?" Eric reminded him.

Hiro flinched. "Well, I already know that I have to pay," he tried to explain. He scratched the back of his head. "I'm just a bit bothered by how much you are pressurizing me right now, to be honest..."

"Oh, it's just checking up on you, Hiro," Luna persisted as shoved the money into Hiro's hands.

Hiro nodded. "Okay."

"Hiro, why is it always you...?"

Hiro blinked and looked up at a sulking Marcus, confused. Lily just scoffed and smirked as she patted Marcus' head. "Just enjoy your date, Hiro."

He groaned. "For the last time, it's not a date," Hiro told them as he walked towards the door and opened it.

Marcus sniffed. "That's what you think..."

Hiro just shook his head and walked out. Eric and Luna immediately turned to Lily and Marcus. "Alright, we'll follow him closely behind in about five minutes," Eric explained.

"I don't like the idea of this," Lily sighed.

"But Lily, think of the free stuff we're gonna get," Marcus argued.

The dark-haired girl was about to argue again until Eric said, "Don't think of it as a bad idea –think of it as a helping hand for Hiro."

Lily was silent as she sweatdropped. "Think of it as repaying us for letting you stay here, even though we're doing it out of care," Luna quickly added.

Lily's sweatdrop deepened even more. She was about to say something until she was suddenly pushed toward the stairs by Luna and Marcus pushed by Eric. "Now get changed and then get going, and remember, be discreet," Hiro's aunt instructed.

"Yeah, like ninjas," Hiro's uncle included.

"Oh, I give up," Lily groused.

Marcus gave her a thumbs-up. "That's the spirit, Lily! Just follow the call of duty and everything will be a-okay."

"Marcus, just shut up."

* * * * * * * *

October 2, 2016
Rise and Shine Diner

Hiro stood outside of the café, observing the place. There was a coffee cup as half a circle; the other half appearing to be a sun with rays. This logo was in the center of sans-font letters reading Rise and Shine very clearly at the bottom. Hiro could see clearly through the windows and noted how people were already inside, lining up for their breakfast for the early morning.

He pulled open the door and walked inside, now observing its interior. It looked very modern and comfortable, with soft seats and nice chairs. There was a widescreen TV on one of the walls.

Hiro began looking around, trying to find Kyoko, but too many people were blocking his view. He craned his head over the line, wondering if she was already getting something.

"You need to learn how to look behind you."

Hiro blinked and turns around to see Kyoko sitting down in a cushioned wall seat. She looked casual, wearing a grey sweater and a plaid purple and black skirt, as well as dull stockings and the same boots from the day she fought the Shadows. The same watch from the fight that held her Persona was around her wrist. Blue-tinted sunglasses similar to her mask were set over her eyes.

"Um, pardon me, Nakamura-chan, but what's with the glasses?" Hiro inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Kyoko looked right at him. "You're late."

Hiro sweatdropped. "Sorry, I got held up..."

The dark-haired girl looked away and pulled out her wallet immediately as Hiro took a seat opposite to her. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Huh?" Hiro quickly remembered what his aunt said. "It's okay, I have money to pay."

Kyoko glanced back up at him. "I invited you, so I should be the one to pay," she told him as she stood up.

"No, it's a gentleman-like manner that I should be the one to pay," Hiro insisted, pulling out his own.

Kyoko shrugged as she sat back down. "Suit yourself, if that is what you think." Without a break, she added, "I'll have a hot chocolate and a blueberry breakfast turnover, please."

Hiro stood up, looking at the signs hanging from the ceiling. "Okay, I guess I will get the Rise-Up Special," he murmured.

"Better get in line now, then, that's what everyone wants," Kyoko said.

Hiro looked back up to see that what she said was true. Most people wanted that special, probably meaning it was their best choice for breakfast.

As Hiro quickly lined up and Kyoko pulled out a cellphone from her skirt pocket, two people reading a newspaper from across them each lowered their reading material carefully. As Kyoko looked up, so did the newspapers. Caring less of what was happening, she looked back at her cellphone.

Now the two people behind the newspaper were both dressed in suits and each had a beard and moustache, sunglasses, and very noticeable hairstyles – one an afro and the other a spiked Mohawk. "We look like idiots," the afro-sprouting person whispered from the side to her partner.

"Shut up and buy breakfast already, I'm starving!" the spiky-haired person retorted.

"What?! We just ATE, and besides, didn't you hear Mrs. Johnson? She said the girls never pay."

"Well, Mrs. Johnson supported her husband putting us into these ridiculous outfits. I don't even know why they have these, so you know what? I don't care, I want comfort food right now."

A groan emitted from the bearded, afro-wearing person. "How the hell did they convince us to wear these ridiculous outfits..." the person muttered.

The spiky-head raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, don't you remember what it was like?"

October 2, 2016
The Johnson Residence

"Hold on, you can't go out like that!"

Lily and Marcus looked up surprised at Luna. They looked fine, dressed in casual clothing with some key differences from their normal style – Lily was wearing her hair in pigtails, and Marcus wasn't wearing his baseball cap. "Why not, is my hair messy?" Marcus asked, looking up at the blonde bangs framing his eyes.

Eric shook his head with a tsk tsk. "No way, what she means is that you guys aren't convincing as strangers." He smirked deviously. "We need something more...incognito..."

Lily and Marcus sweatdropped immediately as Eric and Luna chuckled malevolently.

October 2, 2016
Rise and Shine Diner

"I don't see how that explains why we did this..." Lily murmured with a frown.

Marcus shrugged as he played with one of his spikes "Whatever, at least I don't have to wear the 'fro."

"Shut up."

"Shh, he's coming back."

Marcus and Lily raised their newspapers back over their faces as Hiro came back to the table with his plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes and an English muffin, and Kyoko's glazed, flaky blueberry turnover and hot chocolate. "It's a long line, but they get the food out fast," he said as he sat down and opened up the maple syrup package, pouring it on the pancakes. "Ahh, this looks delicious!"

Marcus' stomach growled, much to Lily's amusement as she snickered. "Crap, I'm starving like hell!" he hissed, nudging Lily with his elbow. "Come on, Lily, why haven't you gone up to pay for the food yet?!"

Lily ignored him as she focused on her target, watching as Hiro picked up his fork and dug into his pancakes, stuffing the food immediately into his mouth. He stopped chewing when he noticed Kyoko watching him. "Oh, right." He took his fork and put it in-between his hands as he bowed his head slightly. "Itadakimasu?"

Kyoko just picked up her own fork and cut off a piece of her turnover. "I wasn't waiting for that," she said.

Hiro swallowed. "Oh. Uh...whoops hee?"

Kyoko said nothing as she took a bite out of her turnover. Hiro returned back to his own food. They continued to eat in awkward silence.

Lily and Marcus continue to watch intently, a little bothered by this, but more so Marcus as he nudged Lily again. "Lily, c'mon, I'm getting hungrier after watching them eat!"

Lily about to argue back that he should do it on his own, but her stomach began to grumble. Clearly, it was a sign to give up arguing with Marcus. Damn it, stomach, you betrayed me, she thought as she stood up curtly, making sure her afro was still on. "Give me the money for what you want, and keep an eye on Hiro and Kyoko while I get the damn food and look even more stupid."

Marcus took out wallet while watching Hiro and Kyoko. "Man, Kyoko of all the girls...how did he manage..." He began to pout. "It must be because they're both from the same place..."

"That is very stereotypical to say, Marcus," Lily scolded, taking the money from Marcus as soon as he pulled it out.

The spike-wigged boy rolled his eyes. "Well, some people do go for people based on culture. I'm just saying, I don't see how they could have hooked up." He looked back at them. "I mean, why didn't she go to me?"

Lily looked at Marcus with a pitying look before she went to line up.

Hiro continued to watch Kyoko eat in silence. He couldn't help but feel very bothered right now. Why did she call him to go here if they weren't even going to talk? He decided then to break the ice as he spoke up. "This is very good, I can see why this is the special."

Kyoko seem to ignore him as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. Hiro sweatdropped. "So, how's your turnover?" he continued.

She set down her cup. "It's very good."

Hiro nodded, trying to prod on the conversation. "Are their turnovers usually good?"

Kyoko didn't reply. Hiro assumed she was ignoring him again and opened his mouth to speak, when she then replied, "I don't really know."

The Japanese male blinked. Kyoko shrugged and cut another bit off from the turnover, moving the fork to her mouth. "I only like blueberry."

Hiro blinked. "I see, I see," he responded.

Note to self: Kyoko likes blueberries, Marcus noted carefully as he contemplated taking out his glasses to see more clearly, get a feel as to see shifts in Kyoko's ever-so-vague expression.

Hiro finally decided to cut the awkwardness. He set his fork down and took a deep breath in. "So why did you ask me out here if you wanted to talk to me when school began?" he asked.

Kyoko didn't even pause this time. "I'm here to discuss the matters of the Shadows and your decision on them," she responded.

Hiro gulped; how blunt and straightforward. He did ask for it. "I'm not really sure what I want to do about this, though..." he replied honestly.

Kyoko took another bite of turnover and swallowed. "Well, you need to decide soon, preferably now. This is a very serious matter."

She reached for the last bit of turnover, but stopped. She looked up at Hiro. "In truth, though, you can say no all you want, but you're just denying reality," she said.

Hiro finished off another piece of bacon, choosing his next words carefully as he chewed. "You mean to tell this is really not a 'yes' or 'no' decision," he accused.

"No, it's not," Kyoko agreed. "It's more of something you have to do."

Hiro swallowed. "I don't think that's fair."

"Yeah, well, life isn't fair, especially in these times." Kyoko looked as though she had rolled her eyes. "And personally, I don't think you thought Mr. Mackenzie was being fair anyway, so..."

Hiro froze. Marcus squinted forward at the edge of his sea, trying to crane his ears and wishing now that he could wear his glasses. What the hell were they talking about?

"Marcus, can you hear what they're discussing?"

Marcus looked to his left to see Lily with their food ready. "Thanks," he said as he took the Rise-Up Special she held out, then stared at the salad and ham-and-cheese half bagel on her plate. "Who has salad in the morning? Maybe you are more girlier than I thought."

Lily smacked his hand with her fork. "That's not relevant right now," she growled as she sat back down.

"Crap, Lily, that hurt!"

Lily glared at right through her shades.

"...I'll shut up and eat my breakfast now."

Lily shook her head as her eyes set back towards Hiro and Kyoko, watching them continue to talk. She suddenly realized that there seemed to be a sense of urgency and conflict going on. Hiro looked a little thrown off and Kyoko looked serious...

What was happening?

"Like I said, the decision is all yours to decide, but really, 'no' is not a way out of this," Kyoko finished.

"How is it not?" Hiro placed down his fork. "Nakamura-chan...like you said, this is serious. And Mackenzie-sensei does not want me to get involved into a accident like that again." He looked away uncertainly. "Part of me thinks he is right..."

"...and that's your excuse?" Kyoko looked away from him. "Pathetic."

Hiro's head turned sharply back to her. "What is that suppose to mean?" he demanded, becoming miffed.

"It is exactly what it means," she retorted. "You rose up to fight your Shadow with a Persona even though you had little to no idea about what the hell you were doing, and you almost killed yourself." Her head turned more opposite from his face. "You're an idiot."

Hiro took a sharp breath in, hurt and a little upset. He was about to argue back when Kyoko continued lecturing him. "That other part of you says I'm right," she affirmed. Why else would you come here to meet me and then bring up what I said, continue it throughout this talk? That means you're willing to do this, even though right now you're saying no."

Then, she looked back at him and lowers her sunglasses, dark eyes staring intensely into blue ones. "With training and experience, maybe you won't die or end up getting injured as fast as you did before, because as long as you have a Persona, you can stop Shadows." Her hand slipped over her watch. "And that is all I'm concerned about."

Hiro's own fingers lingered to his watch. He shuddered briefly, feeling the presence within it. The male gritted his teeth, absorbing all that information that Kyoko had just told him into his mind. I'm so confused right now... he thought. What am I supposed to do now that I'm stuck in the middle of this decision?

Kyoko continued to gaze at him. Finally, she pushed her glasses back up and sipped her hot chocolate, clearly still waiting. She picked up the last bit of her turnover with her fork when at that moment, Hiro spoke up.

"You know what? I think I made my decision."

Kyoko looked up and blinked, turnover inches away from her mouth. Hiro was looking at her, his expression serious. "I know this decision is one that Mr. Mackenzie will refuse me to do, but you are right, Nakamura-chan. It is my own decision of what to do, so...I decided that I will try my best to help, not really for your wishes, but for my own."

Satisfied with this answer, Kyoko gave a nod. She finished stuffing the remaining blueberry turnover in her mouth. She swallowed. "Now you have to commit to your choice."

"Yeah, I have." Hiro gave a sigh and picked up the last bit of biscuit he had in his Rise-Up Special breakfast, when at that moment, he froze.

Why did it feel like something was out of place...?

He turned around, only to see two well-dressed men in an afro and a Mohawk, reading newspapers and eating their breakfast. He blinked. Well, I guess that is sort of out of place, he assumed before shrugged and turned back around to finish the biscuit.

Lily contemplated on what she had just heard. Was Hiro being obliged to do something? Maybe they were talking about homework. Maybe they were already having a fight. But what was all this talk about...fighting? Dying?

Wait...what if Kyoko was...no, it couldn't be...but what if she was part of a gang?

The thought frightened her as she nearly choked on a crouton. Oh no, what if Hiro is in the wrong crowd?! she thought urgently.

She immediately turned to Marcus, wanting to hear his view of the situation. Sadly, only thing he looked to be focusing on was finishing his breakfast. "Marcus, were you just listening to a word they said?" she snapped.

Marcus looked up and swallowed down his scrambled eggs. "Uh...they were talking about a video game."

Lily hit Marcus' head. Marcus readjusted his spikes as he seethed. "Oh, come on, it sounds like a game I played before! Something about being the Pierced Kid as a protagonist." He sighed. "I never managed to get my hands on it, though..."

"Marcus, it sounds more like a mafia!" Lily hissed, looking nervous now. "Or something like that, I don't know!"

Marcus' fork hit his plate as he whipped his head to look back at Hiro and Lily. "Oh my God, I knew Kyoko could be some type of Yakuza chick!" he gasped, astonished.

It suddenly occurred to her how stupid her idea sounded as Lily swiped her hand at his head again, only to have Marcus quickly shift out of the way. "I can easily predict your every – " he sneered, but before he could finish the sentence, he realized exactly how close to the edge of his seat he was near.

There was a crash and a loud yelp. Hiro and Kyoko immediately turned around to see him sprawled on the ground, looking very dizzy as Lily looks down nervously. Oh, boy, these people are certainly attention-drawing... Hiro thought.

Kyoko said nothing as she just glanced at them while finishing her hot chocolate. Damn it, Marcus, he's going to blow our cover... Lily thought as she buried her face in her hand, Marcus still shaken up and looking dazed.

Hiro shook his head as he turned back to Kyoko and stood up. "I need to go to the bathroom for a moment, excuse me."

With that he walked towards the washroom. As Lily helped Marcus up on his feet, Kyoko placed down her cup. "What do you two want?" she demanded.

Lily and Marcus froze. "What are you talking about?" Lily replied, deepening her voice as best as she could manage.

Kyoko's head lowered. "You can easily fool Hiro, but you can't fool me."

The two disguised teenagers exchanged looks. "What on earth is she talking about?" Lily asked Marcus nonchalantly.

Marcus blinked and quickly deepened his own voice as he stood up straight. "Oh, yes, yes indeed," he agreed, attempting to look civil and making himself sound like a man who didn't know the difference between a British and Australian accent. "If you please, miss, we would like to return to finishing our breakfast."

Unknown to him, Marcus failed to notice that his wig was now sliding off. Lily gasped and put a hand to his head, pushing it back up. "Yeah, don't you know when to mind your own business against...'The Code'?" she growled.

Kyoko just stares at them unimpressed, as did Marcus who shifted his eyes towards her. "'The Code'...?"

"Yes, yes, The Code," Lily re-affirmed, trying hard not to have her hand hit his head again.

"Well..." He poked her afro as he sits back down. "Your call, you're the Manager anyway, that's why you deserve the 'fro."

Lily blinked. She looked at him quizzically. "The wha?"

Kyoko just rolled her eyes. "I'm not wasting my time on this. Finish up and then please leave, otherwise..."

Suddenly, she began to walk to towards the bathroom. Lily and Marcus were silent as they watched her, when it suddenly dawned on them. "No..." Lily started. "No way. She's not - ?!"

"The...there's no chance, man!" Marcus added, lowering his shades to get a better look at this. "She...she isn't that brave!"

Kyoko's hand rested against the door of the men's washroom. Lily and Marcus' eyes fly wide open. They bolted up from their seats as she pushed it open...

Only to have Hiro bump into her, looking a little surprised. "Oh, Nakamura-chan!" he exclaimed. He pointed to the left. "Uh, the girls' washroom is next to this one."

"I knew that," Kyoko replied.

Hiro blinked, a little confused, as were Lily and Marcus who sat back down in slight relief. "We should leave if we're done."

"Oh. How come?"

Kyoko said nothing as she turned around to walk back to the table to clean up. Lily and Marcus looked uncomfortable now while Hiro was wondering why they had to leave so soon. He was about to ask again when suddenly his ears picked up something from the TV.

"And in entertainment today, Japanese idol Rise Kujikawa a.k.a. the lovely Risette has managed to top the international charts with her newest hit, 'Identity Crisis'!"

Hiro's eyes widened. He spun around to face the TV on the wall, looking at the music video clip of a woman with auburn-brown hair, who spun around and flipped off a pair of sunglasses to replace them with more ridiculous-looking ones. Wow, didn't even know that she began to sing again after rumours of her quitting showbiz, he marvelled.

Kyoko said nothing as she stared up at the screen, as did Lily whose eyes widened as well. "Oh, awesome!" she gasped, a wide smile crossing her face. "I can't believe she's finally managed to make an impact internationally, I'm so surprised!"

Marcus looked towards Lily, chewing on the last bit of his pancakes. "Who is this again?"

Lily scoffed. "A Japanese singer and performer, you wouldn't know her."

Marcus looked back at the TV. "Well, I'd like to, I mean even Kyoko seems interested," he said as he swallowed. He pointed his fork to the screen. "And plus, she's hot."

"Only you can think about looks than about knowing the person themselves."

Marcus lowered his sunglasses to look at her contemptuously. "Don't make me look like the villain here."

Lily rolled her eyes and finished the last bit of her bagel.

The shot switched back to the entertainment announcer. "As to show thanks to all her fans, Risette has announced a tour around the world," he grinned. "Her first stop will be in Canada, in the lovely city of Vancouver for October 15th and then Calgary on October 30th, so get your tickets before they're all sold out!"

Lily suddenly jumped up from her seat in shock, her jaw wide open and her eyes becoming starry as she saw herself sitting down in that crowd of people to see one of her favourite artists. "Oh my God, Marcus, I have to see Risette," she uttered.

"I want to see her too!" Marcus grinned. "Where do we get these tickets?"

Hiro was also in a state of pleasant surprise. Truth be told, a few years back, a lot of the guys in his class loved her, and quite frankly, so he did. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head as he looked at Kyoko. "Wow, I bet everybody will be wanting those tickets if she has become famous overseas," he said. "What do you think?"

Kyoko continued to stare at the brown-haired idol, waving at the camera and smiling at the people around her. Then, Kyoko opened her mouth and said, "We have to get tickets."

Hiro was rather shocked with this answer.

"We have to see her, one way or another," Kyoko continued.

Hiro shook his head and slapped his face with the palms of his hands to make sure what he heard was correct. "You are serious about this?" he asked, looking at her incredulously.

Kyoko just turned away from the TV and prepared to walk out the doors. "Do I have to answer that? Let's go, we've stayed long enough."

"Okay, okay."

As Kyoko and Hiro walked out of the diner, Lily and Marcus turned their attention away from the TV to watch them go. "She's really acting kind of...bitchy...?" Lily remarked, biting her lip afterwards and wondering if she had picked the right word to use.

Marcus just shrugged as he took of his sunglasses. "Hey, all I know is this – we'll see her at the concert if we can nab seats, and I'm fine with that," he said positively, placing his blue-rimmed normal glasses over his eyes.

Lily glared at him. "This is weird. Why is she whipping Hiro around?" she wanted to know.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "You know, I thought you were the expert in whipping," he responded coolly.

Lily urged herself not to hit Marcus again in the head for that statement. "And maybe they are in a whipped relationship," he continued on. "I mean, Hiro will do anything whatever Lily tells him to do."

Lily lowered her gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

"Meaning Hiro is like a puppy to girls. He follows his master's orders and they love him for it."

"...Marcus, I'm not gonna even bother." She stood up and took off the afro wig and the beard. "Gah, these things itch. I think we can just go back to the Johnsons and report what we saw now, I'm tired of this."

"Oh, come on, we're already out of the house and we've just breakfast!" Marcus whined as he took off his moustache. "And it's the weekend!"

Lily groaned as she raised her shades. "Fine, let's go to the mall."


To Be Continued