Chapter 11: Tuesday 23th April

"So, we know Shodaru is the one that's in the Subex now. How are we going to get him back?" Akina posed the question as Kota pulled his can of grape soda from the vending machine. Akina was already holding onto a can of oolong tea while Jaden was already downing his lemon soda.

"All we need now is something important to him, like how we used your rabbit doll to reach you."

"I see. So all we need to do now is find whatever that could be." After some time, Jaden parted his lips from the metallic cylinder before letting out a satisfied exhale. "Any ideas, Jaden?"

"I don't have a clue. I doubt he would be the sort to own any stuffed toys." Jaden shook the can in his hand, listening out for any liquid that he might have missed.

"Perhaps he has a friend that we can ask," Kota suggested.

"If this was anyone else we were talking about, it would be possible," Akina responded glumly. "He hasn't exactly got a glowing reputation here."

"I don't know..." Jaden tossed his can in the nearby trash can, earning a funny look from Akina. Seeing recyclable metal be thrown carelessly with the regular rubbish irked her. "He hasn't got any friends in the Soccer Club, but surely there's someone that he spends time with during the breaks."

Thinking back to when he spoke to Zaki earlier that day, he got the impression that it wasn't the first time he saw him. If he wasn't mistaken, he saw the glove-wearing second-year on the way to Jaden's a couple of weeks back. At the time, he wasn't alone.

"Zaki doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?" Kota's classmates looked at him in surprise.

"Someone like him? Surely not!" Akina was quick to shoot down the suggestion, though Jaden grabbed his chin as he pondered on the idea.

"Actually, I think he did bring up someone not being happy with him after he beat up the captain. 'She's not going to like this,' was what I think he said..." Then, his eyes lit up. "That's right! He usually eats with a girl from his class. Remember her, Akina? She works at Wild Duck Burger."

"I've never set foot in there, so how would I know? What's her name?"

"Uhh… I don't know." Jaden looked intensely at the corner of the room as he mentally reached out for details. "She's quiet. Light-coloured hair, wears glasses." He looked back to Akina as waited for her to come up with a name.

"Fushiwada? Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing about how she had been seeing him. Why would she be hanging out with a trouble-maker like him?" As Akina looked thoughtful, Kota stepped in to return her focus to the task at hand.

"Regardless of why she's close to him, we'll need to find her before she leaves the school."

"Right." Jaden gave an enthusiastic nod. "If all goes well, she would be able to point out what we need to help him."

"But we can't tell her about the situation Shodaru's is, can we?" Akina cautioned. "Chances are she wouldn't believe us. And if she did, we'd just worry her."

"That's a fair point." Jaden was a bit sullen, but he had to agree. "I don't think she's the sort that handles stressful situations all that well, so panicking her won't do us any good."

The final bell sounded through the school walls, leading to a large volume of students flooding the halls from their classes. Knowing that the time he had to locate Fushiwada had started ticking down, Kota rushed to finalise the plan.

"So in conclusion, we need to find Fushiwada and have her lead us to the key to Zaki's mind without telling her about the Subex or the danger he's in."

"I have no idea how we're going to manage that," Jaden said with uncertainty, "but we're just going to have to jump in feet-first!"

"This could be our only way to reach Shodaru, so we have to do our best!" Kota smiled as both of his friends got fired up over the mission. Even with a difficult task ahead, he had a feeling that everything was going to work out.

"Alright. Let's move."


Dodging the teacher as the group grabbed their bags from the classroom took some work, but everyone managed to make it out the front of the school. Unfortunately, the path to the gate was densely populated with students eager to get home before the rain decided to fall from the darkened sky.

"When the heck is it ever this busy?!" Jaden peered over the sea of students from the top of the steps along with his friends.

"Some of the students must be skipping on their club duties. Given the weather, I don't blame them. Anyone able to see Fushiwada?" Akina stood on her toes to give herself a better look. With Fushiwada's light hair, she should stand out relatively easily among the predominantly dark-haired teens. Kota could feel the pressure building over time as people started to funnel through the school gates. If the girl was to leave without Kota or his friends noticing, there might not be another opportunity to talk to her until tomorrow. There was a chance that Zaki won't last that long.

"There seems to be a bit of commotion going on over there." Akina pointed towards a cluster of students standing partway down the path. There were five girls cornering another girl, standing in the way of the school gates. The group moved quickly towards the crowd as they suspected that Fushiwada was involved.

"What was he doing leaving school early? Did he say anything to you?" Kota was able to get close enough to hear one of the preying students interrogate the lone girl. Her light brown hair and purple eyes matched those of the girl he saw with Zaki over a week ago.

"…No. I-I didn't see him all day." She looked uncomfortable with the attention she was getting but didn't provide any resistance to the group's questions.

"How did he end up in the hospital? Was it another fight?"

"Maybe he was taking drugs and he had an overdose."

"H-He can't have…" The girl was getting increasingly upset as questions continued to flood her.

"Looks like we found her." Kota was relieved that she didn't slip through their fingers, but she was getting held up by the mob surrounding her.

"Those students are giving her a hard time. We should get them to stop!" Akina was getting distressed as though she was the one getting harassed.

"You're right. Also, if we get those students out of her hair, she'll be bound to help us out!" Jaden sounded pleased with the development, though Akina clearly wasn't feeling the same way.

"Can we just do it now?!" Emphasising with the quiet girl, Akina hurried the boys into helping her. Kota and Jaden nodded as the three of them approached the crowd.

"Hey, Fushiwada!" Jaden burst obnoxiously through the crowd of gossipers and threw his arm around the girl's shoulder, providing separation between her and the other students. "What's happening?" Fushiwada looked up at Jaden in alarm from the sudden contact as a girl from the crowd expressed her annoyance.

"Do you mind? We're busy here."

"In fact, we do mind." Akina and Kota worked their way to Fushiwada with the former snapping at the gossiper. "We're going to visit Shodaru in the hospital, so we need to be on our way before visiting hours are up." Meanwhile, Kota leaned in towards Fushiwada.

"Let's get going. You'll be alright with us." The girl looked meekly to Kota and gave the slightest of nods.

"…Kay." She spoke quietly but was quick to closely follow Kota as he departed from the crowd with his friends. With some muttering from the preying students, the group dispersed as Fushiwada and the Persona-users left the school ground. The quiet girl remained close to Kota even after the gossipers were out of sight.

"Damn gossipers… surrounding people while badmouthing their friend. It's basically bullying!" Akina was still fuming about what she had witnessed but quickly looked over at Fushiwada sympathetically. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

"It's fine." The group stopped momentarily to exchange words. "They were just curious about Zaki, so I don't blame them. Still, thank you for getting me away from them."

"Heh, you're too kind." Jaden looked pleased with the word of thanks. "It's our pleasure, Fushiwada."

"Uh… K-Kanade's fine."

"Oh? In that case, you can refer to me by my first name too." Akina looked to have quickly warmed up to Kanade as she excitedly gave her the offer. Kanade looked at the beanie-wearing girl.

"Ok. So it's… Akina? I've seen you handing out flyers with the Environmental Club last year."

"Mhm! I didn't think that you would remember."

"And you're Jaden, right? I see you ordering at work a quite often."

"I'm flattered that you knew. Haha!" Jaden appeared to be smitten as he beamed at her. "I make sure to go there whenever you're working the counter. I'm a huge fan of yours."

"You couldn't even remember her name ten minutes ago…" Kota stated plainly.

"Shhhhut up!" Jaden lowered his voice to a hush, though it wasn't necessary as all of Kanade's attention was directed elsewhere.

"Hmm…" The girl stared firmly at Kota's face with her purple eyes, hoping to find a name that could be paired with it. "I-I'm sorry! It's rude of me, not knowing your name!" Kanade seemed upset as she lowered her eyes.

"I-It's fine. I moved here at the beginning of the school year so I didn't expect you to know who I am." Even though Kota knew that he wasn't at any fault, he felt guilty seeing Kanade's sad eyes. "I'm Kota Isarota. It's nice meeting you."

"Oh, okay… It's nice to meet you too." The girl gave a polite bow. "I'm Kanade Fushiwada." She gave a shy smile at him from behind her glasses, making for an adorable image. From the brief time he and his friends had spoken to her, Kota had the impression that there wasn't a single bad bone in her body. He couldn't begin to imagine how she and Zaki became friends, given how he had frequently gotten involved in brawls in the school.

"So, Kanade, are you feeling alright? With Shodaru getting sick, I mean." Akina looked to get a conversation going in the hopes that an opportunity to get to Zaki's Key will come up.

"Not really. I'm worried about him, but I know it will turn out fine. Zaki's gone through some tough times before and has always been able to handle it."

"I'm sure he'll get better soon, knowing that he has someone special like you waiting for him, Kanade." It was unclear whether it was meant to comfort her or a laughable attempt to hit on her, but it immediately drained the colour from her face.

"I'm nothing special, really!" Kanade was in shock as her purple eyes darted between her fellow teenagers. "To him, I'm just a friend. Not special."

"So… you're single?" Jaden asked hopefully as Akina rolled her eyes in disgust before stepping in.

"You'll have to excuse my friend. He's incapable of handling himself when it comes to talking to women."

"I can handle myself just fine!" Jaden snapped defensively. "You're a girl, aren't you?"

"Guys, please." Kota often found enjoyment from the pair's bickering, but they needed to stay focus on the task at hand. The last thing they wanted was for Kanade to start feeling uncomfortable. "I'm sorry if this is making you feel awkward."

"N-not at all. I'm glad that you're willing to accompany me." Kanade seemed a little rattled from the assumption that she and Zaki were a couple.

"Are you going to visit Shodaru now?" Kota brought the conversation back to Zaki knowing that this would be the only way he could reach him in the Subex.

"Yep, though I don't want to go there without giving him anything. I was thinking of getting him a card and the chocolate that he really likes once I tidy his place up."

"Sounds like you have a lot to do," Jaden spoke.

"It is, but I know that Zaki will appreciate it."

"Let us help you out then," Akina offered sweetly. "If you give us the name of the brand, I can get the chocolate for you with the card."

"Are you sure?" Kanade sounded reluctant, but Jaden was quick to insist.

"Yeah, it won't be a problem. I can go with you in the meantime and help with the cleaning." Jaden jumped at the chance to spend some alone time with Kanade, but Akina was quick to intervene.

"Oh, no you won't!" Akina's eyes narrowed as she looked at Jaden with suspicion. "You're helping me with the shopping so I can keep an eye on you."

"Why though? You can't order me around like I'm your pet!" As per usual, Akina ignored Jaden and looked over to Kota.

"Will you be able to handle the cleaning, Kota?"

"Sure I will." Even though it wasn't said directly, Kota knew that finding the key was on him. Having access to Zaki's home would be vital if they were to find anything to help.

"If you're all willing to help, then that will be a huge relief for me." Unaware of the trio's plan, Kanade happily accepted their assistance.

After some more words were exchanged, Akina and Jaden left for the closest convenience store in search for the chocolates, which turned out to be relatively uncommon and infamously sweet amongst other brands. Meanwhile, Kota and Kanade stood idly as other Gekkoukan students passed them by. Nerves looked to be returning to Kanade as she found herself alone with someone who was practically a stranger to her.

"Lead the way," Kota spoke gently as he encouraged the girl to guide her to Zaki's. If Kanade was to change her mind, then Kota will be short on options to save her friend.

"R-Right." Kota could only hope that this would work out as the pair started moving towards the tram stop.


Kota had to take the train back to Iwatodai with Kanade in order to get to Zaki's. The pair largely travelled in silence, with Kota noticing the girl's nervousness as they walked alone together. He felt that it was on him to strike up a conversation to help put her at ease, but he was never much of a conversationalist. Having returned to the streets of Iwatodai, Kota continued to walk with Kanade, unsure of what to say. Eventually, Kanade was the first to speak up as the crowd surrounding the pair started to thin as they left the station.

"You and your friends… You all seem close."

"We are. I haven't known them for long, but they've been a big help getting me familiar with the city." There was more to it than that, of course, but outside of the Subex and the Shadows that dwelled there, Jaden and Akina have both been extremely supportive since Akina was rescued from her despair. Seeing Kota's face brighten as his thoughts turned to his friends, Kanade smiled gently, though her eyes reflected a degree of sorrowfulness.

"You must be close with Shodaru if you're willing to do this much for him," the blue-haired teen continued.

"This is nothing compared what he's done for me." Kanade looked thoughtfully at the street ahead, as though she was reminiscing about something. "But yeah… I'd like to think that we are." While Kota was somewhat curious about what she was referring to, he didn't want to risk prying into anything unrelated to his preparation for the rescue.

Kota was eventually led to a housing district hidden among the taller buildings in Iwatodai. It was the same area which Akina's family lived in, though he appeared to be on the opposite side. While there were signs of recent development in all directions, the houses that lined the narrow streets were single-story and more traditional in design. Coupled the trees that hung overhead from the odd front garden, the surroundings momentarily convinced Kota that he had left the city.

"By the way, Kanade," Kota spoke over the birds chirping from the trees. "Why is it that you want to clean his house? Wouldn't his parents be able to maintain the place?" The question seemed to have disrupted Kanade from her venture as she slowed to a stop with an uneasy look on her face. She appeared to be so absorbed with some inner debate as she initially didn't take notice of Kota looking at her in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh!? S-Sorry! It's just…" Kanade looked down at her fidgeting fingers, unsure about how to respond. "Zaki's… parents aren't around anymore. He lived with his grandmother, but she fell ill a while ago. She's in a home so she can be taken care of." Kota blinked, the news of Zaki's family not immediately sinking in. A heavy silence fell over him and Kanade as Kota realised that he was living alone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive." Kanade shook her head but wore a pained expression while avoiding her companion's gaze.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known." Kanade raised head and continued walking in the direction of the delinquent's home, allowing Kota to follow her.

The pair continued in awkward silence for several more minutes. Rather than get Kanade talking again, Kota's thoughts fell to Zaki. From his brief encounter with fellow second-year, the possessor of the Wild Card could tell that he was unusual. He seemed to be disconnected from everybody around him, yet he's possibly willing to risk fighting larger students in order to defend other people. He was starting to think that the two of them had more in common than he initially thought.

"This is his place." Kota was pulled from his thoughts as he looked up at the small wooden house behind a rusted gate. A nameplate hanging beside the entranceway read "Yoshino", likely to be the grandmother's family name. The state of the home suggested that the place was both particularly old and poorly maintained.

Kanade led Kota to the front door, unlocking it with the key hidden beneath a nearby potted plant. Leaving their shoes by the entrance, the school students walked through a small hallway, passing the staircase and into the living area, complete with a traditional chabudai table and outdated television, but had nothing else of interest. There wasn't even a single photo, or anything belonging to Zaki. The kitchen was adjacent to the room just to the Kota's left and appeared to be spotless. In fact, the house's interior was quite well-kept in contrast with its exterior.

"It's… tidier than I expected," Kota observed, looking around the room.

"It gets dusty easily, but Zaki keeps it clean otherwise." Kanade grabbed a broom from a cleaning closet just outside the kitchen area. She seemed to know her way around her friend's home. "Are you okay with sweeping the kitchen floor?"

"Sure." It appeared to be an easy enough job with the kitchen area being smaller than average.

"I'll work on wiping the windows in here." Kota was handed the broom as Kanade left the room briefly to fetch her own tools. The amnesiac teen knew from his earlier surveying of the room that there was nothing that would work as a key. He had no option but to try searching the other rooms of the house. Luckily for Kota, Kanade seemed trusting enough to leave him in a room alone. All he would need to do is to give her a reason to let him wander the house by himself.

Kanade returned with a rag and a spray bottle of window-cleaning liquid, making her way to a window at the opposite corner of the room to Kota. Seeing her get to work, Kota decided to start gathering the dirt with the broom. He would have to finish his job before he could explore the house.

"Thank you for everything. Not just for the cleaning, but for getting me away from the other students." Kanade was talking in order to fill the silence that hung over the room. "I would probably still be stuck at the school if you and your friends hadn't stepped in."

"It's our pleasure." A feeling of guilt took a hold of Kota as he and his friends were withholding their intentions from her. As bad as it felt, he knew that it was for her own good.

The two went on to carry out their respective tasks with little chatter. After some standard small talk, Kota decided to take the opportunity to learn what he could about Zaki while he could. There may be a chance that learning about him could help save his life.

"So… What is Shodaru like? He doesn't seem as bad as some people make him out to be." Kanade paused for a moment as she thought of the best way to word her response.

"He's… misunderstood. He doesn't like ignoring the bad stuff that happens when he's around. He acts before thinking often, which causes problems for him."

"Like when he fought with the soccer club captain yesterday?" Kanade turned to Kota in alarm.

"He did that?" Kota sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He figured that she would have known about it but the surprised look on her face said otherwise. The girl then looked despondent as she downcast her eyes. "That's why he was avoiding me today…"

"The guy was picking on Jaden and Shodaru stepped in," said Kota, frantically trying to justify her friend's actions. "I would have liked it if there wasn't a fight over it, but I'm happy that he stood up for Jaden."

"Don't worry. I know that he never starts fights for no reason." Kanade sounded as though she was somewhat reassured by Kota's words. "I just don't want him to get caught up in any more trouble." Kanade quietly continued wiping the windows, feeling down about the news.

As he cleaned, Kota realised that he never tidied him dormitory outside of his room or the eating area. Having such a large place all to himself creeped him out, but he wondered if giving it a thorough cleaning would help Kota warm up to the place.

Having swept through every corner of the living room, Kota was left with only a small mound of dirt, which he promptly disposed of using the dustpan. Upon seeing Kanade make slow but thorough work of the dusting, Kota knew that that was his opportunity to explore the house for Zaki's key.

Sweeping up the last dirt pile with the dustpan, Kota had finished cleaning the kitchen floor. Kanade still had work to do in the room, giving the boy the opportunity he was waiting for.

"I'm finished over here. Should I move over to the next room?" Kanade looked over at Kota with mild surprise.

"You don't need to. I was only going to have you clean the living area."

"It's okay. I want to show him my gratitude, for helping out my friend." The girl didn't want to take up more of Kota's time than she needed, but she understood Kota's desire to repay him.

"Oh. If that's the case, then that should be fine. You can check the rooms upstairs to see if there's anything that needs tidying." She went back to cleaning the window, taking care not to leave behind any marks on the glass.

"I'm on it." Relief that the plan was going as smoothly as he hoped, Kota headed for the stairs. Now that Kanade was unable to watch him, he could start his search for Zaki's key.

Upon arriving on the second floor, he was quick to poke his head into each of the rooms adjacent to the landing. After finding a few empty rooms, Kota poked his head into a small bedroom. It only contained the bare essentials. A wardrobe, a tidy work desk, a standard bed with a bedside table. There was also a bookshelf containing some old textbooks among other pieces of literature, seemingly the only piece of evidence that the room belonged to Zaki.

Kota stepped over the carpeted flooring and began to pry through the room owner's possessions, checking the desk and shelves first. That feeling of guilty returned to the cyan-hair boy as he searched but he kept going in a hope that he would find what he needed before long. It wasn't until he passed over the bedside table when something caught his eye.

A wooden photo frame was left face down, preventing Kota from seeing what was contained inside. He picked up the frame to find a photograph of two young adults, a man and a woman in their late-20s, with a toddler in the girl's arms. In the background, a home with a lively garden stood tall, seemingly from another city. It quickly became clear to Kota that he was looking at a young Zaki with his parents.

The young boy in the photo looked just like Zaki as he stared rather absently at the camera. The man in the photo had the same sharp facial features as the boy, his green eyes and long black tied back conveying a sense of intelligence from the man. The woman had passed down her blue eyes and dark wavy hair to the child. Her beautiful smile reflected her kind personality as she held her son close to her.

Convinced that it would be enough to save Zaki, Kota removed the photo from the frame and left the wooden object as he found it. He looked at the young family once more, his heart suddenly beginning to ache.

Like the wielder of the Wild Card, Zaki found himself living a life without his parents. It had only been a couple of days more than two weeks, but Kota had already started imaging what his parents would have been like. After hearing from Jaden how his parents ensured that every one of their days off would be spent with their only son, and from Akina about how hers push her to become a better person, Kota had been feeling lonelier than ever whenever he had to come home to his empty dormitory.

Taking the utmost care as though he was handling a piece of fine china, Kota placed the photo in his school bag. A feeling of sorrow welling up within him, the boy went on to tidy the room where he could, though it couldn't pry the mental image of the photo from his mind.

He could only hope that he had the pleasure of remembering what they were like.


"Thank you very much, everyone. I'm grateful that you took the time to help me." With all of her supplies now in hand, Kanade beamed at the reunited trio as they stood on the train platform in Iwatodai Station.

"It was really nothing." Akina smiled back at the girl, fulfilled after seeing her so happy. "Are you sure you'll be alright to get to the hospital by yourself?"

"I will. Besides, I can't ask you for any more of your help."

"Stay safe then," Kota said kindly.

"I wonder if he'll be alright." A fearful look crept over Kanade's face as she thought about the seriousness of Zaki's condition. "No one seems to know what caused him to pass out all of a sudden."

"He'll be fine." The response was automatic from Kota as he spoke full of belief. "I promise you that he'll wake up." While the promise was effectively meaningless from Kanade's perspective, it didn't fail to relieve her slightly from her worries.

"Thank you…" The bespectacled girl spoke in an emotional whisper as her train pulled into the station. With the announcement of the train's arrival over the loudspeaker, Kanade put on a brave face as she addressed her schoolmates. "I have to go now. Thank you all again for your help."

"We'll see you around, Kanade." Jaden and the others waved after her as she joined the stream of people heading to Tatsumi Port Island. With the girl gone, the group collectively sigh inwardly as the pressure to keep Zaki's true condition secret quickly evaporated.

"We really need to get Shodaru back." Akina nodded at the cyan-haired boy's statement.

"I'd hate to see the look on her face if we fail."

"It's a good thing that's not going to happen." Jaden remained upbeat as he turned to his female friend. "Well, Akina, last chance to flake out on the rescue mission."

"No way." Akina appeared to be more fired up than Kota had ever seen her. "Believe me, I'll be with you all until the bitter end."

"… Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Kota, uneasy with the thought that any visit to the Subex could be the end of them.

"You managed to get what we need for Shodaru, right?" Jaden turned to Kota before the group got too ahead of themselves.

"Yeah." Kota pulled out the picture of Zaki and his parents. "It was the only photo in his room, so it must be important to him. After all, his parents aren't alive anymore."

"I see…" Akina gazed at the photo "Could that be what led to him falling through to the Subex?"

"Maybe, but we probably won't know until we see him." Kota placed the frame back into his school bag. "Let's head over to my dormitory. Glitch will be waiting for us there."


After returning to the Iwatodai dormitory with Jaden and Akina, the trio used their Transferals to scan Zaki's photo and enter the Subex after the copy. Glitch was waiting at the front of this world's battered variant of the building as the group stepped out into the torn streets.

"I see that you've gone ahead and dragged another novice into your mission." Glitch stated, eying Akina from beneath her hat, sizing her up.

"Given how we struggled to win that last fight, I think that it will be for the best if we had another fighter," Kota replied honestly. "Akina, this is Glitch. She serves as our guide of sorts in the Subex."

"I can't say that I'll be that good when it comes to fighting, but I promise that it won't stop me from doing what I can to help!" Glitch's gaze remained firm on the smaller girl before giving a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"Well, I'm sure that you won't be as bad as your blonde friend when he last came here."

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Trenchcoat." Jaden's sarcasm was shown plainly on his face as he spoke to Glitch. "By the way, Akina, I have to say you pull off that outfit surprisingly well."

"Huh? It's just the school's uniform. There's nothing spe-" The newly acquired ally in the fight against the Shadows looked down at her clothing. "When did-" Akina cut herself off again once she had a good look at what she was wearing.

Beneath her unzipped black jacket with three-quarter sleeves that only reached down to her mid-section, Akina was wearing a red top that fitted tightly around her torso. The pair of black shorts she was wearing only went part of the way down her thighs, showing off much of her pale legs above her dark combat boots. Akina's black beanie and Transferal were all that was carried over from her usual appearance. Additionally, she wore a pair of fingerless gloves made of dark leather.

"How do I get my clothes back?" Akina pulled the sides of her jacket over her chest in an effort to cover herself as much as possible.

"Don't sweat the small stuff," said Jaden cheerfully. "You'll have blood-thirsty monsters to worry about once we make a move for Shodaru."

"Forget that! I feel like I might die from embarrassment if I have to move around in this!"

"The outfit comes with the territory of having a Persona while you're in the Subex. I don't think you'll be able to change out of it," Kota spoke, simply state what he learned through his own awakening. "It feels strange at first, but it won't get in the way when you have to fight. And as Jaden said, you look great."

"Well… if you say so…" Akina still had a firm hold of her jacket, but she seemed to have found some reassurance in Kota's words as she looked down at herself with a small smile.

"We'll need to travel to the Island in order to reach our target, so we'll have to use these in the interest of time." Wanting to keep the operation moving, Glitch motioned towards the unorthodox-looking chrome bikes. Each one had a set of wheels about three times as wide as the average bike, likely so it could traverse the Subex's jagged terrain. "I call them X-bikes, short for Subex-bikes."

"It's hardly an original name, but it doesn't change the fact that they look sick as!" Jaden exclaimed as he bounded up to the nearest machine for a closer look. The size of the engine and the bike as a whole was unrivalled by anything that could be found on the surface. "Is there anything you can't make?"

"I could go into it, but I would think that you'll be more interested in taking it for a ride."

"You thought right!"

"Hang on a moment," Akina spoke up. "There are only three bikes here. Do you have one more that I can use?" Glitch folded her arms, annoyed that the albino's concern stalled the search for Zaki.

"I only expected two Persona users to be present for the rescue, so no. There's be enough room on each X-bike for two, you can hop on with one of your friends."

"O-Oh…" Fully understanding what sharing a seat would involve, Akina blushed as she gave a bashful look to Kota. On the other hand, the oblivious Wild Card looked at his right-hand man, innocently.

"You want to share, Jaden?"

"Hell no, you moron! If I'm sharing my seat with anyone, it'll have to be a chick." Jaden turned from the bike to look at his friend as though he was some sort of alien. "I'm keen on going a bit crazy with this bad boy, so you should have Akina go with you."

"Huh!?" Akina voiced her shock upon hearing her name being brought up. "Don't I get a say in this!?"

"You don't seriously want to be paired with me, do you?" Jaden eyed her suspiciously as Akina remained quiet, only to give her a smirk. "Just enjoy yourself, yeah?"

"We can't afford to walk to the gateway, so the bikes are the only way to get there," said an impatient Glitch, not able to understand what the issue was. "You could go back if it bothers you so much."

"It's fine… If that's what it takes to help you guys, I'll do it!" Akina started to blush fiercely, too embarrassed to meet Kota's concerned gaze.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Jaden playfully stated. "I'm sure that Kota will drive nice and slow for you."

"That's not the problem!" Akina became flustered once again as Jaden found plenty of amusement from poking fun at her.

"I can't say that I've ridden anything like this before, but I'll be careful with it," Kota said in an effort to reassure her despite his misreading of the situation. "You don't need to worry." Akina was finally about to look him in the face before letting out a relieved laugh. Seeing the boy not stress over sharing the bike calmed her.

"Thanks… I'm already feeling better."

"If you're all finished here, the gateway is waiting for us on the Island." At some point during the discussion, Glitch had mounted her own X-bike and started revving the engine, sounding out a roar over the noises of functioning pistons and gears.

"I'll race you there, Trenchy!" Jaden quickly hopped on his bike, with the machine coming to life the moment he grabbed hold of the handlebars. Kota got on the last of the three bikes as Akina sat behind him, sitting far enough towards the back of the sit to narrowly avoid making physical contact with the driver.

"Just focus on keeping up." With a slight movement of the wrist, Glitch sent the bike forward with enough acceleration for the front wheel to lift well off the ground. She raced off at top speed as Jaden trailed her, moving significantly slower as he tried to get a feel for his X-bike.

Kota made the slightest of movements with his wrist and the bike took off like a bullet, surprising him and his female passenger.

"Ah!" In a desperate effort to keep herself from falling backwards, Akina lunged forward and locked her arms around Kota's chest. The moment he felt his classmate press against his back, Kota's entire body seized up as he briefly forgot to breathe. An unfamiliar though an intense sense of pleasure welled up inside him as his focus begun to waver.

"Y-You doing alright!?" Akina yelled over the loud engine of the bike as she sensed Kota tense up. Her returning nervousness only made her squeeze tighter, putting Kota's head into even more of a spin.

"Tight- I mean, I'm just fine!" Kota felt out of breath as his face begun to emit heat equal to that of what he was feeling on his back.

The ride to the gateway ended up being accompanied by an internal struggle for Kota to keep his mind wandering from the road ahead of him. Though he wouldn't dare admit it to anyone, he was glad that he didn't end up sharing his ride with Jaden.